Creativity is a critical skill for problem-solving and innovation, yet its development is influenced by cultural and educational contexts. This study examines pathways to student creativity using data from 15-year-old students in Australia and Thailand who participated in PISA 2022. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed to…

Objectives: Student wellbeing is closely linked to young people's satisfaction with life at school. Wellbeing practices in an alternative learning environment take on a particularly significant role as they aim to re-engage young people who are disenfranchised from Australia's education system. The Wellbeing Project, which is described and…

Background: The importance of digital technologies for enhancing learning in formal education settings has been widely acknowledged. In the light of this expectation, it is important to investigate the effects of these technologies on students' learning and development. Purpose: This study explores longitudinal empirical research on digital…

Children with disability continue to experience disadvantage in their school lives; thus, the question of what makes up an optimal school life, and whether this is different for children with disability, becomes critical. This paper reports on research into parental views about an optimal school life and the usefulness of Social Role Valorization…

Healthy learning environments for young people are underpinned by respectful relationships. Unfortunately, Australian students who do not form reasonable relationships with peers and staff are unlikely to benefit from being at school. These students tend to disengage and are often excluded. However, a growing number of Australian schools have…

This book presents an ethnographic study of the experiences of teenage boys in an Australian high school. It follows a group of thirteen to fifteen year olds over a period of more than two years, and seeks to understand why so many boys say they hate school yet enjoy being with one another in their daily confrontations with the formal school. The…

This author's interest in philosophy derived from a passion for mathematics that developed in middle high school, which he attended in Sydney. In this article, he provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life and his involvement with the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). He states that despite the research demands of his…

There is a certain similarity between the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and the leaning tower of Pisa. Both have a certain presence on the landscape: the tower has a commanding appearance on the Italian countryside while PESA has left its mark on the academic fabric of Australasia. Both are much loved: Pisa by visiting…

Ever since eighth grade the author was deeply interested in his own education at a self-conscious level, wondering how he could find out educationally what human life was all about and how he should live his life. In this article, the author provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life. He contends that philosophy of education, as educational…

In this article, the author provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life. He states that overall his approach to teaching and researching is about "making sense" where inadequate or incongruous conceptions fall into place or are transformed so they are congruous and adequate. In his teaching the author applies the methods of…

Researchers have made convincing arguments for the benefits of a smooth transition to school. The passage through this significant social change may have a lasting influence on children's progress. For example, social, emotional and academic difficulties in the early years of schooling have been shown to persist through school and into…

This chapter attempts to survey contemporary debates and research on outcomes of schooling that have been grouped together under the convenient label "nonacademic". This is not an affirmative labeling. As the nomenclature indicates, it is not a label that groups together things that share like properties. Rather, this is a label of…

Assesses high school students' levels of dispositional optimism and pessimism, explanatory style and anger in relation to the school setting. Results suggest that anger management programs focusing on cognitive restructuring and related strategies can be a powerful means for reducing aggressive behaviors at school. (Contains 38 references.) (GCP)

Peer mediation programs in schools are an effective way for children to learn the cooperative skills of conflict solving. This paper outlines the implementation of an action research based mediation program within a primary school setting. It examines both the characteristics of successful implementation and the dilemmas of change agentry. A model…

The high levels of juvenile crime in Australian society are reflected in the schools. This paper suggests a number of issues and concepts on juvenile misbehavior which should be of interest to educators. Due to rapid changes, there is less agreement on the foundational principles of culture. It is argued that educators need to help society…