You may have experienced it as a teacher, or a school leader – out-of-field teaching remains a big issue. Professor Merrilyn Goos and Professor Linda Hobbs join Teacher editor Jo Earp for a special podcast episode to talk about the current situation in Australia, challenges and possible solutions.

Teacher editor Jo Earp talks to Western Sydney University academic and researcher Dr Sharon Wagner about engaging parents from refugee backgrounds in their children’s education. The episode explores the differing perspectives of parents and teachers on topics such as parent-teacher interviews, system expectations and language barriers.

In today’s reader submission, Anam Javed – Master Teacher in Residence for Technologies at the Victorian Academy of Teacher and Leadership – provides an overview of design thinking, including 2 illustrative examples, and shares some misconceptions of the approach.

A new study has investigated the classroom emotional experiences of boys and girls undertaking integrated STEM projects to understand the role this has on girls’ interest in STEM. To do this, researchers needed to develop and validate a research tool. We unpack the study in this episode of The Research Files.

After her double win at the National Excellence in Teaching Awards for her work helping teachers and schools in New Zealand implement structured literacy into their practice, Amie Roberts speaks to Teacher about how this approach empowers all students.

‘As teachers work to address student learning needs, student engagement emerges as a key consideration for effective practice.’ In this article, 3 primary teachers share how being given time and support to explore this aspect of their teaching changed the way they thought about student learning.

In this Q&A, we speak to Rob Walker, Deputy President of the New South Wales Primary Principal’s Association, about how its statewide initiative is responding to the needs of school leaders by helping staff and parents to recognise and respond to anxiety in children.

Welcome back to a new year of Teacher content. As usual, we are kicking things off with a look at some of the significant events, celebrations and themes for 2024 that you can use in your lesson planning. As well as the key dates in each term, we’ve also included links to more information and resources.

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.

We’re right at the beginning of a new school year here in Australia. That means most of you are busy setting up your classrooms, meeting new students and establishing relationships with them and their families. In today’s podcast special, we’ve spoken with several winners from last year’s Teacher Awards to ask them their most valuable tips, strategies and priorities for starting the school year off right.