‘Microaggressions’ can fly under the radar in schools. Here’s how to spot them and respond
Klaus Vedfelt/ Getty Images Bullying is sadly a common experience for Australian children and teenagers. It is estimated at least 25% experience bullying at some point in their schooling. The impacts can be far-reaching and include depression and anxiety, poorer school performance, and poorer connection to school. The federal government is currently doing a “rapid […]
Assessment in the age of AI – unis must do more than tell students what not to do
Matheus Bertelli/ Pexels , CC BY In less than three years, artificial intelligence technology has radically changed the assessment landscape. In this time, universities have taken various approaches, from outright banning the use of generative AI, to allowing it in some circumstances, to allowing AI by default. But some university teachers and students have reported […]
What can you do if you don’t like your child’s friends?
Getty Images/ Wander Woman Collective Many parents will be familiar with this situation: your child has a good or even best friend, but you don’t like them. Perhaps the friend is bossy, has poor manners or jumps on your furniture. Maybe you don’t like the way your child behaves when they are with this friend. […]
‘No one knew what was happening’: new research shows how domestic violence harms young people’s schooling
Taiki Ishikawa/ Unsplash, CC BY Every school around Australia is almost certain to have students who are victim-survivors of family and domestic violence. The 2023 Australian Child Maltreatment Study found neglect and physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children is widespread. Among Australians aged 16–65 years, 32% experienced physical abuse, 28.5% experienced sexual abuse, 39% […]
Victorian principals will soon be able to expel students for out-of-school behaviour – is this a good idea?
Burdun Iliya/Shutterstock When does a school’s responsibility for student behaviour end? Is it at 3pm when the bell goes? Or does a school still have to respond to harmful behaviour after hours? The Victorian government has announced new powers for government school principals to suspend or expel students for serious misbehaviour beyond the school grounds. […]
Australian kids BYO lunches to school. There is a healthier way to feed students
Getty Images/ courtneyk Australian parents will be familiar with this school morning routine: hastily making sandwiches or squeezing leftovers into containers, grabbing a snack from the cupboard and a piece of fruit from the counter. This would be unheard of in many other countries, including Finland, Sweden, Scotland, Wales, Brazil and India, which provide free […]
With a government review underway, we have to ask why children bully other kids
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock The federal government has launched a “rapid review” to look at what works to prevent bullying in schools. Led by mental health experts, the review will underpin a new national standard to respond to bullying. This follows the death of a young Sydney school student last year. It also comes as the Queensland government […]
Researchers created a chatbot to help teach a university law class – but the AI kept messing up
Mikhail Nilov/ Pexels , CC BY “AI tutors” have been hyped as a way to revolutionise education. The idea is generative artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT) could adapt to any teaching style set by a teacher. The AI could guide students step-by-step through problems and offer hints without giving away answers. It could then […]
Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt is ‘scared’ about Australia’s research capacity – this is why
On Wednesday, Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt and economics professor Richard Holden gave a joint address to the National Press Club in Canberra. Their key message? Australia isn’t spending enough money on university research. Schmidt wants to ensure Australia can undertake research vital to our national interests. “I look around and I am scared,” Schmidt said. […]
The ‘3 day guarantee’ for childcare starts next year. The challenge could be finding quality care
One of the Albanese government’s headline election policies was a “three-day guarantee” for childcare. From January 5 2026, all eligible Australian families will be able to access at least three days of subsidised early education and care until a child starts school. Labor will also remove the “activity test” requiring parents to work or study […]