This paper examines the effectiveness of a programme of weekly meetings between sessional staff and the unit coordinator of a large first-year class at an Australian university. Interviews with sessional staff indicate that, in addition to training and targeted professional development initiatives, management initiatives that promote engagement…

Schooling markets prioritize the needs of valued "customers". In Australia, this has resulted in a proliferation of learning interventions aimed at attracting and holding students perceived to fall into this category, and managing those who don't. In this paper, I attempt two main tasks: a description of the large-scale processes…

Research training should facilitate effective researcher role development. While researcher roles require the performance of specialised knowledge and skill, they also require development of personal research identities within social contexts. Interaction with research peers can provide opportunities for reflective role development. Ad-hoc…

Many students treated for cancer experience significant challenges in maintaining their education during and beyond cancer treatment. Late effects of cancer treatment combined with prolonged periods of missed schooling can dramatically impact upon a student's physical, cognitive and social development. This study examined the relationship between…

Despite claims of a negative impact on Indigenous school attendance due to mobility no attempt has been made to estimate the number of school-age Indigenous children away from a home base at any one time. This paper uses census data to derive such estimates for the first time. It finds that Indigenous children are mostly sedentary within their…

Concern has been expressed in the literature that student absenteeism from lectures is undesirable as it may have adverse consequences for academic performance. The aim of this study was to examine whether there are identifiable groups of low-attendance students who display characteristic behaviours that are more typical than any other group.…

The Gudaga Goes to School Study described the transition to school and early education experiences of 117 urban Aboriginal children and their families. This paper outlines the methods and design of the study. A life course approach, employing multidimensional and multi-theoretical frameworks was used to capture the complexity of issues surrounding…

This article reports on an action-research project designed to investigate the effect of a technological intervention on the complex interactions between student engagement, participation, attendance and preparation in a large lecture delivered as part of a compulsory first-year law course, a discipline which has not been the focus of any previous…

This study examines the attrition and achievement of a sample of 295 students in an on-campus tertiary bridging program at a regional university. A logistic regression analysis using enrolment status, age and the number of absences from scheduled classes at week three of the semester as predictor variables correctly predicted 92.8 percent of…

Academic staff at universities have become concerned about the decrease in student attendance at lectures and the implication of this on student achievement and learning. Few studies have measured actual lecture attendance in a coherent or comprehensive way. The aim of this study was to measure actual lecture attendance of students over two year…

The uptake of web-based lecture technologies for recording and delivering live lectures has increased markedly in recent years. Students have responded positively, and for many their use has transformed learning--freeing them up from rigid timetables by providing choice in lecture attendance and supporting learning by extending the lecture…

PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) was inaugurated in 2001 as a follow-up to International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's 1991 Reading Literacy Study. Conducted every five years, PIRLS assesses the reading achievement of young students in their fourth year of schooling--an important transition…

Governments, schools and communities throughout Australia are working to improve school attendance among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students using strategies such as incentive programs, improvement to literacy and numeracy skills, school-family partnerships, transport to school, attendance monitoring, ensuring that school is a welcoming…

Governments, schools and communities throughout Australia are working to improve school attendance among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students using strategies such as incentive programs, improvement to literacy and numeracy skills, school-family partnerships, transport to school, attendance monitoring, ensuring that school is a welcoming…

Research indicates that attendance at lectures and tutorials is associated with university students' level of success and satisfaction, and pre-service teachers' relatively low levels of attendance at scheduled classes is of significant concern to many lecturers. However, little research has been undertaken to investigate the factors associated…