The 2025 Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) National Conference, taking place from 26 to 29 August in Brisbane, is shaping up to be one of the most significant and inspiring events on this year’s professional learning calendar for primary school leaders across Australia. 

The largest ever study on the job ambitions of 15-year-olds has revealed a stark mismatch between teenagers’ career expectations, education choices and labour market demands. In particular, the newly released OECD data show more needs to be done to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

How can teachers meaningfully integrate Indigenous perspectives? In this expert Q&A, Indigenous curriculum specialist Melissa Serrurier discusses culturally responsive teaching, making the shift from tokenism, using authentic resources, and the ways schools can respectfully build and sustain genuine partnerships with local communities.

In this episode of The Research Files podcast, Teacher editor Jo Earp chats to Jenni Ingram, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, about the OECD’s Unlocking High-Quality Teaching report. Alongside insights from 150 schools in 50 countries, it explores 20 practices that teachers draw on to achieve 5 key teaching goals.

‘Our recent and ongoing partnership … has been a really fulfilling journey.’ In this Q&A, Renee Ladner from the Mathematical Association of Victoria (MAV) discusses educators engaging with associations for professional development, and 2 examples of how she’s partnered with schools on maths PD. 

This episode of our School Assembly podcast is all about professional learning. Our Series 3 Principal Dan McShea joins us from Queensland’s Notre Dame P-12 College to share how it links back to strategic planning and key teaching and learning documents. We’ll also find out about his biggest challenge, key learning and proudest achievement since we caught up last.

As a teacher, how confident are you when it comes to classroom management? A new report released today explores teacher self-efficacy in classroom management. It’s a great prompt for thinking about your own skills, practices and professional development needs, and if you have a leadership role, those of your team.

At Reptile Encounters, we bring Australia’s incredible wildlife directly into classrooms. Our mobile zoo of native animals like reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and birds gives students the rare opportunity to experience real, living creatures, right where they learn. Through interactive, curriculum-aligned presentations, students engage their senses, deepen their scientific understanding, and build lasting emotional connections with nature.

Emu Gully Adventure Education offers a unique and transformative approach to education that takes students out of the classroom and into the great outdoors, using adventure and challenge as powerful tools for growth and development. Whether you’re a teacher seeking a one-day experience or a multi-day adventure camp, Emu Gully offers options that can be customised to fit the specific goals and objectives of your class.

Alongside the exciting opportunities for AI to support teaching and learning, there are challenges and risks. In this special podcast Teacher editor Jo Earp talks to Dr Katie Richardson, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research.