This study reports on two key aspects relating to the use of the Online Learning Readiness Self-Check (OLRSC) survey, which has been proposed as identifying non-traditional students' readiness for online learning, and their strengths and weaknesses in six key areas. The first aspect validates the use of the instrument based on data from 199…

This paper considers the pedagogical collaborations between early childhood teachers in kindergarten (4 years) and the first year of school (5 years) in one Australian State. We report on a year-long project that brought these early childhood teachers together as we asked them to design STEM learning ecologies that would not only support new…

Enabling education is an enactment of Australia's attempts to address inequity in higher education (HE), offering free, alternative pathways to students who do not enter through the 'traditional' school-university pathway. Each Australian enabling program is different in terms of size, design, curricula and length, meaning that there is…

Meaningful and enjoyable experiences are important in the education of children. In this qualitative case study, the garden program (incl. market garden shop, garden care, Kid's Kitchen, and chicken coop) in one Australian primary school was explored to determine its impact on the mathematical learning of children. Data were collected using focus…

A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 219 speech-language therapists (SLTs) to explore their views and practices when working with children and adolescents who have literacy difficulties. They were recruited via 11 workshops hosted by Speech Pathology Australia, held across Australia and completed the survey prior to attending their…

Mature-age postgraduate students are those who are late to higher education or have returned to postgraduate study after an educational hiatus in industry. While some mature-age students seek a postgraduate qualification out of extrinsic motivations such as for vocational reasons, there are older non-traditional students who seek higher status;…

This paper engages with the early childhood-school relationship. The relationship has a long-standing history of being defined by a series of divisions and separations. Research has identified the divisions and separations to be largely determined by differences around concepts of learning and pedagogy. Discursive analyses of these differences…

Researchers have argued that there are strong links between primary school students' competence with fraction concepts and operations and their algebraic readiness. This study involving 162 Years 5/6 students in three primary schools examined the strength of that relationship using a test based on familiar fraction tasks and a test of algebraic…

This paper revolves on the premise that teachers' adoption of developmental model is more likely to improve student learning and performance as compared to the utilization of deficit approach. Deficit or clinical approach to learning has the tendency to focus on things that students cannot do, thus followed by teacher prescriptions of a…

Numeracy needs of nursing students are often underestimated by students when they enter university. Even when students are aware of the mathematics required, students underestimate or overestimate the skills they have. Research has highlighted the mathematics and numeracy skills required of nurses and nursing students and numerous studies have…

A quick polling initiative was tested in finance classes using multiple choice questions to determine whether it can improve student interaction and engagement in a large class. Students (n = 446) responded using either a smartphone app (53%) or by using pen and paper (47%). Immediate feedback was provided to students using charts that were…

A pilot study was conducted in a regional university setting to promote awareness of the value of affective teaching and learning amongst staff and students. Academic staff and students from diverse disciplines at University of South Australia's (UniSA) Centre for Regional Engagement (CRE) were recruited to the study. The research investigated…

This paper details the early childhood transition activities of three schools in southern Queensland, Australia, as reported by school administrators. The transition programs were analysed using the categories of the Transition to School Matrix of the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education. Activities fell into the first four categories…

This rapid review of research evidence was commissioned by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to investigate the issue of relative age in the international context. The review findings are drawn from 18 research studies published from 2000 to 2008 and carried out in Australia, Chile, the United Kingdom and the USA together with…

This study investigated the extent to which learning readiness, prior-to-school experiences, and child and family characteristics influence children's literacy and numeracy achievement across the first year of primary school. A sample of 104 kindergarten children was recruited from 16 classrooms and followed from the beginning to the end of their…