Equal education

What challenges do teachers face when delivering inclusive education? How could we begin to address this? In the first of two articles on the topic, Dr Erin Leif, Dr Laura Alfrey and Dr Christine Grove from Monash University explore these questions.

The majority of 15-year-olds living in Australia expect to be working in a professional occupation when they are 30 years old, but there is a large divide between the expectations of students from advantaged and disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, according to a new ACER report.

Whether it's completing homework assignments, preparing for exams, or being required to study remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, teenage students often need to complete school work at home. But, how many have access to a desk and a quiet place to study? What about those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds?

Dr Gary Stager joins Teacher to discuss his 30-year study into laptop use in schools. We discuss the challenges they faced in the early 1990s in the implementation of the program, how students engaged with the technology in the early days, but also what he’s learned about the way computers are used in schools today.

‘In a digital society threatened by various disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, lifelong learning attitudes have become even more crucial in fostering the resilience and adaptation of youngsters.’ In his latest Teacher column, Andreas Schleicher discusses how teachers, schools, education systems and parents can influence the development of lifelong learning attitudes.

Is school a safe place for gender and sexuality diverse students to be themselves? In today’s Q&A, Western Sydney University researcher Dr Jacqueline Ullman shares findings from her report Free2Be…Yet?, a follow-up to 2015’s Free2Be?. It details the findings from a second nationwide survey of gender and sexuality diverse Australian secondary school students.

The 12 finalists for the annual WISE Awards have been announced, with organisations across the world being recognised for tackling a pressing education need in their communities in innovative ways. Here, we share some of the finalists working to meet the needs of students in K-12.

Research has found that educators working in primary schools in Australia lack the confidence and competence to address racial issues in the classroom. As well as this, white normative teaching and the belief that minimising discussions about racism is better than drawing attention to them are common behaviours. In this podcast, we discuss the role of school leaders in addressing these behaviours, and how teachers can confront their own biases.

A refugee student mentoring program has proved to be successful with South Sudanese students at a school in New South Wales. Here, Greg Whitby sits down with Melinda Bowd to discuss how the program supported students by preparing them for life after school.

In his latest Teacher column, OECD Director for Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher shares preliminary findings from the organisation’s Special Survey on how systems have responded to the pandemic – from school closures and remote learning, to teacher vaccination and gradual returns to in-class instruction.