Girls consistently outperform boys on reading tests – and have done so for several decades around the world. Lack of motivation, a weak vocabulary, poor reading engagement and lack of role models have all been considered possible reasons for this disparity. But results from recent global student assessments, known as PISA, suggests the global reading gap is closing. […] … learn more→

Searching online has many educational benefits. For instance, one study found students who used advanced online search strategies also had higher grades at university. But spending more time online does not guarantee better online skills. Instead, a student’s ability to successfully search online increases with guidance and explicit instruction. Young people tend to assume they are already competent searchers. Their teachers and parents often assume this too. […] … learn more→

In November, 60 UK universities took part in eight days of industrial strike action, with thousands of staff walking out over disputes related to pensions, pay and working conditions. Another 14 days of action are scheduled for this month and next. Casualisation of the university workforce was a key theme, with union members keen to stress not […] … learn more→

Mini manuscripts and stories seem pretty engaging. Authors quickly grab the audience with the plot and lead them to a short journey they have created. People love such kind of stories. They like to read more and more when the author provides interesting content. You can also create such entertaining stories, but take care of […] … learn more→

Public engagement is usually understood as the efforts by scientists to come down from their ivory tower and engage with non-academic audiences. In other words, you explain, usually in plain in a simple language, what you do and why this is important for society. However, after years of training during which you have been domesticated […] … learn more→

Only 18% of books available in four Australian childcare centres include non-white characters. Animal characters make up around half the books available, with the animals largely leading lives, and adhering to values, of middle-class Caucasians. My study, published in The Australian Educational Researcher recently, analysed 2,413 books in four Western Australian childcare centres. Most of the small […] … learn more→

Back in 2017, I started regularly leaving my office at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, to speak to high school students in the Texas Panhandle. This past fall, I did the same thing in the South Plains. These two areas are the northern most 46 counties in the state of Texas. Driving a […] … learn more→

Recently, I found myself sitting on a panel offering advice to graduate researchers who are trying to finish their theses. Even though I wrote my own PhD about the feelings involved in writing a PhD, it is easy to feel inadequate to the task of advice-giving. Theses are so intricate, so specific, so personally transformative, […] … learn more→

The path of learning is increasingly favored by students of higher education. The evolution of the apprenticeship workforce continues its accelerated pace since the beginning of the 2000s. According to statistics from the Evaluation, Forecasting and Performance Department (DEPP), the progression has been significant since 2015: +3 , 8% in 2015, + 5.9% in 2016, + 9.1% in […] … learn more→

Australia must do better in school education. Following our worst ever results in international tests last year, politicians are keen to act, and quickly. But Australia has had any number of educational reforms over the past few decades, and our grades keep slipping. We need a much more systematic approach. Many teachers and schools are already doing […] … learn more→