NSW is in the middle of overhauling its approach to suspensions and expulsions. Under a proposed plan due to start in term 4, students can only be sent home a maximum of three times a year. This is designed to reduce the high number of sanctions against vulnerable children in public schools. But it has been met with opposition from teachers, […] … learn more→

As enrolments climb and urban spaces become more crowded, some Australian schools have been left with less play space per student than a prison cell. Standard prison cell guidelines recommend at least 7.5 square metres per prisoner. One Sydney school reportedly has just 1.14 square metres of play space per student. As experts in health and physical education, we are deeply […] … learn more→

In news many probably never expected to see, no-frills, outdoorsy, animal behaviour expert and conservation activist Jane Goodall has become a Barbie doll (accompanied by her famous chimpanzee, David Greybeard). As the latest member of toymaker Mattel’s “Barbie Inspiring Women Series” honouring historical and contemporary heroines, she joins aviator Amelia Earhart, NASA mathematician and physicist Katherine Johnson and […] … learn more→

Universities are implementing COVID-19 safety plans to maintain safe and healthy environments — through protocols like enhanced cleaning or a focus on ventilation and air quality — for the imminent return of students to in-person learning on campuses. While these plans include extensive efforts to help students safely return to pre-pandemic learning, focused attention should also be given to “university experience” […] … learn more→

Hello dear reader! It’s been a busy winter and I am suffering a bit of post-election exhaustion. Last month, For the first time in 12 years, I did not get around to doing a Thesis Whisperer post. While I felt bad about breaking such a long streak of self-imposed discipline, I consoled myself that the previous […] … learn more→

One of Australia’s most prestigious boys’ schools has just announced it will go co-ed. Last week, Sydney’s Cranbrook School – whose alumni include Kerry and James Packer and Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes – announced it will be fully co-educational by 2029. Cranbrook joins a growing list of private schools around the country that are either considering going […] … learn more→

A structured competition can be a useful tool to motivate young children. This is exactly what the Breakthrough Junior Challenge achieves, which is an initiative of Yuri Milner. The idea behind this content is to enhance the learning abilities of students and promote their interest in science. Yuri Milner, a renowned investor and philanthropist, believes […] … learn more→

For parents, children and teachers, one of the most striking memories of the pandemic will be the sudden transition to online learning. Many educators, parents and children struggled with online education when schools were closed, and were relieved when classroom instruction resumed. While media often seemed to report on negative aspects of online schooling, this was not a […] … learn more→

Are you worried that your children will forget this summer what they have learned at school during the year? In any case, academics have been studying this question for more than a century. When William White, a mathematics teacher from New York State, set out to assess, at the beginning of the 20th century , what his students […] … learn more→

Adolescence corresponds to a period of profound changes, both biologically and socially, during which young people gradually detach themselves from their family to build a more personal world, separated from their parents, by integrating a new group of peers. Friendship in adolescence is then made up of intimacy, sharing feelings, communion of ideas and no […] … learn more→