The literature concerning pre-service training in music education for generalist primary or elementary school teachers reveals a long-standing problem for teacher educators: low or poor self-efficacy concerning the teaching of classroom music. Concurrently, a critical examination of training programmes has less often featured, with only limited…

Engagement with video games can potentially advance student digital competence however, there is a digital skills gap by the time young people progress into adolescence. This current research explores how elementary school students' digital self-efficacy might relate to experiences in video game environments to influence perceptions of digital…

The present study examined age-related differences in bystander reactions within the context of peer exclusion of national ingroup (British) and immigrant outgroup (Australian or Turkish) peers. The immigrant peers were from nations that varied in terms of their perceived intergroup status in Britain. Participants were British children (n = 110,…

Providing adequate writing instruction and practice in schools is an essential cornerstone of writing development and it affords a diagnostic approach for teachers. But what writing instruction is being practiced in Australian primary schools? The aim of this study was to survey a sample of teachers (n = 310) about their instructional practices…

The purpose of this study was to examine the reverse pathway dynamics between teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction from a cross-country perspective. By recognizing the sparseness of empirical studies on the reciprocal relation between self-referent assessment of capabilities and job satisfaction, a model of reciprocal determinism between…

The literature on play and learning attests many developmental benefits for children. The Australian curriculum endorses play-based learning (PBL) as an age-appropriate teaching pedagogy. However, what enables or prevents PBL in the classroom is not well documented. The present study examined the responses of 334 teachers currently employed in…

Teachers play a critical role in the implementation of inclusive education in their schools. In this paper, we report on a study that investigated teacher perceptions of their capabilities to implement effective inclusive practices in their classrooms at an urban, primary (elementary) school in south-east Queensland, Australia. Participating…

As a myriad of student-centred practices in primary science education have been established as valuable, effective cornerstones of teachers' repertoires, there is now space to further consider student choice in science education. This paper seeks to examine the role of student choice in primary science education by exploring the relationship…

This qualitative survey study set out to investigate in-service and pre-service primary school teachers' perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children's literature in mathematics teaching and learning in an Australian educational context. While research over the past three decades have documented pedagogical benefits of…

The "Maker" movement is a cultural as well as educational phenomenon that has the potential to offer significant opportunities to students in conditions of social, economic and cultural disadvantage. The research reported in this paper, however, suggests that the simple provision of "Maker Spaces" for such activity is…

Professional development has long been viewed as crucial to sustained improvement in the quality of primary science education. This paper considers professional development beyond the context of a specific program by examining how the science teaching efficacy beliefs and practices vary between teachers who both have and have not engaged with…

This longitudinal study used regression path models to predict the influence on students' reading comprehension ability of three self-perception variables (reading self-concept; reading/English effort; academic self-handicapping); three teacher rating behaviour variables (attentive behaviour; sociable behaviour; and settled behaviour) and past…

For students to engage in mathematical thinking, a greater emphasis is needed on the expectations of students, by themselves and others, as active listeners and explainers. As student responsibility for mathematical thinking and participation increases, the roles of the teacher and learner change. A qualitative study of changing classroom…

Self-efficacy has been associated with benefits to everyday life such as resilience to stress and adversity, healthy behaviours, improved performance, and academic achievement. Research into self-efficacy development is scarce in early childhood, yet self-efficacy is associated with numerous skills and competencies taught in the early years of…

This study examined the effects of using a combination two novel technologies on the development of knowledge and understanding of ecological science concepts for a small of preservice primary teachers, who had self-identified as having low prior background knowledge in science concepts and low confidence in their abilities in teaching science.…