Purpose: Since the early 2000s there has been increased attention on the professionalisation of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce in many OECD countries. This study focuses on what Australian early childhood educators holding the lowest level of qualification -- Certificate III are experiencing in relation to their…

This article discusses the impact of a professional learning activity called the Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL) program on the strategies used by primary school leaders to support teacher professional learning with the view of assisting students to become more able readers. It uses data collected from participants in the PALL program,…

Numerous nations implement Student Perception Surveys (SPS) in their schools to assess teaching for student learning improvement. However, research suggests no significant change in teachers' practices following such student voice-based assessment initiatives, noting their struggle to act upon it. Utilizing the "pyramid of student voice"…

Student perception surveys are prominent and pervasive tools for teacher appraisal and feedback across international contexts, buoyed by the strong relationship between higher student ratings of teachers and additional measures of teacher effectiveness. Yet, there is disagreement and conflicting evidence regarding the underlying structure of…

Teachers' self-confidence plays an important role in the successful delivery of school food and nutrition education. Their opinions of ways of improving their teaching confidence provide important insights into improving teacher support systems. This paper presents qualitative data from part of an online survey that explored Australian secondary…

Evolving discourses in Australia have resulted in an increasing focus on teachers' abilities to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Political concerns with achievement gaps and national education policy that require teachers to engage with curriculum priorities and professional standards that focus on strategies for…

Civil unrest and forced displacement have seen historical numbers of people seeking refuge in countries, such as Australia, with many being children of school age. As schools continue to respond to students from refugee backgrounds, the role of teacher agency in such responses is an important, yet understudied area of research. In taking an…

Over recent decades, peer review of teaching has become an important mechanism for improving the quality of teaching in higher education. While there is considerable international research on peer review of teaching outcomes, these are not widely reported within Australian universities. This paper reports on a systematic review of published…

Teacher knowledge is a critical factor in student success. In the Classroom Promotion of Oral Language cluster randomized controlled trial, we aimed to determine whether a teacher professional learning intervention focused on promoting oral language led to improved teacher knowledge. We report a study of the impact of professional learning on…

Purpose: This study aimed to explore how a group of Chinese primary mathematics teachers learned through conducting an online cross-cultural lesson study between China and Australia. Design/methodology/approach: An expansive learning theory was adopted to examine teachers' learning through collective activities across different activity systems.…

There is growing evidence that coaching early childhood educators leads to higher quality teaching practices and improved child learning outcomes. Despite this, there is a lack of Australian evidence on the impact that coaching in collaborative, interdisciplinary teams in early childhood education and care settings has on teacher effectiveness and…

Mounting criticism suggests that the recent introduction of a 'gatekeeping' test to improve the quality of teachers in Australia--the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE)--has had limited success in achieving its aim. Shaped by a discourse of inputs on how teacher quality might be achieved ('quality in, quality out'),…

Improving teacher quality has become the hallmark of Australian education reform with a plethora of measures introduced in teacher education to improve future teachers' instructional competencies. This policy focus has also changed the discussion of strategies for addressing disadvantages in schools; improving teacher quality, as opposed to…

The rapid changes facing higher education are placing increased focus on the quality of the student experience, achieving learning outcomes, and employability expectations. As a result, academics in teaching roles are increasingly measured on performance via student evaluations amplifying attention on professional development initiatives for…

In Australia, school leadership is influenced by neoliberal discourses of accountability and performativity. Many schools seek to balance systemic pressures that narrow outcome expectations with a desire to deliver schooling in the broad interests of the students and communities that they serve. In this case, the principal was appointed to a…