School absence has an impact on student outcomes, so being aware of attendance rates for your class, year group, or whole school, and understanding the reasons behind the absence is important. With this information to hand, what will make a difference? That’s the topic of Dr Kirsten Hancock’s research.

How can we support the teaching and learning of mathematics in ways that can enhance student engagement, participation and thus learning? In this reader submission, David Chinofunga shares findings from a 3-year study he’s been leading at James Cook University focused on supporting the teaching and learning of maths in Queensland secondary schools.

Students with academic resilience persist and thrive in their studies, despite the odds being stacked against them. In our latest reader submission Associate Professor Nani Tieg, from the University of Oslo, Norway, explores findings from her UNESCO GEM Fellowship study into the role teachers play in fostering academic resilience in maths and science classrooms.

As a school leader, a key consideration when implementing a new approach, or evaluating existing practices, is the effective use of data. A new support resource outlines 7 steps to guide school leaders in using data for monitoring and evaluation. Find out more in today’s article.

In this episode of The Research Files, we speak with Suzanne Rice from the University of Melbourne about her new research paper which explores the current diversity of Australia’s teacher workforce, the positive impact a diverse teacher workforce can have on student outcomes, and practical strategies for school leaders on retaining a diverse staff.

In today’s article, we speak with the winner of the Teacher Awards’ Leadership Award for Driving School Improvement, Melissa Shepherd from Laura State School in far-north Queensland, about how she is committed to improving outcomes for all students.

The design and implementation of a new whole-school or subject specific curriculum is a big undertaking, and relies on collaboration, consultation, monitoring and evaluation. In today’s article, we catch up with the winning team of the Teacher Awards 2023 in the Excellence in Curriculum Design and Implementation category.

A common goal for all schools is to continually improve practice and lift student outcomes. Precisely how leaders respond to this complex challenge is impacted by many internal and external contextual factors, including student needs and the expertise of the principal, teachers and support staff.

In our latest expert Q&A we talk to Kristy Osborne, a physicist, former pre-service teacher and Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) about the science concepts that primary students struggle with and why it’s important for teachers to identify and address student misconceptions early on.

In this episode I’m joined by Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report Director Manos Antoninis to discuss the 6 key messages in the major international study Technology in Education: A tool on whose terms?, including what governments, systems and schools should be thinking about when planning to bring technology into the classroom.