Absent students miss more than just lesson content; they miss the opportunities to build the habits and skills to succeed at school and in life. New OECD research shows ‘school attendance problems are no longer a marginal issue; they have become a challenge affecting classrooms in nearly every country’.

In this podcast, Dominique Beech hears from Joanna Baker, Head of Campus at Haileybury Pangea – the fully online campus of Haileybury, and independent co-educational school. The online campus serves approximately 180 students from a range of backgrounds across Australia and in this episode we hear all about what it’s like to teach students in a virtual classroom setting.

In her latest Teacher column, Associate Principal Rachael Lehr shares how insights from mindset coach and author Ben Crowe about the ‘dreaded “E” word’ have prompted her to reflect on what it means to hold high expectations in ways that give purpose and build aspiration for students and staff, rather than add pressure or burden.

A collaborative study involving Aboriginal Elders, families, educators and children across 3 urban schools in Perth, Western Australia, is working to deepen Aboriginal children’s understanding of, and pride in, who they are by strengthening their connections to culture, Country and kin. Professor Cheryl Kickett-Tucker from Curtin University tells us all about the Moombaki Cultural Learnings Project and the impact it is having on Aboriginal students.

EDUtech is one of the largest and most prominent education and technology events on our calendar for 2026. Over 2 days last week, Teacher magazine’s Rebecca Vukovic and Dominique Beech were there in Sydney for the event, and in today’s podcast special they share their reflections on the sessions they attended, as well as other conference highlights. 

EDUtech has just wrapped up for 2026, and the Teacher team were in Sydney for the 2-day conference to have conversations with the education community and hear from both local and international speakers. Read our insights here.

In assessment, AI tools offer new possibilities for feedback while also raising important questions about quality, accuracy, teacher oversight and, crucially, whether the feedback improves the learner, not just the piece of work they’ve been tasked with completing.

Tax time for the 2025-26 financial year is quickly approaching here in Australia. In this article, we draw on expertise from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and tax services company H&R Block, to hear more about teacher returns for 2026 – including claiming fuel costs, implications for teachers using social media for work, and more. 

Climate-related content appears across the curriculum and teaching it can come with an added layer of emotional complexity. A new study published in the Australian Journal of Education (AJE) shines a light on how primary and secondary teachers are responding to eco-anxiety in their own classrooms, including where they need more support.

A new insights report on the latest assessment cycle of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) investigates how much curriculum content is actually covered in classrooms, and whether differences are linked to student achievement.