Considerable research has been conducted into teacher retention and attrition (Huberman, 1989; Dinham, 1995; Ewing & Smith, 2002). Little is known, though, of the circumstances of ex-teachers, in terms of factors such as salary, workload, working conditions and "job prestige". For this paper, telephone interviews were conducted with 22…

The authors of this paper discuss selected literature pertaining to the development of research expertise in university lecturers. Subsequent to this discussion, the authors argue that a model is required to pull together the disparate parts of the literature. They propose that this unifying model draw on three key elements or facets: "selective…

There is a dearth of published information about the Literacy and Numeracy National Assessment (LANNA). This study was designed to explore the relationships among LANNA test scores at Year 7 and, in addition, to examine the predictive capacity of these scores in relation to Year 10 School Certificate English and Mathematics results. As a way of…

This paper is about examining life in classrooms. Authentic recording and interpretation of the complexities of classroom life have long been both fascinating and challenging for researchers. Typically, such research has been expensive, time-consuming and susceptible to claims that its intrusiveness pollutes the authenticity of the very context…

In this article the authors discuss the impact of research on a neophyte researcher and the research supervisor. The methodology which is applied throughout this article is autoethnographic narrative. It represents retrospective reflection on the part of the authors and thus to some extent is about retrospective meaning making. It centres upon the…

In this study, the authors examined the views of 171 college students concerning their best and poorest college professors. In a multi-stage conversion mixed analysis design, students' stories of their best and poorest college professors were thematically analysed, resulting in 15 dominant themes for their best college professors and 12 dominant…

This article presents a study of the teacher trainees in an English department who have received instruction in metacognitive awareness for reading comprehension. Metacognition or "thinking about thinking" involves the awareness and regulation of thinking processes. Metacognitive strategies are those strategies which require students to think…

Using a recent study that examined the effectiveness of a particular approach to improving individual university teaching as a case study, this paper examines some of the challenges inherent in educational research, particularly research examining the effects of interventions to improve teaching. Aspects of the research design and methodology and…

This study investigated the cognitive strategies that underpin assessors' holistic judgments of a school-based vocationally-related portfolio performance. Using a portfolio already identified as containing borderline qualities, quantitative data were gathered about features that six assessors attended to as they holistically evaluated the…

Being a student in an Australian university involves more pressure, and makes more demands on that student and his or her support networks than ever before. The variety in the configurations of pressures, demands and responsibilities faced by students means that it is impossible to characterise a "standard" student. Qualitative research undertaken…

Problem based learning is a successful teaching and learning strategy used to engage students in deep rather than surface learning and where the learning is student focused rather than teacher focused (Biggs, 1999; 2003). The strategy is also successful in aligning university courses with the real-life professional work which students are expected…

This investigation displays the findings of a 5 year longitudinal survey which uncovered a trend in data via a sample of 2600 pre-service education students. Each year 520 pre-service student teachers who were enrolled in a one-year full-time, after degree professional Bachelor of Education program in Ontario, Canada completed the survey.…

Nursing students with second degrees have become the focus of great interest in the last two decades in terms of being an answer to the nursing shortage. They are thought to possess greater ability to critically think and engage in self directed learning behaviours, and possess greater motivation to master clinical skills. The purpose of this…

This paper reports initial findings from an intervention study evaluating the affordances of a variety of interactive multimedia tools on kindergarten students' representations of fractions. The study engaged 21 kindergarten students in a whole-class technology-based mathematics intervention conducted over 12 weekly teaching episodes. A comparison…

This preliminary study explored relationships between key self-processes, specifically, independent vs. interdependent self-construal and self-efficacy, with students' attitudes toward group work with friends and acquaintances. The sample comprised 188 students from two Independent high schools in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Data were…