As a school, fostering strong relationships with the wider community has wide-ranging benefits to student outcomes. In this edition of Researching education: Five further readings, we’re sharing five readings on the topic of school-community relationships.

Several states have banned financial institutions from delivering banking and branded education programs in schools, paving the way for school-led programs free from commercial interests. In today’s reader submission Carly Sawatzki, Jill Brown, and Peter Saffin outline some guiding criteria to help schools consider ways to strengthen their financial education programs.

We know that getting a good night’s rest is important for our overall health and wellbeing, but are there certain foods we can eat that will actually improve our ability to sleep? We ask Dr Chris Irwin, an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at Griffith University.

We often hear about why it’s important that children read for pleasure, but we don’t seem to place that same importance on adults’ reading habits. So, is it important that adults read for enjoyment? And if so, how many adults actually read for pleasure on a regular basis? We talk to Dr Judith Seaboyer from the University of Queensland to find out more.

Reducing the disparities in the schooling experiences of students was one of the issues identified by Teacher columnist Professor Geoff Masters AO in his influential series on the ‘big five’ education challenges facing Australian schools. What does the latest evidence say, and where do we go to from here?

Sleep is essential for your health – it refreshes the mind and repairs the body. But how much sleep do you need to thrive? And, what can you do to ensure you get a good night’s rest? We ask Dr Kathleen Maddison, a Research Fellow and Lecturer at the Centre for Sleep Science at the University of Western Australia, these key questions.

How do schools successfully engage and retain students alongside promoting academic achievement? In today’s reader submission Margaret Gurney, Assistant Director-General, State Schools Operations at the Queensland Department of Education, shares research findings on practices common in high performing schools.

Proficiency in critical and creative thinking, collaboration and problem solving helps students succeed in their learning, but these kinds of skills are also highly valued by employers.

In this episode of our Teaching Methods series we talk to Maura Manning, Director of Learning at the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta, about the blended learning model at School of Now – what it means for teachers and teaching, the focus on equity of access, and how students are supported in their learning.

Researchers from the University of Newcastle’s Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, Laureate Professor Jenny Gore, Associate Professor Jess Harris and Dr Drew Miller discuss their latest research that explores the impact of Quality Teaching Rounds on student outcomes.