‘To say that teachers have a significant impact on students’ motivation and engagement is not controversial, nor particularly enlightening. Trucks can be filled with the research papers that show this.’ In this reader submission, Professor Andrew Martin says a more informative exercise is to dig into the ways teachers make a difference to students’ motivation and engagement.

What makes leadership impactful in regional, rural and remote schools? In this episode of The Research Files, we chat with Scott Eacott, unpacking some of the concepts covered in his recent research on leadership in regional, rural and remote schools.

How do you support and celebrate neurodiversity in the classroom? What strategies do you use to ensure all students in diverse classrooms thrive at school and beyond? In this article, we outline five further readings which explore neurodiversity in education, and offer strategies for effective and informed teaching.

What makes a Vocational Education and Training (VET) program successful? In this article, we talk to Linda Snoxall, VET Coordinator at Mildura Senior College – host of one of the eight successful VET programs identified in a recent report from the National Centre for Vocational Education on the factors of successful VET programs in schools.

After investing a lot of time and emotion into applying for a new job or promotion, finding out the position is not yours can have a negative impact on your confidence. In this reader submission, Dr Poppy Gibson and Dr Robert Morgan from the UK share their three steps for moving forward after being an unsuccessful candidate for a new position.

Taking turns and sharing in early childhood develops children’s pro-social skills in the early years, helping them to thrive in school and later life. In the first instalment of a two-part Q&A, we speak with Lauren Armstrong – Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the University of Tasmania – about the impact of these skills for school readiness, and the current research on the topic.

‘Our vision for PLTs? To build a healthy, collaborative professional learning culture of inquiry that positively impacts student learning through teacher learning,’ Sarah Gunn, Head of Teaching and Learning of Middle School at St Laurence’s College in Brisbane shares in today’s reader submission.

Our guest for this episode of School Improvement is Judith Weir, Principal of Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) Heidelberg. We caught up with her at the start of the school year here in Australia, to talk about leadership, strategic planning, how to balance competing priorities, the impact of COVID on student wellbeing and the importance of professional mentoring.

‘Underpinning PAT is recognition that every student is at some point in their long-term progress and is capable of further progress given learning opportunities at an appropriate level of stretch challenge.’ In his latest Teacher column, Professor Geoff Masters AO explores what makes ACER’s progressive achievement (PAT) resources special.

What is involved in moving museum content online for educational purposes? What are the benefits? What are the challenges? In this Q&A, we speak with Melina Mallos, former Education Manager at the Museum of Chinese Australian History, about the process of digitising museum content.