As teacher educators, we want our research to be influential in contributing to educational policy and practice, but there remains little understanding about ways in which teacher educators might more productively engage with each other and policy-makers so as to maximise their research impact. Drawing on an empirical study and policy document…

In contemporary school settings, leaders seeking to support professional development are faced with many challenges. These challenges call for educators who can undertake professional learning that is continuous and adaptive to change. As a term, continuous professional development (CPD) reflects many different forms of professional development in…

Policy has been a much neglected area for research in science education. In their neglect of policy studies, researchers have maintained an ongoing naivete about the politics of science education. In doing so, they often overestimate the implications of their research findings about practice and ignore the interplay between the stakeholders beyond…

This report discusses the most relevant issues concerning using student test results in OECD countries. Initially the report provides an overview of how student test results are reported in OECD countries and how stakeholders in these countries use and perceive of the results. The report then reviews the literature relating to using student test…

Educational research has changed greatly in recent years, is more sophisticated, and is based on more appropriate theories than behaviorism was, with more direct relevance to practice. A new system of education using constructivist theories of learning such as Piaget's would promote the development of powerful learning strategies. (MSE)

A review of the research indicates that the interface between the findings from research on teaching and staff development of teachers is an important but neglected one. An improvement in teaching skills calls for an interactive or collaborative mode of professional development which is based on classroom interests and the needs of teachers, with…

In most developed countries a majority of the citizens benefit from extensive educational opportunities, yet there is a growing number of people in these same countries who are educationally disadvantaged because of their sociocultural backgrounds. There are four stages of educational disadvantage including: (1) limited experiences in early…

"Research Highlights" is an annual publication documenting developments in the Australian Council for Educational Research's (ACER's) research programs for the previous year. The 2003 edition highlights research on the following themes: (1) Australian students excel in international study; (2) Assessing the moral and ethical outcomes of…

Maintains that increasing competition for scarce public resource money combined with a redefinition of higher education as an instrument in economic recovery places a new and greater emphasis on research. Provides guidelines and suggestions for music research to operate and compete successfully within these parameters. Briefly discusses…

Analyzes a research project that utilizes a coherent conceptual model of art education research incorporating the demand for empirical rigor and providing for diverse interpretive frameworks. Briefly profiles the NUD*IST (Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorizing) software system that can organize and retrieve complex…

A program at Edith Cowan University (Australia) to develop a teacher training curriculum supporting bidialectalism in the schools is described. Underlying principles of this approach to bidialectal education are the acceptance of Aboriginal English, creation of a bridge to standard English, and cultivation of Aboriginal ways of approaching…

This book contains 19 papers examining innovation in open and distance learning through development of online and World Wide Web-based learning. The following papers are included: "Innovation in Distributed Learning: Creating the Environment" (Fred Lockwood); "Innovation in Open and Distance Learning: Some Lessons from Experience…

This document contains 95 papers and summaries of 5 poster sessions from an Australian conference on putting vocational education and training (VET) research to work. The following are among the areas covered in the papers: factors affecting VET graduates' employability over time; technical and further education (TAFE) institutes as models of…