This report is the result of the participation of hundreds of students, families, school educators, and researchers who dedicated their time and energy to investigating the critical role that families and communities play in ensuring students and schools can flourish. It is a culmination of over two years of collaborative research and hundreds of…

This article reviews the international literature about streaming and the effects of this practice on the learning outcomes for secondary school students in Australia. Streaming in secondary schools across Australia has again increased in popularity after more than a century of literature that often discourages the practice. This article discusses…

This study explores the views of 6,492 New South Wales (NSW) primary and secondary school students' post-school aspirations. It explores when vocational education and training (VET) begins to feature in students' thinking about their futures, the kinds of students who think about VET, and under what conditions. The study informs how teachers,…

This summary brings together the findings from two research projects: "Choosing VET: Investigating the VET Aspirations of School Students" and "In Their Words: Student Choice in Training Markets--Victorian Examples." The research investigated school students' post-school aspirations for vocational education and training (VET),…

Innovation is essential for the education sector. The ways in which curriculum decision making is organised reflects different implicit approaches on how educational systems pertain to promote innovation in education. Curriculum holds an outstanding place when seeking to promote innovation in education, as it reflects the vision for education by…

Questions whether a framework such as STELLA (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia) can capture the essence of what teachers do in the classroom. Addresses three animating passions which have informed and energized the author's work as a teacher: intensity, empathy, and gaiety. (RS)

Discusses curriculum decisions being made by science teachers in Victoria schools where there are no externally prescribed courses. Questionnaires were sent to 214 secondary schools. Concludes that science teachers are making important curriculum decisions but there is evidence of weakness in the decision making process. (MLH)

Few studies of school effectiveness focus on curriculum management in secondary schools, especially schools situated in supportive socioeconomic environments. (Many studies have focused on poor, urban, elementary schools.) This paper reports the first part of a research project designed to investigate the link between curriculum and management…

This study analyses how "Education" as an area of study was constructed at The University of Western Australia [UWA] during the period 1916-85. While there is little commentary available regarding the construction of "Education" in a curriculum sense, what evidence there is suggests that there was hostility towards the…

Explores a case study on the conceptions of citizenship held by teachers, parents, and students in a school in Australia. Argues that effective citizenship education programs require teachers, students, and parents to have a shared understanding about what it means to be a "good citizen." Discusses the findings in detail. (CMK)

Identifies and discusses nine "pressures" that have influenced curriculum development in Australia: universal expertise, inertia, Australian rules, "Golden Past," unpreparedness, wishful thinking, inexperience, nondisposable resources, and public expectations. (HOD)

Contends that having the responsibility to develop and implement curriculum is crucial to teachers' professional identity. Proposes that teachers are currently marginalized in the curriculum development process. Describes the opportunity presented to English teachers in 1986 to develop a Study Design for the Victorian Certificate of Education.…

Reports on a study of 24 Australian secondary teachers before and after an inservice program on the whole-school approach to discipline. Finds that higher principled teachers provided more perspective and guidance than those in the low moral judgment group. Recommends more joint decision making by teachers in developing a school's discipline…

Reports on the problems an Australian high school English department had in promoting a school policy for language across the curriculum. (RL)

Describes the history of the secondary school English curriculum in New South Wales, Australia since 1911. Examines the gradual shift from centralized control over curriculum development to an emphasis on teacher control over course content. (MM)