Short articles

‘… Ukraine’s efforts to reimagine the professional learning journey of its extraordinary teachers is a reminder to us all: the strength of an education system depends on the strength of its teaching profession.’ OECD Director of Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher shares news from an ambitious stakeholder conference in Kyiv.

At ACER’s Research Conference 2025, poster presenter Peter Axford – a Senior Teacher at Malanda State High School and PhD candidate at James Cook University – showcased his research exploring an agency approach to student engagement with the curriculum. Here he shares the impetus for this research and how the findings influenced his own classroom practice.

The largest ever study on the job ambitions of 15-year-olds has revealed a stark mismatch between teenagers’ career expectations, education choices and labour market demands. In particular, the newly released OECD data show more needs to be done to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

How can teachers meaningfully integrate Indigenous perspectives? In this expert Q&A, Indigenous curriculum specialist Melissa Serrurier discusses culturally responsive teaching, making the shift from tokenism, using authentic resources, and the ways schools can respectfully build and sustain genuine partnerships with local communities.

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. 

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. 

Excursions, camps and incursions are a great way for teachers to tap into external expertise and learning experiences to support needs and complement what you’re doing in the classroom. Just like your regular lesson activities, you’ll need to plan well to get the most out of them.

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.

The Narragunnawali Awards are held every 2 years and celebrate outstanding reconciliation initiatives. With applications open for 2025, we catch up with Kim Calabrese, Principal of Winterfold Primary School, Western Australia – winners of the 2023 Schools award.