This book examines and reports the findings regarding the level of satisfaction by students, teachers and parents with an innovative senior secondary Religious Education curriculum 'Religion, Meaning and Life' (RML). The stimulus for RML is found in the changing profile of students within faith-based schools and the motivation of school…

Design education in Australia is still largely dominated by Westphalian perspectives, values, histories and ways of learning. The focus on Euro-western aesthetics, technologies, timelines and processes marginalises other identities, cultures and places. This signals to students that they should internalise, value and master dominant narratives,…

This book explores questions about the relevance of implementing curriculum in transnational vocational education, in situations where teachers are expected to maintain standards in a country for which it was not designed. It provides a situational model of curriculum implementation that explains the complexity of factors that influence teachers'…

The paper begins by drawing upon research to understand the genealogical position of dance within the school curriculum as a new 'entitlement' for all young Australians. Whilst dance is included within the Australian curriculum it has been historically marginalised as a 'soft' subject within curriculum hierarchy. This low position in the…

Sustainable education requires teaching practices and techniques that secure strong foundations in learning. The changing contexts, needs and trends of the 21st century challenge teachers to enable students to obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in an ever changing and digital world (Coklar & Yurdakul, 2017). Schools'…

Educational policy and management emphasise the role of science (e.g., earth science, geography) as a fundamental aspect of societal advance, but student enrolments at universities in these disciplines remain low. This commentary explores ways to foster more collaboration between university academics and high school teachers to implement…

The introduction of the Australian Curriculum in 2011 and 2012 brought with it a variety of responses, from consternation from some states less willing to give up their autonomous curriculum positioning through to significant optimism from educators and academics about the opportunities and benefits afforded by such a national curriculum…

What happens in schools can have a great and lasting impact on the future wellbeing and outcomes for young people. Schools therefore play an important role in supporting students' engagement and wellbeing. These elaborations are intended to support the work of schools by providing further specificity about the practices in each of the nine domains…

The new Australian Curriculum (AC) aims to prepare learners for the twenty-first century and in doing so, emphasize the development of critical (and creative thinking) as one of the "general capabilities" of learners. Critical thinking is seen as key in preparing "students to live and work in the 21st century" and…

Three decades ago, Stephen Kemmis (1990) argued that curricula provide insights into how nations and states interpret themselves and how they want to be interpreted. He also noted that 'debates about curriculum reveal fundamental concerns, uncertainties and tensions which preoccupy nations and states as they struggle to adapt to changing…

Images of children as strong and capable rights-holders have nestled comfortably into the vernacular of early childhood education and care discourses. Promoting a view of children as entitled to contribute to decisions that affect them, these images are now framing themes of many curricular guides and learning frameworks. The inclusion of infants…

Formative assessment is strongly advocated as a critical component of Australian teachers' work. This article examines the evolving policy expectations and support for teachers' formative assessment practices in the context of two recent Australian education reforms: the introduction of the first national curriculum and of new professional…

The idea for this paper emerged from a recent qualitative investigation which examined the ways in which six Australian primary teachers conceptualised geography and geography teaching (Preston, 2014b). A finding of this research was a strong correlation between the breadth of geographical understandings and the years of experience and age of…

The field of neuroscience has been evolving constantly and at a rapid pace in the recent past. Consequently, neuroscientists have put forth a wealth of knowledge in relation learning and education in general. In this context, how can we as educators benefit from the emerging evidence from neuroscience so that we can take a significant step forward…

The Assessment Issue of "English in Australia" has prompted Brenton Doecke to ask himself about significant moments in the history of subject English in Australia when truly innovative work was done in the area of assessing English. There are many examples to choose from, including Brian Johnston's "Assessing English: Helping…