It is widely acknowledged that graduates need to develop skills and competences beyond the theoretical knowledge nurtured within higher education curricula. In the last twenty years there has been an increased interest in supporting learners with work-based learning (WBL) (e.g. apprenticeships, practice-based lab sessions, project-based learning).…

Purpose: This study provides insight into the nature of peer-mentoring opportunities for teacher candidates, including common challenges and benefits that can be used to inform best practices for implementing peer-mentoring programs by higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative interviews were conducted to glean…

Capacity to teach the arts is a problem reported by many teachers in primary (elementary) school settings in Australia. This paper reports on research which explored how to build primary school teachers' capacity in arts-based pedagogy. It outlines the design and development of a co-mentoring program between arts mentor practitioners and…

Research has shown that academic integrity education programs can have a positive impact on student attitudes and reduce breaches of academic integrity. Although programs vary across institutions, there is relatively little research on their comparative efficacy. Accordingly, this study examines how higher education institutions in Australia and…

Museums are a place of experiential and inquiry learning for young children. We know that children's experiences at museums can provide novel opportunities to interact with rare artefacts, can extend concepts explored in early childhood curricula and encourage knowledge sharing with families. Research on the efficacy or outcomes of museum programs…

We describe a space industry work experience program and report on the design, implementation, and evaluation of this program, including its purposes, organisation, participants -- hosts and students -- and its outcomes. The program was a collaboration between the South Australian Department for Education, the South Australian Space Industry…

This handbook provides a global overview of the design, implementation and assessment of academic development centers within higher education institutions. The current nature of our complex, rapidly changing world makes it imperative that colleges and universities worldwide find ways to educate their students in new and better ways: this is…

This article draws on findings from a national review of the evaluation of access and equity initiatives across Australian higher education to argue that utilising responsive mixed methods focused on the values of participants enables crucial understanding of what matters to the people involved. Based on the evidence collected, a "what…

In this paper, we present the results from a study of the impact on students involved in a large-scale inquiry-based astronomical high school education intervention in Australia. Students in this intervention were led through an educational design allowing them to undertake an investigative approach to understanding the lifecycle of stars more…

The introduction of outcomes-based vocational education in schools can have significant impact on the management and delivery of education and training. These impacts are not limited to classroom practice, and extend to the fields of policy and system coordination. This article reports on the results of a major trial of outcomes-oriented…

Background: Adults with severe challenging behaviour can achieve good "quality of life" outcomes in small supported accommodation services. Yet, the research indicates that they typically experience poorer outcomes than other adults with intellectual disability. This raises questions about the degree to which research has informed…

The potential for music programs to promote psychosocial wellbeing in mainstream schools is recognised in both policy and research literature. Despite this recognition, there is a dearth of consistent research evidence supporting this link. Authors attribute this lack of consistent evidence to limitations in the areas of research design and…

The current paper retrospectively evaluates the efficacy of implementing a large-scale music education program into a regional cluster of Victorian primary schools. The program's primary aim was to increase access and quality of music education for students in these rural schools. The methods utilized to evaluate the program and the discrepancies…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show that the "Back on Track" program is designed to support students with a chronic illness (usually cancer) to maintain contact with their school and peers whilst undergoing treatment, to promote socio-emotional wellbeing and to facilitate the ease of return to school when they are well. An…

This article describes a six-session program designed to help seven Australian young adults (ages 18-21) with Down syndrome understand friendships better. During the sessions, students explored and discussed various types of friendships and the emotions associated with them, using the students' own experiences and videos in conjunction with…