Australia’s results in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) were released last week. In our latest expert Q&A we speak with PIRLS National Project Manager for Australia and ACER Senior Research Fellow Kylie Hillman about some of the interesting findings to come from this cycle.

Australian students’ literacy achievement has remained steady in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to results from the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). In today’s article we look at some of the factors influencing year 4 students’ performance on the assessment, and how their results compare internationally.

At Brighton Grammar School in Victoria, a year 12 student was given the opportunity to conduct their own educational research project. In this article, we speak with Deputy Headmaster Dr Ray Swann, teacher Oliver Lovell, and student Tim Tso about the process and impact of this project.

How we can improve the continuity of learning from birth to 12 years? That is the question that will be explored at Research Conference 2023, held in Sydney on 3 and 4 September. In this Q&A, we speak with Conference Convener and ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Claire Scoular, about the conference theme.

School Assembly is the podcast that explores what it takes to build a new school from the ground up. In Series 1 we’re following Principal Dr Ray Boyd and Associate Principal Rachael Lehr at Dayton Primary School in Western Australia. In Episode 9 we talk about how educational research is the foundation for everything at the school – from classroom teaching to leadership.

In the second of 3 articles about research into Problem Based Learning in schools, teachers involved in the project discuss how it has enabled them to reconsider their classroom practice and the conditions necessary for meaningful STEM learning.

As an educator, finding the time to discuss matters you are finding challenging with colleagues, to seek advice and reflect on your practice, might seem impossible. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Anne Southall and Associate Professor Fiona Gardner to hear about their development of a reflective circles education model.

'Closely crafting questions, reviewing data, making changes, engaging with open-ended questions were already all part of my daily work in the classroom.’ Dr Jason DeHart discusses the importance of teacher voices in research, and reflects on his own study journey.

Experiencing grief is something we will all confront at some point in our lives, but navigating a death in the school community, when you also need to support your students, can be really challenging. In this Q&A, we’re joined by author Hazel Edwards OAM to unpack her new book, Grief and Loss in Schools: A Resource for Teachers.

In our latest reader submission, Dr Lars Andersson ­– Principal of Richmond High School in Melbourne – shares how his school has worked to establish effective Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). In this first article, he explains the thinking behind introducing the PLCs, and the planning and training phase.