Australia Association for Research in Education
The truth about Terra Nullius and why First Nations people say Tudge is wrong to say we need optimism
Australia’s federal Minister for Education, Alan Tudge, will not endorse the draft national curriculum for secondary teachers of Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) because the changes are “overly negative”and could teach kids a hatred of their Country” (ABC 2021). But from a First Nations perspective, the time has come to speak the truth about what …
Why Alan Tudge is now on the history warpath
Australian children will never defend the country if the draft history curriculum is adopted. That’s the takeaway from the Federal Education Minister Allan Tudge’s speech to the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) on Friday. The minister called for yet another curriculum reform to ensure “a positive, optimistic view of Australian history”. His reasoning? “Individual students …
We struggled to make university more equal. Has that battle for equality worked now?
Australian education policy has really focussed on getting ‘equity groups’ into university and then onto completion with initiatives designed to improve access and participation. That worked. Recent data indicate that there has been growth in the university enrolment of these equity groups in the past ten years. Published studies have also found evidence for comparable …
Have we lost trust in science?
Trust in Science, Society, and the Australian State: A Crisis in the Making? “The return to school has …
Playground duty really is quality time: how joyful learning happens outside the classroom
The Quality Time Action Plan is described by the department of education as an approach intended to reduce and simplify administrative processes for teachers and provide them with more time for “high value tasks”. It is here that I have a quibble with this document and its definition of playground duty or supervision at lunch …
Not every principal will love the arts but every arts teacher does. They need support
Australians have leapt online to participate in arts events. More than 30% of Australians have engaged with arts …
‘My teacher sucks’: how teacher shortages shatter learning
Teacher shortages in NSW exist. This is a surprise to long-term casual teachers who describe permanency as a unicorn. They compete for limited positions in certain locations, sectors and KLAs (Key Learning Areas). But still the teacher shortages exist. Having worked across a range of settings, metropolitan and regional, highly competitive selective environments, metropolitan disadvantaged …
Why we must talk about teacher professionalism now
In 2016, Judyth Sachs reflected on her 2003 monograph ‘The Activist Teaching Profession’ and asked, ‘Teacher professionalism: Why are we still talking about it?‘. In that paper, she argued ‘the time for an industrial approach to the teaching profession has passed’ and made a case for ‘systems, schools and teachers to be more research active …
Will the Quality Time Action Plan reduce teacher workload?
Teachers want more time for lesson planning, not less. Last week, the NSW Department of Education released the Quality Time Action Plan, intended to “simplify administrative practices in schools”. Having highlighted the concerning growth in administrative workload in schools in a report based on a survey of more than 18,000 teachers for the NSW Teachers …
Teaching-focused academics: five ways to beat the struggle for identity
An academic career centered on teaching should not be associated with a dead-end, or second-rate professional life. It …