Student welfare

In his first Teacher column Professor Martin Westwell, Chief Executive of the South Australian Department for Education, discusses a worrying trend in education and PISA 2022 evidence that ‘our greatest strength in education is the professional judgement of our teachers’.

One of the topics in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) student questionnaire is the quality of student-teacher relationships. This infographic looks at the responses of Australian students in the 2022 test cycle, by state and territory.

Some of our 2024 Teacher Awards winners join us in this special podcast episode, where they share their top tips for starting the new year. From reading recommendations to leadership tips for welcoming and supporting staff for the new year, there’s something in this episode for everyone. 

If your students don’t ask questions or seek clarification in class, does it mean they understand, or that they’re not comfortable speaking up when they’re unsure about something being taught? The latest PISA 2022 international insights report explores student use of learning strategies, motivation for learning and self-confidence.

We know, from a decade of Teacher reader survey feedback, how important the topic of wellbeing in schools is to educators. In this article, we find out how the winners of the Teacher Awards 2024 Improving Health and Wellbeing Award are improving student wellbeing in their context.

Improving students’ academic achievement goes hand-in-hand with supporting their health and wellbeing. In Episode 56 of our School Improvement podcast series, we’re focusing on grief and loss education. We’ll be hearing about an evidence-based program that’s helping a high school in regional New South Wales support its students with these issues.

Educators refer to multiple forms of student data to help them plan out the next steps in teaching and learning, including informal feedback, classroom conversations and written assessments. As Dr Anne Knowles explains in this reader submission, student drawings could also be a useful addition to your toolkit.

In this series, we look at some further readings available on a particular topic, including open access research papers from various online databases, and Teacher archive content you might not have come across yet. This month, we’re looking at the topic of Health and PE.

As a teacher or school leader, what are the mental health needs of your students? How do you promote mental health and wellbeing? What would a whole-school approach look like in your own context? Educational and Developmental Psychologist Dr Jane Kirkham shares details of an organisational tool called the ‘Wellbeing Tree’.

In yesterday’s reader submission, Dr Sunaina Sharma and Wendy Lang discussed their high school students’ anxiety over oral presentations. In this second article, the Ontario teachers share 4 strategies they’ve implemented to build the same speaking and listening skills while reducing the stress level.