Which factors determine the effectiveness of school boards? A new study by academics from Monash University’s Business School has found that board diversity, board practices, and principal influence over board decisions, all impact board effectiveness. They also have a sizeable bearing on the school’s financial and academic wellbeing.

Today is RUOK? Day, a national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone to check in on their loved ones and ask ‘Are you OK?’ In today’s Behaviour Management episode, we’re joined by Professor Fiona Brooks from the University of Technology Sydney to discuss the relationship between mental health, wellbeing and student behaviour at school.

In today’s article, Dr Erin Leif, Dr Laura Alfrey and Dr Christine Grove describe how teachers can integrate the Universal Design for Learning framework and High Impact Teaching Strategies in a complementary way in the classroom in order to teach more inclusively.

Dr Gary Stager joins Teacher to discuss his 30-year study into laptop use in schools. We discuss the challenges they faced in the early 1990s in the implementation of the program, how students engaged with the technology in the early days, but also what he’s learned about the way computers are used in schools today.

The Learning Specialist role in Victorian schools is aimed at building excellence in learning and teaching. At this high school, the Learning Specialist Team looks through a leader and teacher lens to utilise the strengths of staff, and meet individual professional learning needs.

‘Schools are increasingly being asked to support the mental health and wellbeing of our children and this has created an opportunity to reframe the teaching the learning environment.’ Ben Sacco discusses three elements – safety, relational trust, and shared language – that can directly support schools to improve teaching, learning and wellbeing.

In this episode of School Improvement, we’re taking you to a school in rural New South Wales where students in Years 5 to 9 are reading 12 books each year. Head of Middle School and English teacher Alex Wharton joins us to share how this has been achieved.

In education research, an ‘effect size’ has traditionally been used to sell the promise of improved outcomes, for both teachers and students, in the lucrative professional development market. However, critiquing the quality of research is more important than relying on a single measure, writes Dr Drew Miller.

A series of consultations undertaken by the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Tasmania has identified that young people in Tasmania believe a more responsive education system would improve their overall wellbeing, and further, what they think specifically needs to be improved.

Findings from an action research project in three West Australian schools suggest the use of quality mentor texts when explicitly teaching how to write narratives can improve students’ storytelling ability. Ron Gorman and Dr Sandy Heldsinger share more details about the teaching and assessment strategies used, and samples of student writing.