Government Education Portal - Australia

ABC Radio National - EdPod  

URL:  http://www.abc.net.au/rn/edpod/

Category:  National 

ABC Radio National's podcasts on education are published on this website. EdPod presents a mix of education stories, from early childhood to the end of secondary school. EdPod examines new education ideas, and asks whether things could or should be done differently. The audio for each program is available to download. Users may also subscribe to the podcast feed.

Achieving Educational Soundness in the Digital Age  

URL:  http://www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/...ngedsoundnesspaper.pdf

Category:  National 

This paper from Susan Atkins of the Learning Federation, explores the challenges of developing digital educational materials for the Australian and New Zealand schools sector, and provides useful information derived from hands-on experience for others contemplating the task.

Attitudes to Teaching as a Career  

URL:  http://www.dest.gov.au/...ofiles/attitudes_teaching_as_career.htm

Category:  National  Education reports 

The report is a synthesis of recent Australian and international research on the attitudes of teachers, students and parents to teaching as a career. The research shows that, while people who have chosen teaching as a career are chiefly motivated by 'intrinsic' rewards such as wanting to 'make a difference', enjoyment of children, etc, extrinsic factors such as remuneration, workload, employment conditions and status are the most significant factors influencing people not to choose teaching, and to leave the profession.

Australian Certificate of Education: Exploring a way forward  

URL:  http://www.dest.gov.au/...es/australian_certificate_education.htm

Category:  Initiatives  National 

In June 2005, the Australian Government commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), led by Professor Geoff Masters, to investigate and report on models for an Australian Certificate of Education. The report of this investigation is now available for download. The report analyses different models for a national certificate and sets out a clear proposal for an Australian Certificate of Education that would be available to all senior secondary school students, regardless of where they live in Australia.

Australian Educational Computing  

URL:  http://www.acce.edu.au/item.asp?pid=1120

Category:  National  Research and Publications 

Australian Educational Computing is the journal of the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE).

Australian History Summit  

URL:  http://www.dest.gov.au/...y_issues/australian_history/default.htm

Category:  National  Initiatives 

The purpose of the The Australian History Summit is to research ways of strengthening the place and maintaining the integrity of Australian history in the school curriculum. There are two papers for consideration: one on what is currently set to be taught in primary and secondary schools, and one on the rationale for, and outline of, a narrative approach to Australian History in schools. The Australian History Summit discussion papers are available for download, as well as the media release and the list of participants.

Australian School Science Education National Action Plan, 2008-2012  

URL:  http://www.dest.gov.au/...ian_School_Education_Plan_2008_2012.htm

Category:  National 

The Australian School Science Education National Action Plan 2008-2012 is the outcome of a project to map key school science initiatives across the country, to identify gaps and recommend actions to improve science education. It has been presented to state and territory education authorities with the aim of achieving agreement about priority actions to be pursued through national collaborative efforts. The report, in two voumes, is available to download.

Balancing Approaches: Revisiting the Educational Psychology Research on Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties  

URL:  http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/AER_48-BalancingApproaches.pdf

Category:  National  Literacy and numeracy policy and reports  National  Education reports 

This review of research into the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills to students with learning difficulties asserts that there is no one single instructional method that deserves sole claim to being 'best practice.' Instead, the common wisdom of research points to the need for balanced approaches to accommodate the diverse needs of students. The report examines what contemporary research, largely meta-analyses from the field of educational psychology, says about the often controversial and much debated field of how best to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills to students with learning difficulties. It identifies current limitations in Australian research and calls for some changes in teacher training.

Beyond the Horseless Carriage: Harnessing the Potential of ICT in Education and Training  

URL:  http://www.educationau.edu.au/...apers/horseless_carriages_GW.pdf

Category:  Education reports  National 

This paper suggests that the use of ICT has changed our conventional way of understanding learning and proposes the need to rethink education in terms of a more current context. Beyond the Horseless Carriages was first published as a paper for the Board of education.au limited on 28 January 2005, and following wide consultation has been republished for general readership.

Boys: Getting it Right. Report on the Inquiry into the Education of Boys  

URL:  http://www.aph.gov.au/...se/committee/edt/Eofb/report/fullrpt.pdf

Category:  National 

Getting it Right is an October 2002 report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training Inquiry into the Education of Boys. Issues addressed include: Boys and literacy attainment; School retention and early leaving; Suspension from school and truancy; Gendered patterns of subject choice; Year 12 performance; Indigenous boys; and tertiary education.