When the kids of teen mums go to school, both mum and child can cop stigma
When teenage girls fall pregnant, many report facing stigma from teachers and peers at their own school. What’s less well known, however, is that the stigma often continues at the school their child attends, and often long after the mother has aged out of her teen years. A growing body of research, including my own […]
Despite improvements to early education, more children are starting school developmentally behind. What’s going on?
Maskot/Getty Images So far, 2025 has been a horror year for early education and care. Much of the recent media and political coverage about childcare has focused on safety. This is understandable, given the numerous, shocking allegations of abuse in the sector. But early childhood education should be doing more than keeping children safe. It […]
The ANU was set up to be a ‘national asset’. Here are 3 ways it can return to its original mission
The Australian National University is one of the most prestigious universities in Australia and is regularly ranked among the world’s best. Despite this pedigree, it has recently been embroiled in ongoing controversies. This includes a restructure to try to save A$250 million, including mass redundancies and the closure of nationally significant research programs. The ANU […]
NSW daycares face whopping $500k fines. Will this ensure safety?
The New South Wales government has proposed huge fines to crack down on childcare providers who breach safety rules. New laws, introduced to state parliament on Wednesday, would increase the maxiumum fine to A$500,000 for large providers (who own 25 or more services) that don’t comply with safety regulations. This is a 900% increase on […]
New research shows Year 12 students face many pressures – far beyond study and exams
Westend61/ Getty Images The federal government wants to increase the number of Australians who complete tertiary study from 60% to 80% by 2050. To do this we will need more young people going to university after they finish school. But this is not necessarily straightforward or easy. We know the final year of school can […]
How do we get more Year 12s doing maths?
Black ice/ Pexels , CC BY Mathematics has been the broccoli of school subjects for generations of Australian teenagers. Often pushed aside, dreaded, or even feared, nearly one third of students opt out of any senior maths courses. This has serious implications for Australia’s future. As an Australian Academy of Science report warned on Thursday, […]
Autistic students say they want schools to focus on their strengths – not their diagnosis
DGLimages/ Getty Images An increasing number of young Australians are autistic. About 4.4% of children aged to 10 to 14 years and 3.4% of older teens have an autism diagnosis. While research shows including autistic students in mainstream education benefits all students, autistic learners still face academic and social challenges. Too often, efforts aimed at […]
Some unis are moving away from in-person lectures. Here’s why that’s not such a bad thing
Maskot/Getty Images Students have been protesting to keep in-person lectures at the newly amalgamated Adelaide University next year. University representatives say Adelaide University will not remove face-to-face lectures but “rework” the traditional format in line with research on how students learn. This could include quizzes, group discussions or self-paced-learning modules. Whether lectures are on-campus or […]
From daycare through to uni, we’ve all had this type of teacher
AJ_Watt/Getty Images Casual and contract workers are crucial teachers to Australians of all ages: from infants and young kids at daycare, to children at school, to being key educators for adults at universities and TAFEs. Casual staff or those on fixed-term contracts are needed in early childhood to ensure there are enough qualified educators to […]
Uni students are using AI to ‘ask stupid questions’ and get feedback on their work
Imagine a student working on an assignment and they are stuck. Their lecturer or tutor is not available. Or maybe they feel worried about looking silly if they ask for help. So they turn to ChatGPT for feedback instead. In mere moments they will have an answer, which they can prompt for further clarification if […]