Legislative guidelines regulate professional experience within initial teacher education (ITE) but little is known about teacher educators' perspectives on how these guidelines are operationalised. ITE providers, in collaboration with school partners, implement a range of programs designed to develop pre-service teachers' 'classroom readiness'. We…

The significant under-representation of people from low socio-economic backgrounds in higher education in Australia has been placed squarely at the front of the Australian Federal Government's higher education agenda. The barriers for students from low socio-economic backgrounds to access higher education are broad and multi-causal. The…

The use of digital technology in the classroom is a significant issue for teachers as they are under increasing pressure to teach in technologically mediated ways. This "digital turn" in education has culminated in the Australian federal government's Digital Education Revolution, which represents a multi-billion dollar commitment to…

This article analyses the educational visions put forward by Australian federal politicians in their maiden (first) speeches to Parliament. The theoretical approach was a Habermasian-based analysis of the communication strategies adopted by the politicians, meaning that it was not only the content of the speeches but also the delivery that was the…

Australia needs to more effectively attract, train, support, retain, recognize, and reward quality teachers throughout their careers. After a slow start and decades of debate, the pieces of the quality teaching puzzle are now coming together. Increased federal government intervention and financial support, along with state and territorial support…

Recognising that there is now a globalised educational discourse about "failing boys" circulating in the privileged nations of the global north, this article provides a comparative perspective on educational policy responses to the "boy turn" in Australia and Iceland. Specificities of the responses to the boy turn in the two…

The organization and funding of educational research in Australia since 1970 has been significantly affected by shifts in the control of the federal government from one political party to another and back. No central policy or focus for educational research existed in Australia until 1970, when the conservative government founded the Australian…

In 1850, in the frontier township of Brisbane, William Duncan argued articulately that National schools bestowed moral benefits to children more effectively than their denominational rivals, but the aloof and sometimes arrogant Brisbane Customs Officer lacked the skill to generate widespread support for his views. In contrast, the proprietor of…

The issues of government responsibility and institutional autonomy that arise in university-government relations in the United States and Australia are discussed, and similarities in some European countries are noted. Political and market forces are examined as they affect government relations. (MSE)

Tertiary education in Australia, organized in three sectors (universities, colleges of advanced education, and technical and further education) have three main levels of planning--institutional, state, and commonwealth. Financial planning in tertiary education is discussed including inputs and outputs, information systems, resource planning, and…

A comparative analysis of family policy in various nations looks at state financial support for families and in particular how professional women in academia fare internationally with respect to state support for their families. The analysis includes a review of the general development of family support through the industrial revolution and the…