Research news

New research from academics at the University of the Sunshine Coast shows that maths and science educators can use visual cues in nature like animal trails and patterns to explore both simple and complex mathematical concepts with students. 

New findings from a survey of over 700 teachers across 95 primary schools in New South Wales shine a light on their current understanding and own experience of music education. Here are some of the survey results on teacher confidence and professional learning. 

As a teacher, how confident are you when it comes to classroom management? A new report released today explores teacher self-efficacy in classroom management. It’s a great prompt for thinking about your own skills, practices and professional development needs, and if you have a leadership role, those of your team.

It has been well established that student absenteeism has a negative impact on learning outcomes and other students in the class. But what about on other members of the school community, namely teaching staff? New research explores the link between student absenteeism and teacher job satisfaction. 

In this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings, we’re sharing 5 pieces of content on the topic of outdoor and environmental education. In the below resources, you can read about the experience of one Australian school introducing a hybrid model for year 7 camp, access an open-access book offering practical advice for teaching outdoor education, and more.

As a school leader, have you consulted your students, staff and community members on the topic of student attendance and engagement? New research has explored First Nations student engagement and attendance in remote Australian schools by gathering valuable insights from those on the ground.

We speak often about the importance of students having an adequate amount of food to help them focus and learn during the school day. But what about teachers? In today’s podcast special, we’re joined by Tammie Jakstas, former teacher and Accredited Practising Dietitian, to hear about her teacher nutrition study.

‘By focusing on future-orientated education, we can find innovative solutions to the megatrends our planet faces.’ In his first Teacher column for 2025, OECD Director for Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher shares finding from the latest Trends Shaping Education report, and the implications for teachers, school leaders, students and policymakers.

A US study has explored the different reasons why pre-service teachers (PSTs) decided to pursue a teaching career. Researchers analysed roughly 2,800 essay responses and identified 10 ‘supertopics’. The most common supertopic, appearing in nearly 60% of essays, was ’altruism’, followed by ‘intrinsic motivation’. This infographic gives an overview of the results.

We know the global teacher shortage is impacting many different school contexts, and that encouraging young people to consider a career in teaching is an important part of the long-term picture. Dr Tracy Woodroffe joins us to discuss her 12-month research project that gathered perspectives from Aboriginal students and teachers. These perspectives informed recommendations to encourage more Aboriginal young people in the Northern Territory to consider teaching.