Many academic studies have been centred on Western theories and methodologies for a long time. This approach to research is broadly defined as “universalist”. It assumes that “one-size-fits-all” and set norms can be applied across cultures. For example, Western ideas about identity revolve around the individual. That shapes how research is conducted: it focuses mainly […] … learn more→

Education Minister Jason Clare has just announced an independent review of the Australian Research Council (ARC). This is the body that oversees funding for non-medical research in Australian universities and plays a critical role in the careers of academics. After years of concerns about the ARC – about political interference and low success rates – the review is a welcome step. […] … learn more→

Year 12 students around Australia are preparing to sit their final exams. For many young people this is one of the most stressful parts of school, with their future supposedly coming down to one number. This is an outdated way of finishing school and working out what students do in the next phase of their lives. […] … learn more→

To think of adolescence is to think of problems such as alcohol, bad moods, abuse of new technologies and social networks, first sexual relations, drugs, unwanted pregnancies, fights… It is to think of a complicated stage that adults hardly remember and rarely understand. Being a teenager is a challenge, as is being a baby who […] … learn more→

The evaluation of students by notation has been the subject of numerous criticisms, in particular from the didactician of mathematics André Antibi, who denounced, in a resounding way, a “macabre constant” . The formula refers to the social pressure that would push teachers, for the assessments to be considered credible, to put a certain percentage of bad marks regardless of […] … learn more→

Open access (OA) journals are academic, peer-reviewed journals that are free and available for anyone to read without paying subscription fees. To make up for lost subscription revenue, many journals instead charge author fees to researchers who wish to publish in them. These fees can reach thousands of dollars per article, paid out of publicly funded […] … learn more→

Without a doubt, we are living through a historically significant period. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the global economy, imposed extreme strain on health-care systems and precipitated a sudden and dramatic change in our daily lives. Intuitively, it seems logical that the magnitude of disruption caused by the pandemic should generate many memorable moments of […] … learn more→

Times change, students too, and the educational model finds it difficult to keep up with the rapid pace of these changes. The transition from a traditional model of knowledge accumulation to a skills model and, now, to a results model, demands a vision of the future. It is necessary to make efficient use of the efforts […] … learn more→

Australia’s love for fuel-hungry and fuel-inefficient SUVs is hampering our ability to bring transport emissions down. SUVs make up half of all new car sales last year, a National Transport Commission report revealed this week – up from a quarter of all sales a decade ago. As a result, the carbon emitted by all new cars sold […] … learn more→

Australia’s class of 2022 is on the home stretch. Next month, more than 200,000 year 12 students will be sitting their final exams. In amongst this, they are making big decisions about their lives beyond school. But research shows they are not getting the support they need as they finish school and move into the work or […] … learn more→