‘Girls were more willing than boys to participate in school-based civic activities … but do not plan to be politically active.’ New data show female students are consistently outperforming males in the area of civic knowledge, yet they have lower political ambition. Find out more in today’s article.

School Assembly is the podcast where we explore what it takes to build a school from the ground up. Bemin Secondary College has just opened, and important work is underway for setting the pathway for teaching and learning, so in our latest episode we talk about instructional models.

In Australia, 12% of girls will have their first period between the ages of 8 and 11 years, but formal education on menstruation is not included in the curriculum until age 10 at the earliest. A new study has interviewed school staff to explore how teachers are supporting younger students experiencing menstruation, and ways to overcome any barriers.

‘Successful learning is built on people recognising your abilities and strengths and helping you to build on them.’ We speak to Sue Lowry, winner of the Telstra ARIA Music Teacher Award, about how she is delivering quality music education to students with special needs, and how they’re smashing expectations.

A report by Evidence for Learning has provided 6 practical recommendations to improve primary science. In this article, Teacher looks at one of the 6 recommendations – developing students’ scientific vocabulary.

In this episode of the School Assembly podcast, we celebrate the opening of Bemin Secondary College in Truganina, Melbourne with Principal Jo Camozzato, and catch up with Dr Ray Boyd and Rachael Lehr at Dayton Primary School in Western Australia to find out what it’s like one year on from the big launch.

Looking at the content of students’ stories can give teachers an indication of what they’re interested in, as well as the issues that may be impacting their lives. Each year, Oxford University Press analyses thousands of short stories written by primary and secondary students to come up with a Children’s Word of the Year.

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.

Welcome to the first edition of Researching education: 5 further readings for 2024. When we asked you for the topics you’d like us to cover on Teacher in the next 12 months, artificial intelligence (AI) was the most frequently requested. So, in this edition, we’re taking a look at AI.

In his first Teacher column of 2024, Professor Geoff Masters AO discusses assessment reforms proposed in New Zealand to reverse that country’s declining student performance.