Learning to teach out-of-field is a challenge that many teachers worldwide face at some time in their career. Whether they are motivated to seek formal professional development as additional qualifications in this area, however, depends on many factors. Alignment between the specific professional development needs of out-of-field teachers and the…

This paper looks at students' motivation and engagement in the context of the "Read Like a Demon (RLAD)" project across a two-year period, in Melbourne, Victoria. This "RLAD" project was shaped over several years and targeted to students aged between 8 and 11 years. It utilized innovative reading experiences, including the…

There has been significant interest in developing academics through Teaching Scholar Development Programs across the USA, Canada, the UK, and more recently in Australia. At their core, such programs develop academics across teaching scholarship, leadership, promotion, and award opportunities, where universities reap the benefits of developing such…

This paper employs a collaborative auto-ethnographic method to reflect on perceptions and design of a pre-service primary teacher mathematics education program in a regional university and the role of that program to prepare beginning teachers for classroom mathematics practice in Far North Queensland. A four-phase analysis that reflected on: a…

Mary O'Sullivan writes that she spent part of her sabbatical leave interviewing teacher educators from nine countries across three continents exploring teacher education contexts both nationally and locally, and the nature of the 'teacher educators' work in these contexts. Three issues struck her: (1) The intensification of regulation and policy…

This paper focuses on issues concerning in-service English as an additional language or dialect teachers' views on professional development (PD) in an online environment. On the basis of the data collected via a questionnaire survey and a series of interviews, this study finds that intrinsic and extrinsic incentives compel or impede teachers…

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…

A group of articles on postcompulsory schooling is presented. The articles discuss the structures and economics of postcompulsory schooling; a teacher's perspective on ACT (Australian Capital Territory) secondary colleges; and a proposal for a new type of postcompulsory institution in the ACT. There is also a summary of the Victoria Ministerial…

"Burnout" and praxis shock seem to be causing teachers to leave the profession early. Much research suggests that this is a reflection on the quality of teacher education programs. Interviews with teachers who were in their first four years in the secondary music classroom reveal how they view their pre-service preparation, and therefore…

This paper focuses on effective transition-to-school programs. Using a framework of 10 guidelines developed through the Starting School Research Project, the paper provides examples of effective strategies and transition programs. In this context, the nature of some current transition programs is questioned, and the curriculum of transition is…

This paper describes the experiences of four beginning secondary school teachers in Australia during their first two years of teaching, looks at policy and literature on existing teacher orientation programs and needs, and makes recommendations for further research and program development. Significant contradictions of policy and practice are…

This reflective paper began with a discussion of the online program design and delivery experiences of three senior faculty members at the University of Calgary (Canada) and Deakin University (Australia), which was recorded at Deakin University. After drawing on this recording in their research and practice, one faculty member from each…

This report summarizes a survey of participants in a teacher training program for the First Steps project, which provides additional support for development of literacy and numeracy among "at-risk" students in Western Australia schools. The training program was to assist teachers in implementing the program in their schools. Respondents…

Reports research on a pilot project in Western Australia in which single-sex science and mathematics classes were begun in 10 coeducational secondary schools. The program involved professional development for participating teachers and systematic monitoring. Analyzes teachers' reactions to the program and major issues concerning student outcomes,…

Six case studies of foreign language programs in diverse Australian secondary schools conducted as part of an effort to learn the state of secondary level foreign language instruction are presented. The studies were conducted through administrator, teacher, and student interviews, on-site observation, and verification of the final report by the…