Exploring the Factors that Impact Students' Transitions to University in Australia

There are prominent gaps in educational opportunities and academic outcomes in the Australian education system. The government has made efforts to narrow the gaps and increase the proportion of Australians with higher education qualifications. However, disadvantaged students still lack access to educational opportunities and resources, and are underrepresented in university populations. This essay explores the influential factors that can affect young people's academic and transition outcomes, which involve students' socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, engagement in extra-curricular activities and geographical locations. This essay also mainly draws on Bourdieu's theory on social and cultural capital to explain the associations between those factors and students' transitions to university in Australia.

School Autonomy Policies Lead to Increases in Principal Autonomy and Job Satisfaction

We explore whether decentralization of decision-making influences school principals’ subjective experience of autonomy, job demands, burnout, and job satisfaction. Using six-years of longitudinal data, we used two Australian education reforms as a natural experiment of the effect of decentralization. Exploiting state-to-state variation in the policies, we used difference-in-differences models, finding that the decentralization policies had a small influence on increasing self-perceptions of autonomy without increasing job demands. We also found that the policies had a small positive effect on job satisfaction.

Teaching Secondary Mathematics

Secondary mathematics teachers working in the Australian education sector are required to plan lessons that engage with students of different genders, cultures and levels of literacy and numeracy. Teaching Secondary Mathematics engages directly with the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers to help preservice teachers develop lesson plans that resonate with students. This edition has been thoroughly revised and features a new chapter on supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students by incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and ways of knowing into lessons. Chapter content is supported by new features including short-answer questions, opportunities for reflection and in-class activities. Further resources, additional activities, and audio and visual recordings of mathematical problems are also available for students on the book's companion website. Teaching Secondary Mathematics is the essential guide for preservice mathematics teachers who want to understand the complex and ever-changing Australian education landscape.

Buddhism in Australia

Buddhism comprised 2.4 percent of the Australian population at the most recent census in 2016. While reflection on Buddhism’s growth in Australia is recorded as early as 1961, the first major body of work in the field was documentation of the early history in Buddhism in Australia, 1848–1988 (Croucher 1989 [cited under History]). The study of Buddhism in Australia has grown since the 1990s, with a small number of books and academic theses now available. An edited volume, Buddhism in Australia: Traditions in Change (Rocha and Barker 2011) [cited under Overviews]) provides a significant addition in showcasing a broad range of work from researchers and leading teachers. “Bibliography: Buddhism in Australia” (Fitzpatrick, et al. 2012 [cited under History]) provides a bibliography of all the works in the field that records more than ninety academic publications and forty other resources. A total of forty of these were completed between 2003 and 2012, and it would be reasonable to assume that approximately forty more have been added from 2012 to 2021, suggesting that there are now more than 175 studies relevant to this field. This review of key works in the field focuses on five areas: Overviews, History, Major Schools, Buddhist Identity, and Expressions of Buddhism. The history section ranges from historical overviews to community profiles, culminating in the exploration in “The Buddhist Council of Victoria and the Challenges of Recognizing Buddhism as a Religion in Australia” (Cousens 2011 [cited under History]) on the efforts to encourage government recognition of Buddhism as a designated religion in Australia. As for many countries in Europe and North America, a wide range of Buddhist schools took root through various means, and examination of these has increased to enable the section on major schools to encompass at least one work on most major traditions, often by researchers who are also practitioners. Consideration of the diversity of Buddhist traditions represented in Australia leads into the section Buddhist Identity, which includes studies on both immigrant identity and conversion in relation to Buddhist practice. The final section contains references dealing with how aspects of Buddhist teachings have been expressed in practice, including feminism, engaged Buddhism, and incorporation into Australian education systems. “Women and Ultramodern Buddhism in Australia” (Halafoff, et al. 2018 [cited under Expressions of Buddhism]) provides a valuable update and new perspective on the role of women in Australian Buddhist history, and The Buddha Is in the Street: Engaged Buddhism in Australia (Sherwood 2003 [cited under Expressions of Buddhism]) illustrates expressions of engaged Buddhism in the Australian context.

The Value of the Scenario Analysis Tool and Futures Thinking to Assist Systematic Change

<p>This article examines the benefits of scenario analysis and futures thinking in assisting systematic change, as well as the effects and challenges of new disruptive digital technologies. New approaches to education and schooling should be considered in identifying the objectives and goals for young Australians' education today and in the future in order to address and achieve such aims. It has been proposed that there are a number of moments when educators are ‘touching the future,' and that scenario analysis and futures thinking can help predict the new shape of Australian education.</p>

The Value of the Scenario Analysis Tool and Futures Thinking to Assist Systematic Change

<p>This article examines the benefits of scenario analysis and futures thinking in assisting systematic change, as well as the effects and challenges of new disruptive digital technologies. New approaches to education and schooling should be considered in identifying the objectives and goals for young Australians' education today and in the future in order to address and achieve such aims. It has been proposed that there are a number of moments when educators are ‘touching the future,' and that scenario analysis and futures thinking can help predict the new shape of Australian education.</p>

Indonesian learners in Australian education environment: perceptions, challenges, and resilience

With the economic development of Indonesia in the recent years, there has been a large number of Indonesian students continue their higher education in overseas countries, particularly Australia. Hence, examining their perceptions, challenges and experiences to adapt to the Australian English learning environment becomes an interesting attribute to explore. Drawing on this issue, the in-hand study explores how Indonesian learners dealt with challenges and difficulties in Australian education environment. Employing a qualitative research, this study involved eight Indonesian learners enrolled in English language programs in a number of Australian universities. Using interview as the instrument, the findings showed that the participants perceived a positive perception toward the communication activities during the teaching and learning practices; however, they encountered some difficulties related to grammar instruction within communicative practice. The results of interview further revealed that most of the learning difficulties they experienced were due to their prior exposure and habit to Indonesian teaching and learning styles. The participants further conveyed that enhancing English ability and building confidence were two most possible ways to deal with the difficulties. These results contribute as fruitful insights for teachers to be aware of different learners’ styles and needs, particularly those coming from various cultural backgrounds, so that they could engage in more interactive teaching and learning activities.

Understanding the characteristics of professional development programs for teachers’ health and wellbeing: Implications for research and practice

Professional development (PD) provides an opportunity to promote the psychological, social, and physical health tools teachers require to maintain teacher wellbeing. Despite their potential, little is known about PD programs targeting the health and wellbeing of Australian teachers. This study aimed to summarize the characteristics of Australian PD programs targeted at teacher wellbeing, identify gaps in existing PD and make recommendations for future research and practice. Three search strategies, (1) search engine results, (2) a manual search of known Australian education websites, and (3) requests for information from Australian education organizations, were combined to ensure a comprehensive inventory of PD programs was compiled. This study found 63 PD programs promoting health and wellbeing that currently exist for Australian teachers. Of these, only three provided evidence of their evaluation indicating programs are advertised and implemented without evidence of their effectiveness. Future PD should be evaluated with findings of the evaluations reported publicly so evidence-based programs promoting teacher’s health and wellbeing can be recommended and implemented.

Building Inclusive Education Workforce Capability: School Principals’ Perceptions of Roles and Responsibilities

Inclusive education workforce capability is the ability of the education workforce to meet individual student learning needs, regardless of educational context. In this study, we investigated the perceptions of 12 principals in Australian education settings on their views about roles and responsibilities related to the workforce’s preparedness for inclusive education. We used thematic analysis to identify 9 major themes and 3 subthemes across the 3 roles about which participants were asked: the principal’s role, the system’s role, and the teacher registration boards’ role. The findings indicated a number of areas of concern for these principals about ensuring the capability of the education workforce in the context of extensive student diversity. In summary, results indicated that principals, systems, and teacher registration boards each have a role in building inclusive education workforce capability, with a coordinated effort more likely to bring Australia closer to its pledge of inclusive education for all students.