Based on research into the University of Western Sydney's new secondary teacher education initiative, Classmates, this paper argues that first-year-out teachers placed in disadvantaged schools may be better prepared to deal with the needs of their students if three conditions are met: firstly, their practicum experience is focused on mainly one…

In this article, I.M. Robottom directs the attention of the reader to key terms that describe "environmental education"--terms that seem to embrace the various facets that emerge in discourse about environment education. Robottom argues that the characteristics of "Education for the Environment" must distinguish environmental…

In this paper, we propose a model to explore how teachers learn pedagogical concepts in teacher education programs that expect them to become competent in lesson planning. In this context, we view pedagogical concepts as conceptual and methodological tools that help teachers to design a lesson plan on a topic, implement this lesson plan and assess…

Australian secondary education has endured a chronic shortage of qualified mathematics and science teachers for a number of years, particularly in rural and remote areas. A longitudinal research project examining the capacity for the holders of PhD level qualifications in mathematics and science to be utilised as one means of addressing this…

This paper will explore the recent trend in the popularising of history and its impact on teaching and learning. There has been a steady increase in the amount of fiction, films, television shows, documentaries and children's programs situated in or concerned with historical events, eras or historical figures. The evident popularity among the…

Citizenship education is widely acknowledged as a necessary part of the school curriculum for various reasons. For young people, it is assumed that citizenship can best be learnt through the school curriculum. This means that teachers need to thoroughly understand what citizenship means and how to pass this knowledge on to students. This paper…

Increasing global flows of students, information and ideas, the realities of globalisation, and an increasingly interdependent world have meant that many educators at the secondary school level are currently grappling with the issue of how to internationalise the curriculum and increase inter-cultural understanding among students. In addition,…

A number of recent national studies of student achievement in secondary school have reported differences between the Australian states and territories. State differences are often viewed as insubstantial or as simply reflecting sociodemographic factors, or differences between the states in the grades or ages of the students sampled. In this…

Indigenous students complete secondary education at about half the rate of non-Indigenous students, yet are twice as likely to participate in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Schools subjects. This paper explores the reasons for this phenomenon. It draws on data from two national studies: a survey of 20 000 young people and their…

Addressing literacy and numeracy as social practices in different teaching content areas create challenges for teachers and teacher education. Literacy and numeracy skills and understandings are generally addressed incidentally in teacher education courses and often overlooked by teachers in secondary schools. This paper reports on a study which…

Australian policy initiatives and state curriculum reform efforts affirm a commitment to address student disengagement through the development of inclusive school environments, curriculum, and pedagogy. This paper, drawing on critical social theory, describes three Australian projects that support the cultivation of teachers' beliefs, knowledge…

This paper explores the dynamics and outcomes from a collaborative, cross-cultural approach to teaching an Indigenous education elective unit in a Bachelor of Education (Primary) undergraduate degree at University of Ballarat in 2009. The three facilitators, one non-Aboriginal and two Aboriginal were a lecturer, an Aboriginal Centre Manager and…

Asserting that traditional egalitarian objectives for education have been rejected by the government as incompatible with a modernized system offering diversity and choices, examines some effects on educational opportunity of British policies, both Conservative and New Labour, which have both preserved old forms of relative advantage and created…

Reviews research on Australian initiatives to introduce senior school or multi-campus models of secondary education provision and presents three case studies to examine the potential of this approach. Asserts that the approach facilitates the provision of a broad and relevant curriculum, provides a more appropriate schooling environment for…

This single-site case study investigated the relationship between student participation and cultural dimensions of an Australian high school, particularly those dimensions that acted to enhance or inhibit student participation. Identified 24 cultural dimensions in the school that affected student participation; only 8 had an enhancing impact. (EV)