With consistently low levels of academic performance and high rates of absenteeism (Bourke & Rigby, 2000), the students in this study are the most educationally disadvantaged group in Australia with respect to mathematics. This paper reports on a study undertaken with Years 5-7 students in a Queensland aboriginal community to determine their…

This paper reports the results of two interventions involving the integrated study of mathematics and technology practice to girls in Years 6 and 7. The focus of the study was to look at factors that contributed to girls' disengagement with mathematics study and seek pedagogical solutions for this. The key mathematics concepts embedded in the two…

In the 1970s and 1980s the white Australian author Patricia Wrightson's cross-cultural fantasies concerning the conflict of White characters with Aboriginal folk spirits struck a chord with many adolescent and adult readers who judged these novels to be outstandingly successful. A classroom-based study examined the responses of a class of seventh…

This study of Third International Mathematics and Science Study results addresses the issue of resource availability in rural and urban Australian schools, considering student attitudes toward math and science and career aspirations. Rural schools are more adequately resourced than urban ones. Students' attitudes and aspirations positively affect…

To test the applicability of multidimensional ratings of writing effectiveness that are amenable to normal classroom usage, all grade 7 students (N=139) from one suburban school (Sydney, Australia) wrote a brief essay. Master and student teachers evaluated all the essays according to overall effectiveness of written expression and according to…

This paper describes an approach to mathematics teaching and learning using teacher-constructed "virtual" materials. In this approach, virtual copies of real materials are manipulated with mouse movements to replicate the traditional physical manipulation of real materials. The paper reports on three case studies where the approach was…

This study examined the generalizability of the internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model of academic self-concept development. The "external" component of the model refers to comparing one's achievement with one's peers; in LISREL causal modeling, this external comparison is presented as positive paths. The "internal"…

Grade level and sex differences in attitudes to English, mathematics, social studies and art were explored among a sample of students in grades 7 through 10. Student attitudes generally were most favorable toward English, then toward mathematics, social studies, and (least favorable) art. (Author/MLW)

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2017), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the…

To determine the appropriateness of existing writing assessment instruments, to set directions for future assessment, and to ensure that assessment instruments are consistent with the requirements of the new English curriculum of the Northern Territory (Australia), teachers were sampled to determine how they used the booklets of moderated writing…

During 1974, materials developed by the Australian Science Education Projects (ASEP) became available in final published form. The publication of these materials was an especially important undertaking since ASEP was the first national curriculum project, in any subject area, to be developed in Australia. This report presents research into four…

Although sampling has been mentioned as part of the chance and data component of the mathematics curriculum since about 1990, little research attention has been aimed specifically at school students' understanding of this descriptive area. This study considers the initial understanding of bias in sampling by 639 students in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9.…

WebQuests are a powerful teaching and learning device that have developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the Humanities. In Australia, the use of WebQuests in Science has become popular. The multimedia product of students' investigations can be shared with a variety of audiences. In this article, I will explain what I understand to be a…

A study examined rural Australian student experiences of the transition to high school. Data were gathered from interviews, questionnaires, and student journals of 10 rural students during the last 5 weeks of primary school and during the first three terms of Year 7 in high school. Findings indicate that students had many anxieties related to the…

First Steps is a program instituted by the Western Australia Ministry of Education to improve the literacy and numeracy of primary school students, particularly those at risk of academic failure. First Steps is organized around reading, writing, spelling, and oral language; children's skills are organized along developmental continua. This study,…