Research news

End of year exams and assessments, particularly for senior school students, can be a time of heightened stress for many. Linda Williams – Senior Psychologist and Clinical Lead at youth mental health service ReachOut – shares new survey findings on students’ exam stress, and how teachers can continue to help them through this difficult period.

A growing number of school leaders across Australia are reporting problems with unfilled teacher vacancies. The Australian Education Union’s annual ‘State of our Schools Survey’ includes a question for principals on teacher shortages. In the latest survey, 9 out of 10 principals reported experiencing a shortage of teachers in the last year – more than triple the rate in 2015. Find out more in this infographic.

Many teenage students are not getting enough sleep each night. New research from the University of South Australia has analysed the sleep habits of boarding and day students to see how they differ, and which group gets higher quality sleep. Find out more in this article.

New research shows children and young people with disability in Australia are experiencing exclusion and bullying in school settings. In this episode, we’re joined by a lead investigator of the research, Dr Catherine Smith, to find out more about the experience of children with disability in schools, and their recommendations for educators.

New research from the United States involving mathematics teacher teams in 4 schools – across a period of 4 years – investigated specific strategies that support a collaborative approach to coaching in schools that are under significant pressure to improve. Find out more in today’s article.

In this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings, we’re sharing 5 pieces of content on the topic of assessment from researchers in Australia and from overseas. You can read research into the state of assessment literacy of teachers across the globe, and a paper on early years educators’ use of phonological awareness assessment practices.

‘We examined the extent to which teacher wellbeing changes over one school term, and the role of teacher-student relationships in how these changes unfold.’ In our latest reader submission, Rebecca J Collie and Andrew J Martin, from the School of Education at UNSW, share findings from their latest study.

Australian Bureau of Statistics analysis of 2021 Australian Census data includes insights into how the teacher workforce has changed over the last 40 years. In this infographic, we share how the distribution of teachers by age and sex has changed over the past 40 years.

‘Addressing the gender imbalance in digital technologies education and careers is an important goal. The research highlighted several areas where educators can contribute.’ Research from ACER for CSIRO has identified several factors that could support greater engagement of young women in digital technologies education. Find out more in this article.

Many students face personal challenges and hardship outside the school grounds, and this can have a negative impact on their health and education. Data published in 2023 explores 2021 Census data to give insight into the estimated number of people experiencing homelessness. Here, we share some of the data relating to those under the age of 18.