Background/purpose: Positioned within the Australian context, this study explores the experiences of mentor teachers using professional standard-informed Conversation Cards to support the professional growth of pre-service teachers. With a particular focus on practical solutions, the research investigates the opportunities and challenges mentor…

Teacher education programmes struggle to attract, develop, and retain potential teachers in Science and Mathematics. The development of both academic and non-academic attributes (e.g. adaptability, empathy) during a programme can influence not only retention but the profession-readiness of graduates. This is especially important in underserved…

Students who are parents are largely invisible within the Australian higher education sector. We know little about the particular views and experiences of this group at university. This article explores the Potivations perceived challenges to success and self-identified strengths of students who are parents. Our analysis is based on eighteen…

The landscape of higher education is currently undergoing extraordinary change. Critical to informing fundamental shifts in how institutions operate and educate is an understanding of today's learners. In the wake of recent global events, the authors have observed that 'something has changed' about their students. They seem to bring different…

Media scrutiny of initial teacher education (ITE) programs in Australia has been intense in recent years, with particular attention being drawn to ITE graduate preparedness to teach. Simultaneously there is a worldwide shortage of graduate teachers to fill gaping holes in teacher workforces, and a decline in community perceptions of the role…

This paper examines the experience and role of negative emotions in facilitating university students' learning in world music courses. Based on a review of literature in music psychology and music education, we posit that negative emotions can engender a meaningful learning context. In this project conducted in an Australian university, we created…

The demand for intensive educational experiences is increasing, necessitating a focus on ensuring quality and providing adequate student support. Increasing opportunities for student collaboration, including teacher/student co-creation of learning materials, has strong potential to increase engagement and support. Given increased interest in…

This paper reports on a study that replaced marks with digital badges in an undergraduate Initial Teacher Education course. The aim was to examine the impact of badging on students, and on the quality of university provision. Data collection consisted of surveys and focus groups. The study found that while digital badges had considerable potential…

Language-specific (i.e. the ideal L2 self) and plurilingual selves are now at the forefront of scholarly inquiry in L2 motivation research. Yet, there is a lack of empirical studies examining how language learners reframe their sense of self as speakers of an L2. This study draws on a questionnaire (N = 162) and on semi-structured interviews (N =…

International student mobility (ISM) has emerged as an important field of study that various nations and organizations have been attaching great importance to. This paper studies the drivers of international student mobility, using a competing destinations model for the international student flows among 35 OECD countries in the period 2004-2018,…

Objective: To understand how competence, self-efficacy, enjoyment and motivation relates to physical activity behavior during transition from school to university. Participants: Health science students (n = 558) studying first year biology at an Australian university. Methods: Cross-sectional correlational survey design using five self-report…

Despite continuous growth in the number of positions in Australia's Information Technology (IT) industry since 2015, only half of Australia's IT graduates go on to work in IT positions. A much-debated challenge for graduates is that the transition to work is complex and often demands several attempts. Less discussed is why school students choose…

A carefully constructed method of assessment using short, formative, invigilated in-tutorial quizzes is investigated to see how successful this method is compared to previous assessment tasks. We look at whether student engagement increased, given that students who enter university often face issues with the transition from school, and engagement…

This study examines how the flipped classroom approach to teaching and learning supports or inhibits the cognitive needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy, leading to either increased or decreased levels of motivation. We use semi-structured interviews involving twenty-two students and five facilitators in an Australian university to…

Empowering students with choice when it comes to assessment is shown to have a positive impact on student satisfaction and success, with previous studies finding a more flexible approach to assessment can promote engagement and performance. However, very little is known about why students choose certain types of assessment. Building on previous…