The future of vocational training

The VET sector is struggling to keep up with the rapid changes in industry, but while the government keeps talking about revamping vocational training, is it actually making any progress?

International students could soon outnumber domestic students at Melbourne University

The Australian university sector is increasingly reliant on funding from international students, and domestic students may be outnumbered at Melbourne University next year.

Let them play!

Children need to play and discover the world for themselves without too much restriction. Here are some ways we can enhance children’s opportunities to do this.

A chance to even the odds

A child’s destiny is heavily influenced by the lottery of socio-economic status and where they happen to grow up, but access to quality early learning can help even the odds for all Australian children.

Early childhood education is everybody’s business

The first five years of life are the most critical for building the foundations for life-long learning, well-being, and health. It is therefore critical we have policy reform and investment in quality early childhood education.

The fight to stamp out student cheating

A host of online essay mills openly advertise their services to help students cheat on their assignments. Stamping out such scams and protecting academic integrity and honest students won’t be easy, but it must be done.

There’s still a place for ‘explicit instruction’ in schools

Although modern teaching methods have long emphasised ‘discovery’ and ‘active learning’, there’s still a place for ‘explicit instruction’ in Australian classrooms, particularly when background knowledge is low and the task is difficult.

Is your child lonely at school?

Loneliness and isolation can cause serious problems, especially for children in primary and secondary school, but there are key steps that can help your child connect to the school and their peers and be happy.

It’s time to confront China’s efforts to curb Australia’s academic freedom

There is increasing concern about Chinese government interference in Australian politics, and a spotlight should also be shone on China’s malign influence on our university campuses.

Aussie parents are under pressure to buy their kids academic advantage too

A number of rich and famous American parents, including actress Felicity Huffman, have been accused of buying, bribing or lying to get their children into prestigious colleges, but Australia is also rife with parents doing everything they can to further their childrens’ education.

Preschool can help nurture tomorrow’s female engineers

We all want to turn the “no-go zones” for girls into “go zones” in preschools and develop a pipeline of female engineers. But we need foundational research to find the best ways to do this.

Early childhood development – roadblocks in the way of public policy

Even where there are no strong ideological conflicts and where there is strong evidence supporting policy reform, there may still be systemic impediments to reform. The good news is that these impediments are not permanent.