Students who perform well at school academically are more likely to complete Year 12 and experience smoother transitions from education to employment. However, disentangling the effects of prior academic achievement on later performance from other confounding factors, such as socioeconomic status, has proved difficult. This study uses data from…

Recent reports based on PISA data have shown a generally positive relationship between the amount of time spent on homework and achievement, and a negative relationship between a measure of socioeconomic status and homework time for secondary students. These findings suggest that homework practices are either reflecting or contributing to…

Part-time postgraduate students make up a significant proportion of the student population, yet their experience remains poorly understood. In this article, a multi-phase, explanatory mixed-method study conducted within Tasmanian health and human services provides some answers. Students reported improved job performance, self-esteem and increased…

This paper reports preliminary findings on students enrolled in a massive open online course, who were also assigned to work in groups. Part of a larger study on the effect of groups on retention and completion in MOOCs, the paper provides students' demographics (i.e., location, gender, education level, and employment status), and motivation for…

Background/Context: It is well established in the research literature that socioeconomically disadvantaged students and schools do less well on standardized measures of academic achievement compared with their more advantaged peers. Although studies in numerous countries have shown that the socioeconomic profile of a school is strongly correlated…

This paper examines the achievement levels of students undertaking the Tertiary Enabling Program (TEP) at La Trobe University. The TEP is an alternative pathway program that traverses multiple institutions, campuses, and disciplinary areas, and is designed to prepare a diverse student cohort for tertiary study. The Program integrates several…

This paper explores the PISA [Programme for International Student Assessment] achievement of twenty countries in light of some of their demographic differences. SES [student socioeconomic status], nuclear family, gender, home language, and native status were predictive of achievement for every country. Demographics accounted for as little as 8…

This study examines non-completion of Year 12 at school for a nationally representative sample of young people who were 15 years old and still attending school in 2003. The study explores relationships between non-completion and selected socio-demographic and school-related factors, and changes in rates of school non-completion from the early…

Purpose--The purpose of this article is to review literature in certain areas and report on related results from a study of successful school principalship in the Australian state of Tasmania. Design/methodology/approach--Surveys on successful school principalship were distributed to a population of 195 government schools (excluding colleges and…

There is ongoing debate among educators and in the community about the status of school physical education (PE), particularly in relation to more vocationally-oriented learning areas. Against a backdrop of rising youth obesity, diminishing curriculum time for PE represents a serious public health issue. This study investigated the relationships…

The Student Performance and Progress Study (SPPS) was established at the Australian National University in an attempt to identify the causes of high attrition rates and to suggest policy formulations to reduce the attrition rates. Studies fall into four main categories: demographic, university performance, university experience, and previous…

This publication, drawn from the national collection of vocational education and training (VET) data in Australia, summarizes data that relate to VET students who have identified themselves as having a disability or disabilities in 1996. The publication is organized in seven sections: definitions of disability; 1996 highlights; diversity of the…

Describes derivation and use of an index representing mothers' attachment to workforce, based on proportion of time the mother worked since her first child was born. Examines relationships with the mother's work status and with demographic characteristics. More education and smaller family distinguished between women's high versus low work…

This publication shows the diversity of the Australian vocational education and training system (VET) at the client, provider, and program levels. The report includes all VET delivery by TAFE (Technical and Further Education) and other government providers, registered community providers, some VET delivered in schools, and publicly funded delivery…

This publication, drawn from the national collection of vocational education and training (VET) data in Australia, summarizes data that relate to the 177,594 VET students who identified themselves as speaking a language other than English at home in 1996. The publication is organized in eight sections as follows: an explanatory note; 1996…