Sydney School of Education and Social Work

Hearing Educator Perspectives: From ‘Evidence-Based Practice’ to Valuing the ‘Enriched Evidence-Based Practice’ of Education

2026-04-28T02:26:05Z

Hearing Educator Perspectives: From ‘Evidence-Based Practice’ to Valuing the ‘Enriched Evidence-Based Practice’ of Education Brunker, Nicole Colleen; Hostrup, Michelle; Moller, Virginia; Boyd-Boland, Alison; Sciberras, Grant The intention of this discussion paper is to open conversation with educators to raise awareness to the problems of evidence-based practice, the value in their nuanced and complex work to rebuild teacher professionalism across the community, and provide support for educators to enrich their use of evidence to inform practice. In opening conversation on evidence-based practice, we sought to hear from educators to understand how their voices and experiences may be valued in moving forward in the use of evidence to inform schooling practice.

Maximising Learning and Teaching in Independent Schools: Moving ahead with Educational Neuroscience

2026-04-28T02:26:07Z

Maximising Learning and Teaching in Independent Schools: Moving ahead with Educational Neuroscience Kim, Minkang; Sankey, Derek; Li, Li; Webster, Greg Educational neuroscience is a relatively new speciality, within the overall discipline of education, that seeks to deepen understanding of how the human brain learns and develops, by applying insights generated in mainstream neuroscience and conducting neuroscientific research. It is founded on the recognition that all learning occurs in the brain and all development results from changes occurring in the brain. With a focus on maximising learning and teaching in independent schools, this Rapid Literature Review (RLR) identifies four main areas of quite recent neuroscientific research that are particularly applicable. This is research focussed on a) understanding the brain as a complex, dynamic system that self-organises through feedback; b) neural connectivity, synaptic plasticity and neuronal group selection; c) the neural interweaving of thought, feeling, and emotion; and d) the neurobiology of memory. Collectively, these four areas of research provide an image of the learning brain as complex, dynamic, highly variable, non-linear, and self-organising that is plastic (highly mouldable), embodied (inherently interconnected with the body, embedded (in multiple physical and social environments) emotional and predictive. In explicating the role of memory in learning, the RLR incorporates the notion of a dynamic, global neuronal workspace in the brain allows for massive non-linear interconnectivity between the brain’s attention system, perceptual system, motor system, value system, and long-term memory. Contrary to a widely held view in education, working memory is not just a short-term, temporary depository, rather it is primarily concerned with regulating the brain’s selective attention, so as to focus on what matters. Drawing on this body of research on how the human brain learns, the RLR posits six necessary conditions that are essential for maximising learning and teaching in schools. These require that each and every student is: 1) Paying attention and actively engaging with what they are learning 2) Repeating and rehearsing the object and contents of what they are learning 3) Monitoring their own errors and applying error feedback 4) Seeking and finding meaning and value in learning 5) Enabling positive and addressing negative emotions in learning and assessment 6) Thinking creatively, imaginatively, associatively, and analogically. Neuroscientific evidence regarding how brains learn strongly suggests that, in any given classroom or learning environment, in any given lesson, all should be in full play for maximal learning to occur. If any of these necessary conditions are missing, learning will be diminished. The relationship between the learning brain, pedagogical implications and high impact teaching is set out in a diagram, designed to be of practical use for teachers in schools. Central to the approach taken by this RLR, evidence-based teaching (EBT) is conceived as the explicit and judicious use of current neuroscientific evidence to inform the design of high-impact teaching strategies, tailored to enhance the learning outcomes of each and every student, in any given classroom, at any given school. EBT is therefore not a universal, rote application of educational theory to practice, nor is it a ‘cookbook’ approach to teaching strategies. Rather, it should combine the teacher’s understanding of the neuroscientific research evidence and their pedagogical knowledge and judgment, when teaching their students, in their classroom, consistent with the school’s values.

What's the Evidence A study on Teacher Quality

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

What's the Evidence A study on Teacher Quality Roberts Parker, Kathryn; Lawson-Jones, Anne; Simpson, Alyson; Hartley, Shani The White Paper is an evidence-informed and evidence-generating provocation designed to promote deeper understanding of teachers’ work by proposing a holistic measure of teacher quality. The WtE team have written this paper as a public statement summing up our work to-date, to provide evidence of the complexity involved in being a teacher. As an important part of the paper, we also indicate the work yet to be achieved if the status of the profession is to be improved. We are keen to continue the discussion with education stakeholders in the future.

Successful leadership of governance in independent schools

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Successful leadership of governance in independent schools Grice, Christine; Day, Christopher; Moller, Virginia; McMillan, Jeraldine Chair/Principal relationships are important for successful governance and yet minimal empirical research has shown how these relationships work in practice and the implications for effective school governance. This research investigates how Chairs and Principals navigate governance relationships in NSW Independent schools. Each school has distinct constitutional and governance arrangements affecting the dynamics of Effective Board Chair/Principal relationships in varied Independent school contexts. Findings have shown that cohesive Chair/Principal relationships through what we have named ‘educative governance’, enable clarity of values, and shared strategic enactment of vision and mission that stretches into community engagement, is reflected in student outcomes as seen through the perspectives of participants, and contributes to the success of the school. This happens in the intersubjective spaces between people and is evident in the practices of Chair/Principal relationships when there is a gesture towards relational trust through diligence, empathy, and co-construction that transcends role division. It must be acknowledged that the contractual fabric of the Principal role and the volunteer nature of the Chair role creates vulnerability that impacts their relationship. Respect bridges tension and builds solidarity of purpose as they learn how to do educative governance together. The opportunity for The Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW) to support governance beyond compliance and to build relational and educative solidarity is dependent upon the clarity of purpose Chairs and Principals have in the context of their own school governance. A specific professional learning focus on communicative practices, generative modes of governance and constitutional and legislative arrangements will support Chair/Principal relationships and enable educative governance to occur in the diverse Independent sector.

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: A scoping study

2026-04-28T02:26:05Z

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: A scoping study Markauskaite, Lina; Swist, Teresa; Goodyear, Peter; Wrigley, Cara; Mosely, Genevieve This report is a part of the project ‘Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise’, funded by the NSW Department of Education Strategic Leveraging grant and led by a research team from the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland. The project aims to translate some findings from the research project ‘Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities’, funded by the Australian Research Council, to NSW teacher education and professional development. The first phase of this translational project involved a scoping study that aimed to identify current focus areas, practices, and challenges in developing pre-service and in-service teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise. The initial work involved developing a consultation paper integrating insights from the project ‘Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities’ and a scoping literature review on the development of teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise. The follow-up work involved conducting one-hour consultation interviews, where invited participants with relevant expertise and experience shared their knowledge in response to the consultation questions. The main outcomes from the above work were originally presented in two separate documents. This report does not report new findings but integrates these outcomes into a single document. It was produced with the aim of consolidating these research outcomes in a format more suitable for further reference and dissemination. The first part of this report presents key insights from the desk study that led to the development of consultation questions. The second part presents the methodology and key results from the consultation interviews.

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: Consultation report

2026-04-28T02:26:06Z

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: Consultation report Markauskaite, Lina; Swist, Teresa; Goodyear, Peter; Wrigley, Cara; Mosely, Genevieve This report is a part of the project ‘Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise’, funded by the NSW Department of Education Strategic Leveraging grant and led by a research team from the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland. The project aims to extend our collective understanding of interdisciplinary expertise, and how to enhance its development for pre- and in-service teachers and, through that, how to strengthen students’ capabilities for interdisciplinary work. This report presents key insights from the consultation interviews conducted to inform co-design of resources for teacher educators for developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise. The consultation interviews involved 23 participants with relevant expertise and experience: teacher educators, leaders and teachers from governmental and non-governmental NSW schools, student teachers, Department Education representatives, and professional learning providers. The consultation interviews have revealed that, in the context of teacher education, interdisciplinarity is primarily understood as a set of teachers’ dispositions to engage in high-quality, purposeful integrative teaching practices. Such practices connect disciplinary teaching across curricula, involve working with multiple people and across contexts, and address challenging contemporary problems. The most critical areas of teachers’ professional practices and needs do not relate to particular topics (e.g., sustainability or STEM) but involve a set of general interdisciplinary curriculum-making, teaching and collective professional learning practices, such as identifying ‘launchpads’ to branch out, developing (inter)disciplinary fluency, and using pedagogical approaches that support breaking down subject boundaries. Further, interdisciplinary teaching is multifaceted. It is not limited to the micro level of teachers’ personal resourcefulness. It spans all levels of educational ecosystems, including collaborative (meso level) and environmental (macro level) aspects. Effective teacher professional education is primarily characterised as ongoing and embedded in collective practices, contexts and visions of learning. It includes individual and collective, formal and informal learning. The main barriers and enablers for developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise are personal, related to teachers’ resourcefulness, and environmental, related to other actors, organisational factors, systems, culture and structures. These outcomes suggest that developing interdisciplinary expertise requires holistic ecological approaches. However, addressing all aspects simultaneously is an impossible task. Teacher educators and school leaders primarily need resources and tools that would allow them to understand and navigate the space of interdisciplinary practices, establish possibilities and priorities, and create professional learning opportunities purposefully and systematically.

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: Design principles for teacher educators

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: Design principles for teacher educators Mosely, Genevieve; Markauskaite, Lina; Wrigley, Cara; Goodyear, Peter; Currie, Nicola; Levins, Martin; Reimann, Peter; Spence, Natalie; Sutherland, Louise; Swist, Teresa; Yang, Hongzhi This resource book aims to provide teacher educators with ideas, possibilities and practices for interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The resource is split into four main sections. The first section presents an overview of the project, introduces interdisciplinary expertise within a teaching practice context, and presents an ecological framework that presents interdisciplinary teaching practices spanning three levels: micro, meso and macro. The second section presents design principles across each level of the framework. The purpose of these design principles is to help design for teacher’s interdisciplinary learning. The third section presents an activity to develop a framework that articulates what interdisciplinary expertise entails in a specific context, situating it in a broader context of the most important areas of teachers’ interdisciplinary practices, needs for professional learning and enablers and barriers. The purpose of this activity is to provide a flexible but structured approach to understanding and enhancing teachers' interdisciplinary expertise. The fourth and final section presents five case studies from in-service and pre-service teacher educators presenting interdisciplinary teaching and learning practices. These case studies provide ideas and opportunities for developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise.

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: An ecological framework for professional learning

2026-04-28T02:26:05Z

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: An ecological framework for professional learning Swist, Teresa; Markauskaite, Lina; Goodyear, Peter; Wrigley, Cara; Mosely, Genevieve This document presents an ecological framework to support the development of teachers' interdisciplinary expertise. It addresses the growing need for teachers to engage with the complex challenges of 21st-century teaching and work with knowledge from different fields. The framework is based on an ecological perspective that considers the complex interactions between teachers’ personal resourcefulness, their immediate environments, and the wider institutional and societal contexts. This document is constructed as a compass rather than a detailed guide or map to help readers understand and navigate the complex space of teachers’ interdisciplinary practices, expertise and learning. It acknowledges that teaching practices change—sometimes very rapidly—and there is no single pathway for developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise; new directions and possibilities can be opened by engaging with a range of theory, research, and practice insights when tailoring them to specific professional education needs and contexts. The document provides a detailed overview of the framework and its different aspects at micro, meso, and macro levels. At the micro level, the framework focuses on developing teachers (multi)disciplinary foundations, interdisciplinary know-how, and epistemic flexibility and interdisciplinary dispositions. At the meso level, the framework focuses on teachers’ capabilities to engage in interdisciplinary ways of working, to create tools and environments, as well as a shared language and distributed agency. At the macro level, the framework focuses on teachers’ capacities to navigate and shape interdisciplinary knowledge systems and cultures, including policies, infrastructures, institutions, networks, and communities. The document outlines research-practice insights into how this framework can be applied in practice and activities to assist teacher educators and other stakeholders in using the presented ideas in the design of pre-service and in-service teacher education courses. It discusses some key considerations for institutional and system-level policy and decision-making. The document suggests that the development of interdisciplinary expertise is everyone’s responsibility—teacher educators, institutional and system-level. While pre-service and in-service teacher educators can embrace interdisciplinary focus in specific courses, this alone cannot ensure that all teachers and, consequentially, students are benefiting. System-level decisions and changes are needed to ensure the broad reach of interdisciplinary education and equity.

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: Consultation paper

2026-04-28T02:26:05Z

Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise: Consultation paper Markauskaite, Lina; Goodyear, Peter; Wrigley, Cara; Swist, Teresa; Mosely, Genevieve This consultation paper is developed as a part of the project “Developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise”, funded by the NSW Department of Education Strategic Leveraging grant and led by a research team from the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland. The project aims to translate some findings from the research project “Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities” funded by the Australian Research Council to NSW teacher education and professional development. The project team will work with a network of pre- and in-service teacher providers to co-create a framework for developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise, including a set of reusable design resources for integrating the development of interdisciplinary expertise in pre-service teacher education and in-service professional development. This consultation paper presents initial ideas about teachers’ expertise for interdisciplinary teaching. It is based on the initial analysis of key curriculum and policy documents, scoping literature review, and the project team’s research. It is intended to stimulate discussions and sharing of ideas with a range of potential collaborators. The outcomes of this consultation will be used to: a) identify the principal challenges teachers face – and the capabilities and resources they need – when developing their students’ abilities to engage in productive interdisciplinary project work; and b) co-create a framework for developing teachers’ interdisciplinary expertise, including a set of reusable design resources for integrating the development of interdisciplinary expertise in pre-service teacher education and in-service professional development.

Global Postschool Pockets of Excellence

2026-04-22T03:15:54Z

Global Postschool Pockets of Excellence Zanuttini, Jessica This report on international programs provides a snapshot of postschool pockets of excellence that support the quality of life and ongoing learning opportunities of young people with disabilities after high school. The aim of this report is to provide an insight into the program components that are (a) evident in global examples of postschool programs for school leavers with moderate to severe disabilities and (b) supported by research evidence. The recommendations of this report include actions to guide the improvement of postschool service options for individuals with moderate to severe disabilities. These actions include ways of planning and organising postschool programs and services that encourage partnerships with families, provide opportunities for ongoing learning and development, and improve the skills and knowledge of those who deliver these programs.

Evaluation of the Ngaramura “See the Way” Program - Community Report

2026-04-22T03:15:54Z

Evaluation of the Ngaramura “See the Way” Program - Community Report Clapham, K; Harwood, V; Sheppeard, F; Wellington, K Since 2018 the Ngaramura “See the Way” Program has provided an alternative education service for Aboriginal young people suspended or risk of suspension from school in the Illawarra region of NSW. Ngaramura provides a unique educational and cultural learning environment that meets the needs of Aboriginal students facing challenges in their school and social environments.  Four key concepts underlie Ngaramura: Re-connecting with education though culture and identity; Elders as holders of Indigenous cultural knowledge and history; culturally safe spaces for young people to learn and thrive; and Culture continuity through young people. Ngaramura operationalises these key concepts by: learning through Culture; adapting the Community setting as a cultural learning place; linking young people, families and schools; asserting Aboriginal identity in relationships with schools; connecting young people to services; and providing supportive pathways to address educational and employment disadvantage  A total of 87 students (Years 7 to 12) from 5 local high schools, participated in Ngaramura over a 3 year evaluation period (2018-2020) which included lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The program met its key outcomes for Aboriginal young people, families, school and the Coomaditchie organisation. There is clear evidence of the program’s positive impact on the young Aboriginal people. Students reported experiencing school ‘differently’, more positively, following participation in Ngaramura. Parents and school staff witnessed a greater sense of pride, sense of belonging and self-worth, in students. School staff reported being able to build better relationships with students; while students appreciated that there were a team of people supporting them.  Schools reported increased retention of Indigenous students, increased school attendance, greater cooperation. In the absence of Ngaramura, it is likely that many of the young Aboriginal participants would have left the education system, unable to keep up with schoolwork, or through expulsion.  Ngaramura helped parents overcome barriers to supporting their children’s success at school, through the Family Support Worker, referral pathways, transport assistance and access to resources.  Current policy acknowledges that valuing and respecting culture underlies effort to support Indigenous young people to thrive and reach their potential. Innovative programs such as Ngaramura are uniquely able to fill this much needed place-based cultural input, with local Indigenous knowledge from respected Elders who know the Community and are experts in local Indigenous history.  Coomaditchie is a place of cultural, environmental and historical significance for Aboriginal people in the Illawarra. The delivery of Ngaramura on Country at Coomaditchie is a key element to the success of the program. The two Cultural Workers who are well respected Elders provided vital cultural leadership within the program  Evidence shows that when supported by strengths-based, high-expectations approaches, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people can thrive in education and be supported to reach their potential. To enable this, school environments must be culturally safe and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures must be valued, respected and visibly present. Ngaramura reflects these practices, providing a highly specialised program rich in culture and a place where the young Aboriginal people thrive in an educational environment.

Evaluation of the Ngaramura Program –Final Report

2026-04-22T03:05:45Z

Evaluation of the Ngaramura Program –Final Report Clapham, K; Harwood, V; Sheppeard, F; Wellington, K Since 2018 the Ngaramura “See the Way” Program has provided an alternative education service for Aboriginal young people suspended or risk of suspension from school in the Illawarra region of NSW. Ngaramura provides a unique educational and cultural learning environment that meets the needs of Aboriginal students facing challenges in their school and social environments. Four key concepts underlie Ngaramura: Re-connecting with education though culture and identity; Elders as holders of Indigenous cultural knowledge and history; culturally safe spaces for young people to learn and thrive; and Culture continuity through young people. Ngaramura operationalises these key concepts by: learning through Culture; adapting the Community setting as a cultural learning place; linking young people, families and schools; asserting Aboriginal identity in relationships with schools; connecting young people to services; and providing supportive pathways to address educational and employment disadvantage A total of 87 students (Years 7 to 12) from 5 local high schools, participated in Ngaramura over a 3 year evaluation period (2018-2020) which included lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Program met its key outcomes for Aboriginal young people, families, school and the Coomaditchie organisation. There is clear evidence of the program’s positive impact on the young Aboriginal people. Students reported experiencing school ‘differently’, more positively, following participation in Ngaramura. Parents and school staff witnessed a greater sense of pride, sense of belonging and self-worth, in students. school staff reported being able to build better relationships with students; while students appreciated that there were a team of people supporting them. Schools reported increased retention of Indigenous students, increased school attendance, greater cooperation. In the absence of Ngaramura, it is likely that many of the young Aboriginal participants would have left the education system, unable to keep up with schoolwork, or through expulsion. Ngaramura helped parents overcome barriers to supporting their children’s success at school, through the Family Support Worker, referral pathways, transport assistance and access to resources. Current policy acknowledges that valuing and respecting culture underlies effort to support Indigenous young people to thrive and reach their potential. Innovative programs such as Ngaramura are uniquely able to fill this much needed place-based cultural input, with local Indigenous knowledge from respected elders who know the Community and are experts in local Indigenous history. Coomaditchie is a place of cultural, environmental and historical significance for Aboriginal people in the Illawarra. The delivery of Ngaramura on Country at Coomaditchie is a key element to the success of the program. The two Cultural Workers who are well respected elders provided vital cultural leadership within the program Evidence shows that when supported by strengths-based, high-expectations approaches, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people can thrive in education and be supported to reach their potential. To enable this, school environments must be culturally safe and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures must be valued, respected and visibly present. Ngaramura reflects these practices, providing a highly specialised program rich in culture and a place where the young Aboriginal people thrive in an educational environment.

The Good University? Colourful Histories, Ongoing Troubles, and Changing Contexts

2026-04-22T03:05:45Z

The Good University? Colourful Histories, Ongoing Troubles, and Changing Contexts Krishnaraj, Meenakshi; Xu, Ren-Hao; Norman, Pat During the strict COVID restrictions in 2020, the ‘Critical Theory, Education and Social Work Reading Group’ based at the University of Sydney met via Zoom to discuss Raewyn Connell’s The good university (2019). The crisis faced by higher education institutions—set against broader social and political crises triggered by the pandemic—was the palpable backdrop for discussions. Drawing on examples offered by pioneering universities and educational reformers around the world, Connell outlines a vision for making universities more engaging and more productive places, driven by social good rather than profit, and helping to build fairer societies. Connell’s book generated a rich stream of reflections and responses, especially from postgraduate students who are in a liminal space in the global higher education industry. They are often both students and precariously employed staff; both visible as sources of income for universities and invisible as its workers; both already within the university system and uncertain if they will remain. In this chapter, three (former) postgraduates of the reading group—Meenakshi Krishnaraj, Ren-Hao Leo Xu, and Pat Norman—engage with Connell on university teaching, research, and professional work, respectively. Each in their own way raises the question: How can we reimagine ‘the good university’?

Performing Empathy with Neoliberalism, or Kendall Jenner on the Streets, Thomas Gradgrind in the Sheets: A Response to Lauren Weber

2026-04-22T03:15:54Z

Performing Empathy with Neoliberalism, or Kendall Jenner on the Streets, Thomas Gradgrind in the Sheets: A Response to Lauren Weber Norman, Pat The literary imagination helps broaden our ethical horizon. Engaging that imagination through reading draws on politics and emotion, as exemplified in the pedagogical approaches of Martha Nussbaum and Megan Boler. Lauren Weber has noted that these practices can also become bound up in the demands of neoliberalism. I argue that neoliberalism encourages us to engage in a different form of ‘reading’: reading the text of the world as consumers. Ideas that threaten neoliberalism—such as empathy—are appropriated into its form of public pedagogy. However, these forms of ‘depoliticised’ politics can reveal the emptiness of neoliberal claims to be concerned with social justice. One such case is Pepsi’s ‘Live for Now’ campaign, which attempted to appropriate the imagery of Black Lives Matter and similar social movements. This chapter positions such thinned out readings of the world against forms of pedagogy that deal in affect, empathy, and uncanniness: practices that create room for thinking differently and ‘repoliticising’ education.

Wrestling with Monsters: Critique, Climate Change, and Comets

2026-04-22T03:15:58Z

Wrestling with Monsters: Critique, Climate Change, and Comets Norman, Pat We live, as the Chinese saying supposedly goes, in interesting times. Žižek (2012) argues that our times constitute a state of permanent crisis. This sense of crisis is felt across material domains through climate change or geopolitics, to policy settings that respond to ‘crises’ in our bureaucracies. How are we to respond to such a state? In this chapter, I discuss Žižek’s call not to act, but to think. Žižek’s project uses psychoanalytic ideology critique to pose questions about the way people understand the ‘problems of society’. He uses the metaphors of masks and fantasy to unpack the way particular ‘truths’ are symbolic representations that act to construct hegemonic ideologies that define the world. The intellectual work of the academy—that which ‘has no practical use’ (Žižek, 2012. Counterpoints, 422, 32–44)—involves the interrogation and critique of these masks: to explore how the ways we perceive a problem can themselves be part of the problem. Faced with these complex, mediated rationalities, Žižek argues that there is often a push to act quickly, often in ways that do not create solutions. The challenge is to find ways to re-articulate the problems of our world in ways that transform our understanding and therefore the terrain of possibility. This chapter engages with this challenge through the lens of climate change and the school strike movement.

Wiradjuri Workbooks

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Wiradjuri Workbooks Riley-McNaboe, Diane; Riley, Lynette Wiradjuri is the traditional language spoken from Mudgee to Dubbo, Narromine, Wellington and Gilgandra, by the largest Aboriginal group in central NSW. The workbooks are vital teaching resources designed to help build an understanding of Wiradjuri culture through language and symbols. They include interactive family games and activities to help Aboriginal children and families maintain their connection to culture, community, and Country. The workbooks can be used in homes as a fun family activity, by caseworkers as a tool for developing meaningful cultural activities during family time for Aboriginal children in care, and in schools to share cultural understanding of language and Country.

Automated Essay Scoring in Australian Schools: Collective Policymaking - Policy Brief

2026-04-28T02:26:07Z

Automated Essay Scoring in Australian Schools: Collective Policymaking - Policy Brief Gulson, Kalervo N.; Thompson, Greg; Swist, Teresa; Kitto, Kirsty; Rutkowski, Leslie; Rutkowski, David; Hogan, Anna; Zhang, Vincent; Knight, Simon This policy brief outlines critical issues associated with policy and the use of Automated Essay Scoring (AES) technology in the Australian education system. The brief outlines recommends multi-scalar policy development informed by educators, policymakers, and representatives from educational technology companies engaging in cooperative learning and action.

Automated Essay Scoring in Australian Schools: Key Issues and Recommendations White Paper

2026-04-28T02:26:05Z

Automated Essay Scoring in Australian Schools: Key Issues and Recommendations White Paper Gulson, Kalervo N.; Thompson, Greg; Swist, Teresa; Kitto, Kirsty; Rutkowski, Leslie; Rutkowski, David; Hogan, Anna; Zhang, Vincent; Knight, Simon This white paper outlines critical issues associated with the use of Automated Essay Scoring (AES) technology in the Australian education system. The key insights presented in this paper emerged from a collaborative, multi-stakeholder workshop held in July 2022 that explored an automated essay-scoring trial and generated future possibilities aligned with participant interests and expertise. Drawing on the workshop and our expert understanding of the wider landscape, we propose recommendations that can be adopted by various stakeholders, schools, and educational systems.

Good teachers and counter conduct

2026-04-22T03:15:56Z

Good teachers and counter conduct Norman, Pat Research on policy enactment has explored tensions created by accountability approaches associated with new forms of management under neoliberalism. These approaches generate particular discursive constructs of the ‘good teacher’ – constructs that often negate the rich, unmeasurable, and ethical practices associated with teacher professionalism. This paper draws on data generated as part of an institutional ethnography at an Australian school. Five teachers reflected on their work and the policies and procedures that govern it. They reported a range of practices for coping with the demands of policy enactment; described by one informant using the heuristic of attachment, aversion, and indifference. Significantly, the influence of external contingency – specifically in the form of climate change – represents a complex space in which teachers must navigate using ethical judgment and practical wisdom. This kind of ethical work creates demands that exceed the circumscribed notions of good teaching present in governing policies. Taking up the Foucauldian concept of counter conduct, this paper argues that these ‘unofficial’ practices are an expression of ethical professionalism. Rather than being explicitly ‘activist’, these teachers are simply engaging in ‘good work’ as it might be understood under the external contingencies associated with a changing and challenging world.

Education as a Complex System: Conceptual and Methodological Implications

2026-04-28T02:26:05Z

Education as a Complex System: Conceptual and Methodological Implications Jacobson, Michael J.; Levin, James A.; Kapur, Manu Education is a complex system, which has conceptual and methodological implications for education research and policy. In this article, an overview is first provided of the Complex Systems Conceptual Framework for Learning (CSCFL), which consists of a set of conceptual perspectives that are generally shared by educational complex systems, organized into two focus areas: collective behaviors of a system, and behaviors of individual agents in a system. Complexity and research methodologies for education are then considered, and it is observed that commonly used quantitative and qualitative techniques are generally appropriate for studying linear dynamics of educational systems. However, it is proposed that computational modeling approaches, being extensively used for studying nonlinear characteristics of complex systems in other fields, can provide a methodological complement to quantitative and qualitative education research approaches. Two research case studies of this approach are discussed. We conclude with a consideration of how viewing education as a complex system using complex systems’ conceptual and methodological tools can help advance education research and also inform policy.

Computational scientific inquiry with virtual worlds and agent-based models: new ways of doing science to learn science

2026-05-07T02:24:30Z

Computational scientific inquiry with virtual worlds and agent-based models: new ways of doing science to learn science Jacobson, Michael J.; Taylor, Charlotte E.; Richards, Deborah In this paper, we propose computational scientific inquiry (CSI) as an innovative model for learning important scientific knowledge and new practices for “doing” science. This approach involves the use of a “game-like” virtual world for students to experience virtual biological fieldwork in conjunction with using an agent-based computer model to enable computational inquiry activities. After an overview of literature into learning about scientific inquiry and the use of virtual worlds and game-like systems for learning science, we provide a description of the technology systems we developed and the methods of the study. The results are reported of a two-week intervention involving the use of a CSI approach in two eighth-grade classes that found significant learning gains by students. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and a consideration of CSI more generally for learning important and difficult scientific knowledge and practices.

Designs for learning about climate change as a complex system

2026-05-07T02:24:11Z

Designs for learning about climate change as a complex system Jacobson, Michael J.; Markauskaite, Lina; Portolese, Alisha; Kapur, Manu; Lai, Polly K.; Robert, Gareth This paper reports on a study in which students used agent-based computer models to learn about complex systems ideas of relevance to understanding climate change. The experimental condition used a Productive Failure (PF) learning design in which ninth grade students initially worked with agent-based computer models to solve challenge problems followed by teacher instruction about targeted climate and complexity ideas. In contrast, the comparison condition employed a Direct Instruction (DI) learning design in which the teacher instruction was provided initially, followed by the students working on the same computer models and challenge problems as the experimental group. The students in the PF group scored significantly higher on the post-test on measures of climate and complex systems explanatory knowledge and near and far knowledge transfer. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered.

Schema abstraction with productive failure and analogical comparison: Learning designs for far across domain transfer

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Schema abstraction with productive failure and analogical comparison: Learning designs for far across domain transfer Jacobson, Michael J.; Goldwater, Micah; Markauskaite, Lina; Lai, Polly K.; Kapur, Manu; Roberts, Gareth; Hilton, Courtney Although there has been considerable research into knowledge transfer for over a century, there remains a need for specific, validated techniques for teaching for transfer. This article reports on classroom-based research in which students learned about complex systems and climate change with agent-based computer models using two different instructional approaches based on productive failure (PF). In both PF approaches, students initially explored a problem space on their own and then received teacher-led instruction. One treatment group used climate computer models whereas the other group engaged in analogical comparisons between the same climate computer models and complexity computer models in different domains. The study found both groups demonstrated significant learning gains by posttest on assessments of declarative and explanatory knowledge and on within domain near transfer. However, students in the two models treatment group performed at a significantly higher level on an across domain far transfer problem solving task. Theoretical and practical implications are considered.

Action research with caseworkers: Responding to and reflecting on the impacts of COVID‐19 on birth family contact

2026-04-22T03:15:55Z

Action research with caseworkers: Responding to and reflecting on the impacts of COVID‐19 on birth family contact Ciftci, Sarah; Collings, Susan; Wright, Amy Conley Social distancing due to COVID‐19 forced changes to contact with birth relatives for children in out‐of‐home care. This required a shift to using technologies, which was previously underutilized and viewed as risky. In an action research study, 33 caseworkers in New South Wales, Australia, reflected upon adapting their practices. Three key themes characterized the changes in caseworker practices and how these impacted upon social interactions between children and their birth and carer families: communication, not location; shared not separate spaces and spontaneous not restricted interaction. First, caseworkers described how contact via technologies involved fewer logistical arrangements, shifting the focus on interactions among children and their two families and encouraging these to be flexible and child‐centred. Second, caseworkers discussed how spending time together virtually could build trust, as carers and birth relatives could forge relationships around shared commitment to the child's wellbeing. Third, caseworkers noted that technology‐facilitated communication enabled greater choice and control for children while requiring renegotiating boundaries. The findings reflect a shift in caseworker perceptions of technology‐facilitated contact from a risk to opportunity framework as a result of COVID‐19 conditions, consistent with social shaping of technology theory. Beyond the pandemic, contact with birth relatives can be enhanced through technology.

Formal Middle Leadership in NSW Public Schools

2026-04-28T02:26:09Z

Formal Middle Leadership in NSW Public Schools Lipscombe, Kylie; De Nobile, John; Tindall-Ford, Sharon; Grice, Christine Report purpose The purpose of this executive summary is to present an overview of the research findings from 2608 respondents who participated in the NSW Formal Middle Leadership Survey (FML_NSW). A full report is available on the NSW DOE SLI website. This project was commissioned by the NSW Department of Education (DoE) School Leadership Institute (SLI) and led by a cross-institutional research team consisting of Dr Kylie Lipscombe (University of Wollongong), Dr John De Nobile (Macquarie University), Dr Sharon Tindall-Ford (University of Wollongong), and Dr Christine Grice (The University of Sydney).

Tuvatar: An Avatar-Mediated Small Group Learning Environment

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Tuvatar: An Avatar-Mediated Small Group Learning Environment Ho, Erica Using the metaphor of the theatre, Goffman describes people as actors who perform roles according to the social situations. From this perspective, our behaviours and reactions are influenced by how we think others perceive us and how we want to be perceived by others. As collaborative learning is a social interaction, this research uses Goffman’s perspective to develop a framework and design a novel learning platform with the aim of understanding and facilitating collaborative learning. The paper of this poster can be found in the ISLS 2022 Annual Meeting Proceedings at https://2022.isls.org/ or ISLS Repository at https://repository.isls.org/ after the conference.

An exploratory study of customisable avatars for collaborative learning

2026-04-28T02:26:07Z

An exploratory study of customisable avatars for collaborative learning Ho, Erica Computer-mediated communication (CMC) research has shown that avatars influence user behaviours in both video game and social media environments. This study aims to investigate customisable avatars used in a spontaneous doctoral community on Reddit (a social media and discussion website) and identify avatar characteristics that may facilitate collaborative learning through text mining and crowd-sourced data coding. As a work in progress, the research questions and methods for Reddit data collection and analysis will be presented to get feedback from other ISLS members in the New Members Session at ISLS Annual Meeting 2022. The findings from this study would be applied to improve the design of Tuvatar.com (an avatar-mediated small group learning environment) which will be presented in the main poster session at the CSCL conference 2022.

Technology and aesthetics in school excellence policies: the case of Through Growth to Achievement

2026-05-07T02:24:13Z

Technology and aesthetics in school excellence policies: the case of Through Growth to Achievement Norman, Pat Global policy development in schooling often looks to solutions that embrace technology and articulate a ‘what works’ approach to practice. This paper takes as a case study the Australian Government’s Through Growth to Achievement report on achieving school excellence. It analyses the report through the lens of ‘sublimes’, which provide insight into the way certain policy rhetoric can become reified. Through Growth to Achievement emphasises technological solutions which align with and reify an aesthetic notion of good teaching that draws on the ‘what works’ literature. This analysis argues that certain assumptions about technology, teacher practice and the ‘evidence’ for good policy are based on these reifications. A sublimes analysis makes these unspoken assumptions explicit and reveals the way they reinforce globalised policy approaches and foreclose others.

Dialogic Teaching and the Architecture of Hybrid Learning Spaces: Alexander Meets Alexander

2026-04-22T03:15:58Z

Dialogic Teaching and the Architecture of Hybrid Learning Spaces: Alexander Meets Alexander Simpson, Alyson; Goodyear, Peter In this chapter, we explore some ideas about hybridity, language and reconfiguration using a case study of pre-service teachers (PST) enrolled in initial teacher education. The course in question prepares teachers for teaching English in primary schools. Its ethos is strongly influenced by Robin Alexander's principles of dialogic teaching. Our case analysis examines dialogic learning activities flowing across multiple hybrid spaces, including spaces being rapidly reconfigured in response to the Covid-19 lock-down. In one example, we map the students' activities across hybrid spaces constituted by their "lock-down" home-working sites and Zoom rooms. We show how these activities involved the take-up of various digital, material and hybrid tools and artefacts, in small group and whole class work, choreographed to make an intense, productive and enjoyable synchronous session. In a second example, we show how some travelling artefacts created by primary school children - letters in which they wrote about their reading preferences - became important resources for the PST across a semester. The letters provided scaffolding for the PST's learning, also supporting the evolution of their working relationships and the collaborative formation of professional identity. Individual analysis and small group discussion of these letters promoted the development of shared understandings of important aspects of the teaching of reading and writing. The university students wrote back to the primary school children and their class teachers, completing the loop and realising a hybrid learning space that stretched across homes, the primary schools and the university, as well as the imagined worlds created in and by books. In analysing each of these examples, we draw upon the work of the architect Christopher Alexander, who helps us think more clearly about connections between valued activities and the design of hybrid learning spaces.

What is the 'public' in public education? Mapping past, present and future educational imaginaries of Europe and beyond

2026-04-22T01:50:40Z

What is the 'public' in public education? Mapping past, present and future educational imaginaries of Europe and beyond Clarke, Matthew; Mills, Martin; Mockler, Nicole; Singh, Parlo This special issue explores past, present and potential future imaginaries of 'public' education in Europe and beyond. The special issue is located in a contemporary context of political turmoil, in which one in four European voters allegedly supports populist political parties, with the largest support for far-right forms of populism; it is also set against a historical background of several decades of significant change in the social, political and economic contexts of education, whereby schools and universities have been reimagined and reorganized so as to conform to the marketized and managerialist contours of the neoliberal imaginary; and it is set against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to lockdowns and school closures in many countries and prompted many to question supposedly 'normal' ways of doing school and education in less turbulent times. For all these reasons, the special issue is topical and timely.

A bridge across our fears: understanding spoken word poetry in troubled times

2026-04-22T01:50:32Z

A bridge across our fears: understanding spoken word poetry in troubled times Curwood, Jen Scott; Jones, Katelyn Spoken word poetry encourages youth to engage in identity construction, resist oppression and construct counternarratives. Through participating in community_based slams, school workshops and online events, young people can take part in visible activism through exploring their own identity, power and agency and seeing themselves as change agents. In this article, we share longitudinal case studies of two youth poets based in Sydney, Australia. As young women of colour coming of age in troubled times, we consider how poetry offers them a way to engage in story telling and to create counternarratives. We also explore how spoken word allows them to explore their cultural identities, offer testimony about their lived experiences and participate in activism. We situate our research within the COVID-19 pandemic and critically reflect on how the shift online has offered new opportunities whilst also presenting unexpected challenges for youth poets.

Technology-Supported University Courses for Increasing University Students’ Physical Activity Levels: A Systematic Review and Set of Design Principles for Future Practice

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Technology-Supported University Courses for Increasing University Students’ Physical Activity Levels: A Systematic Review and Set of Design Principles for Future Practice Sultoni, Kuston; Peralta, Louisa; Cotton, Wayne Physical activity levels tend to decrease as adolescents’ transition to adulthood. University course-based interventions utilising technology are a promising idea to combat this decrease. This review aims to systematically identify, critically appraise, and summarise the best available evidence regarding technology-supported university courses that aim to increase student’s physical activity levels. The second aim is to create initial design principles that will inform future practice in the area. Data Sources: CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PsycINFO, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science. Search dates from January 2010 to December 2020. Study Inclusion: RCT or non-RCT or quasi-experimental studies describing university course-based interventions using technology that aim to increase the physical activity levels of university students. Data Extraction: Source (country), methods, participants, interventions, theoretical frameworks and type of technologies, outcome and measurement instrument, and results. Data Synthesis: Systematic review. Result: A total of 1939 articles were identified through databases. Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Conclusion: Four of the six included studies reported significant increases in university students’ physical activity levels. An analysis of the six included studies identified four design principles that future course designers could utilise as they develop technology-supported university courses that aim to increase the physical activity levels of university students. Further work is required to test the effectiveness of these four design principles.

Improving treatment for people with cognitive impairment and substance misuse issues: Lessons from an inclusive residential treatment program pilot in Australia

2026-04-28T02:26:06Z

Improving treatment for people with cognitive impairment and substance misuse issues: Lessons from an inclusive residential treatment program pilot in Australia Collings, Susan; Allan, Julaine; Munro, Alice Background Approximately half of the substance dependence treatment population is estimated to have a cognitive impairment, which reduces participation, retention, and post-treatment outcomes. Cognitive behaviour change approaches are less effective for this population and cognitive remediation strategies have been found to improve outcomes. Evidence on modified programs to remove environmental barriers for treatment seekers with disability does not exist. Objective A modified residential substance misuse treatment program in New South Wales, Australia was piloted and evaluated to address this knowledge gap. Method Of 67 residents who received treatment during the evaluation period, 33 were screened as having cognitive impairment. Twelve residents took part in an interview and 10 staff in a focus group to understand their views of the pilot program. Resident characteristics and retention rates and themes about program benefits and challenges are reported. Results Treatment completion was up to 5 times higher for residents with cognitive impairment after the new program was implemented. The pilot program provided simplified written and visual materials and concrete examples and introduced a daily virtues program to embed new learning and support behaviour change. Resources to allow staff to engage more intensively with residents and provision of ongoing staff training were viewed as essential for program success. Conclusions Environmental adaptations, including a combination of conventional treatment modalities with accessible design and person-centred principles, removed barriers to treatment for residents with cognitive impairment. Creating a climate where respect, tolerance and peer support were normalised was likely to have been particularly beneficial for these residents.

Dissolving the Dichotomies Between Online and Campus-Based Teaching: a Collective Response to The Manifesto for Teaching Online (Bayne et al. 2020)

2026-04-22T03:16:00Z

Dissolving the Dichotomies Between Online and Campus-Based Teaching: a Collective Response to The Manifesto for Teaching Online (Bayne et al. 2020) MacKenzie, Alison; Bacalja, Alexander; Annamali, Devisakti; Panaretou, Argyro; Girme, Prajakta; Cutajar, Maria; Abegglen, Sandra; Evens, Marshall; Neuhaus, Fabian; Wilson, Kylie; Psarikidou, Katerina; Koole, Marguerite; Hrastinski, Stefan; Sturm, Sean; Adachi, Chie; Schnaider, Karoline; Bozkurt, Aras; Rapanta, Chrysi; Themelis, Chryssa; Thestrup, Klaus; Gislev, Tom; Örtegren, Alex; Costello, Eamon; Dishon, Gideon; Hoechsmann, Michael; Bucio, Jackeline; Vadillo, Guadalupe; Sánchez-Mendiola, Melchor; Goetz, Greta; Gusso, Helder Lima; Arantes, Janine Aldous; Kishore, Pallavi; Lodahl, Mikkel; Suoranta, Juha; Markauskaite, Lina; Mörtsell, Sara; O'Reilly, Tanya; Reed, Jack; Bhatt, Ibrar; Brown, Cheryl; MacCallum, Kathryn; Ackermann, Cecile; Alexander, Carolyn; Payne, Ameena Leah; Bennett, Rebecca; Stone, Cathy; Collier, Amy; Lohnes Watulak, Sarah; Jandri_, Petar; Peters, Michael; Gourlay, Lesley This article is a collective response to the 2020 iteration of The Manifesto for Teaching Online. Originally published in 2011 as 20 simple but provocative statements, the aim was, and continues to be, to critically challenge the normalization of education as techno-corporate enterprise and the failure to properly account for digital methods in teaching in Higher Education. The 2020 Manifesto continues in the same critically provocative fashion, and, as the response collected here demonstrates, its publication could not be timelier. Though the Manifesto was written before the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the responses gathered here inevitably reflect on the experiences of moving to digital, distant, online teaching under unprecedented conditions. As these contributions reveal, the challenges were many and varied, ranging from the positive, breakthrough opportunities that digital learning offered to many students, including the disabled, to the problematic, such as poor digital networks and access, and simple digital poverty. Regardless of the nature of each response, taken together, what they show is that The Manifesto for Teaching Online offers welcome insights into and practical advice on how to teach online, and creatively confront the supremacy of face-to-face teaching.

COVID-19 related retinal micro-vasculopathy - a review of current evidence

2026-04-22T03:15:53Z

COVID-19 related retinal micro-vasculopathy - a review of current evidence Teo, Kelvin Yc; Invernizzi, Alessandro; Staurenghi, Giovanni; Cheung, Chui Ming Gemmy PURPOSE: To evaluate the occurrence of retinal micro-vasculopathy in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and developed coronavirus disease (COVID-19). DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: The Pubmed and Embase databases were comprehensively searched to identify studies that reported retina vascular changes in eyes with COVID-19. Two independent reviewers selected papers and extracted data for analysis. Data of interest were extracted and analysed in RevMan Web versions 3.3. Quality of evidence was assessed using the National institute of health (NIH) quality assessment tool of case-control study. RESULTS: Thirty one studies reporting on 1373 subjects (972 COVID-19 and 401 controls) were included. Only case control studies were included in the pooled analysis. There was a significantly higher likelihood of retinal micro-vasculopathy in subjects with COVID-19 compared to controls. (odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 8.86 [2.54-27.53], p<0.01). Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) reveals reduced vessel density and enlarged foveal avascular zone in subjects with COVID-19 compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that COVID-19 related retinal micro-vasculopathy is a significant ocular manifestation of COVID-19 and may herald future retinal complications. These microvascular impairments might occurred antecedent to clinically visible changes and could be detected early by OCTA. These findings are significant due to the large numbers with COVID-19 and needs to be recognized by ophthalmologist as a potential long term sequelea of the disease.

Teacher education in times of disruption: Lessons learned from teaching and learning in Australian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic

2026-04-22T03:15:55Z

Teacher education in times of disruption: Lessons learned from teaching and learning in Australian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic Stephens, E.C.; Curwood J.S.

Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education

2026-04-22T03:15:59Z

Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education Rapanta, Chrysi; Botturi, Luca; Goodyear, Peter; Guàrdia Lourdes; Koole, Marguerite The Covid-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for rethinking assumptions about education in general and higher education in particular. In the light of the general crisis the pandemic caused, especially when it comes to the so-called emergency remote teaching (ERT), educators from all grades and contexts experienced the necessity of rethinking their roles, the ways of supporting the students’ learning tasks and the image of students as self-organising learners, active citizens and autonomous social agents. In our first Postdigital Science and Education paper, we sought to distil and share some expert advice for campus-based university teachers to adapt to online teaching and learning. In this sequel paper, we ask ourselves: Now that campus-based university teachers have experienced the unplanned and forced version of Online Learning and Teaching (OLT), how can this experience help bridge the gap between online and in-person teaching in the following years? The four experts, also co-authors of this paper, interviewed aligning towards an emphasis on pedagogisation rather than digitalisation of higher education, with strategic decision-making being in the heart of post-pandemic practices. Our literature review of papers published in the last year and analysis of the expert answers reveal that the ‘forced’ experience of teaching with digital technologies as part of ERT can gradually give place to a harmonious integration of physical and digital tools and methods for the sake of more active, flexible and meaningful learning.

Power, Knowledge and Palpatine

2026-04-28T02:26:09Z

Power, Knowledge and Palpatine Norman, Pat In this chapter, I look at the way Star Wars can help us to understand Michel Foucault’s concepts of power/knowledge and governmentality. Foucault argued that power and knowledge interact and produce each other, and this relationship is instrumental in techniques of governing people (or subjects). The Jedi in the Star Wars galaxy provide a case study in how the strategies and tactics of power are deployed to shape institutions of government and to apply these to the formation of the self. Star Wars is a huge pop cultural phenomenon, spanning decades. The prequel trilogy captures the long decline and fall of the Old Republic—a manipulation by the evil Palpatine who engineered both sides of this conflict from the shadows. In this sense, it is a case study in the exercise of power over knowledge. Foucault’s ideas about power/knowledge and governmentality are useful in a wide range of fields: from education to political science, economics to sociology. Just as the Force and the logic of the Jedi shape and produce identity, the social and governing structures of our world do the same. This essay will explore how Foucault’s idea of power can be observed in the galaxy of Star Wars and how those lessons might be applied to our own, much closer, contemporary world.

Trauma-informed family contact practice for children in out-of-home care

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Trauma-informed family contact practice for children in out-of-home care Collings, Susan; Wright, Amy Conley; McLean, Loyola; Buratti, Sue Trauma knowledge and skills are needed to support relational safety for children in out-of-home care and birth family contact is a particular area where trauma-informed approaches are critical. Mixed methods were used to understand the application of trauma-informed approaches to contact in New South Wales, Australia. A total of 118 caseworkers and 15 organisational leaders took part in an anonymous survey or semi-structured interview. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were completed. Results indicated that caseworkers were confident in their knowledge of trauma and ability to protect children at contact but not to explain trauma to carers or manage conflict between carers and birth relatives. Confusion about how to deliver trauma-informed practice hampered knowledge-to-practice translation. Staff training and supervision were used to build workforce skills but were not evaluated and no strategies to reduce vicarious trauma were identified. Strategies to promote psychological safety and improve cultural safety for Aboriginal children and families were in their infancy. The study demonstrates that the out-of-home-care sector needs a community of practice where it can test, implement and share promising strategies for improving relational safety and where adult and child trauma survivors are empowered to inform and lead new approaches to contact.

Interviews from Intercultural Understanding Research in NSW Pathways

2026-04-28T02:26:09Z

Interviews from Intercultural Understanding Research in NSW Pathways Allen, Suzanne The researcher's written records of interviews with administrators, tutors, and students within three pathways to higher education in NSW. The focus was on the nature of intercultural understanding within the three institutes. All interviews were conducted in 2017.

Telling visual stories of loss and hope: Body mapping with mothers about contact after child removal

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Telling visual stories of loss and hope: Body mapping with mothers about contact after child removal Collings, Susan; Wright, Amy Conley; Spencer, Margaret Visual research methods reduce reliance on verbal communication and offer an avenue for non-verbal storytelling. Body mapping is a visual arts-based research method with its origins in art therapy and community development. It has been successfully used to explore embodied experiences of marginalised social groups. Participants engage in sensory and multimodal storytelling by tracing a life-size body outline and adorning it with fabrics, drawings and images to symbolise their views during a guided interview. This approach was used in research to explore birth family contact experiences in New South Wales, where children have ongoing direct contact with birth relatives in long-term care, guardianship and open adoption. Twelve mothers of children in permanent care took part in body mapping to explore their feelings about contact and the support they need to nurture a relationship with their children. Immersion in the artistic process of bringing a representational body to life granted these mothers access to hidden memories about their experience of child removal. They used evocative images to depict system violence and their fight against the erasure of their mother identity as well to envision a positive future relationship with their children. Body mapping potently revealed that traumatic loss resides in the body and resurfaces in encounters with child welfare systems. This has important policy and practice implications, highlighting a need for post-removal therapeutic services to process trauma and sensitive casework to rebuild parent trust and to help carers respond with empathy to their child’s mother at contact. This lends support to the usefulness of body mapping not only for research with vulnerable parents, but to its enormous potential as a creative engagement tool for child welfare practitioners.

Changing nature of adoption and need for post-adoption services: Intercountry adoption practice in Taiwan and Australia

2026-04-28T02:26:09Z

Changing nature of adoption and need for post-adoption services: Intercountry adoption practice in Taiwan and Australia Lin, Ching-Hsuan; Chen, Yu-Wen; Wang, Chin-Wan; Wright, Amy Conley; Spencer, Margaret; Van Wichelen, Sonja This study explores issues on post-adoption services in intercountry adoptions based on the perspectives of adoption professionals from Taiwan and Australia. Findings revealed that both birth and adoptive families identify service needs for material and emotional support and connection after the adoption process is finalized. However, the current lack of government funding for post-adoption services result in gaps in service delivery. Adoption agencies experience challenges in funding and balancing the interests of the child and the two families. Implications for practice and policy are discussed to enhance the quality of post-adoption services and improve the well-being of the adoption triad.

Primary teacher attitudes towards productive struggle in mathematics in remote learning versus classroom-based settings

2026-04-22T03:16:01Z

Primary teacher attitudes towards productive struggle in mathematics in remote learning versus classroom-based settings Russo, J.; Bobis, J.; Downton, A.; Livy, S.; Sullivan, P. Given what is known about the importance of productive struggle for supporting student learning of mathematics at all levels, the current study sought to examine teacher attitudes towards student struggle when students learn mathematics in remote learning settings compared with classroom settings. Eighty-two Australian early years primary teachers involved in a professional learning initiative focused on teaching mathematics through sequences of challenging tasks completed a questionnaire inviting them to compare the two settings. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, we found that teachers were more positive about the value of student struggle in classroom-based settings compared with remote learning settings. Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses revealed four themes capturing why teachers viewed efforts to support productive struggle in a remote learning setting as potentially problematic: absence of a teacher-facilitated, synchronous, learning environment; parents' negative attitudes towards struggle when learning mathematics; lack of social connection and peer-to-peer collaboration; and difficulties accessing learning materials. Suggestions for mitigating some of these challenges in the future are put forward.

‘I’m the centre part of a Venn diagram’: belonging and identity for Taiwanese-Australian intercountry adoptees

2026-04-28T02:26:05Z

‘I’m the centre part of a Venn diagram’: belonging and identity for Taiwanese-Australian intercountry adoptees Stoddart, Jennifer; Wright, Amy Conley; Spencer, Margaret; van Wichelen, Sonja Intercountry adoptees face many challenges in developing their identity and achieving a sense of belonging in post-assimilation Australia. This study uses a constructivist approach to analyse narrative interviews with a sample of Taiwanese intercountry adoptees in Australia ranging in age from early to middle adulthood. Social identity theory and postcolonial theory are used to frame thematic findings about the impact of micro, meso and macro influences on identity development and belonging. The article concludes with discussion of the importance of analysing the impact of colonisation and broader societal discourse in social work practice when working within the adoption sector.

Repackaging the Future: Artificial Intelligence, automated governance and education trade shows

2026-04-28T02:26:06Z

Repackaging the Future: Artificial Intelligence, automated governance and education trade shows Gulson, Kalervo; Witzenberger, Kevin Artificial Intelligence is increasingly posited as a key aspect of new education governance, built into everything from business intelligence platforms to real-time online testing. In this paper we are interested in the work an education trade show does to legitimate and support the use of AI in education governance, or more precisely, automated education governance. Automated education governance covers policy practices that are exercised by automated decision-making machines, and instances in which software has a governing role within education, mainly through the application of narrow forms of Artificial Intelligence. We aim to investigate the education technology trade show not only as a set of relations, and to see what work a trade show does it do in incorporating, legitimating, and propping up AI use in education. We propose that an education technology show helps to constitute an automated education governance assemblage, and creates and legitimises certain forms of educational governing practices around data generation, analysis and use that includes AI. We outline this argument using examples of off the shelf solutions, partnerships between Australian education technology companies providing student information system products and major global companies, and as part of start-up pitches for venture capital support. We conclude the paper by examining the limits of automated governance and identifying how AI is part of power and desire in education governance.

Adoption in Australia: Past, present and considerations for the future

2026-05-15T02:37:23Z

Adoption in Australia: Past, present and considerations for the future Wright, Amy Conley; Luu, Betty; Cashmore, Judy Australia has a troubled history with adoption, arising from the legacy of forced and “closed” adoptions and the systematic removal of Indigenous children, known as the “Stolen Generations”. Evidence from national inquiries and research shows that closed and forced adoptions denied children connection to their roots and had detrimental effects on children, birth parents, and their family and community networks. In recent years, the steady increase in the number of children in out-of-home care has prompted reconsideration of adoption, emphasising its purpose as a service to the child. Policy and legislative reforms to out-of-home care across Australian jurisdictions are promoting legal permanency for children who would otherwise grow up in care. Yet, issues continue to be debated about the “best interests of the child”, and the trade-offs of adoption compared with alternative legal orders, and the ethics of dispensing with birth parents’ consent. The adoption of Indigenous children remains very contentious.

Narrating connection in intercountry adoption: Complexities of openness in Taiwan‒Australia adoptions

2026-04-28T02:26:08Z

Narrating connection in intercountry adoption: Complexities of openness in Taiwan‒Australia adoptions Wright, Amy Conley; van Wichelen, Sonja; Spencer, Margaret; Chen, Yu-Wen; Lin, Ching‐Hsuan; Wang, Chin-Wan Connection and reunion is central to adoption, though complicated by geographical, cultural and linguistic differences in the intercountry adoption space. Drawing from narrative interviews, this study investigated perspectives on connection from the perspectives of adult adopted persons and adoptive parents in Australia, from families of origin in Taiwan and from professionals in both countries. Two primary themes characterising perspectives were found: openness to the possibilities of connection was the predominant theme among adoptees and adoptive parents, and concerns about disrupting the status quo was most common among birth mothers. These two perspectives are both distinct and at times simultaneously held. While connection in adoption is inherently personal and relational, due to the complex, sensitive and evolving nature of connections in adoption, developing and negotiating connections relies strongly on statutory and institutional policies and practices. The article concludes by discussing implications for policies and practices related to openness in intercountry adoption.

Chapter 1 Introduction in The Promotion of Education: A Critical Cultural Social Marketing Approach

2026-04-28T02:26:05Z

Chapter 1 Introduction in The Promotion of Education: A Critical Cultural Social Marketing Approach Harwood, Valerie; Murray, Nyssa This book introduces critical cultural social marketing and adapts these techniques for use in the promotion of educational futures in communities and places where there is educational disadvantage. An approach that builds on the discipline of social marketing, the authors describe the promotion of education as underpinned by a commitment to understanding the effects of difficult experiences with institutions such as schools, as well as the diversity of learning. Involving the critical in promoting education means it is possible to be alert to the impacts of institutional education, while involving the cultural means we are forced to appreciate and connect with learning in all its diversity. The authors draw upon examples from Lead My Learning, an education promotion campaign produced using a critical cultural social marketing approach. In doing so, they provide a detailed account of new ways to promote education.

Saying NO to Niceness: Innovative, progressive and transformative inclusive education with Australian Aboriginal students

2026-04-28T02:26:06Z

Saying NO to Niceness: Innovative, progressive and transformative inclusive education with Australian Aboriginal students Daniels-Mayes, Sheelagh; Harwood, Valerie; Murray, Nyssa This chapter contributes to the examination of inclusion and diversity in this Handbook by critiquing the enactment of niceness with Australian Aboriginal students. We draw upon Angelina Castagno who tells us that a nice person “is not someone who creates a lot of disturbance, conflict, controversy, or discomfort” (Castagno, 2014, p.17). We argue that left uncritiqued, enactments of niceness are always at risk of becoming enactments of racialisation, exclusion and assimilation. Acts of niceness, we argue, deflect our attention away from embedded racism borne out of two centuries of dispossessing colonisation in Australia. Our research reveals how niceness impacts the inclusion of Australian Aboriginal students at all levels of institutional education. We argue that we must find ways of revealing and ‘saying NO to Niceness’ within schools and beyond so as to contribute to improving educational success but not at the expense of a students’ Aboriginality. The chapter draws upon two Australian research projects that both documented acts of ‘niceness’ in Aboriginal education. Each revealed innovative strategies for saying NO to niceness in educational spaces, enabling a counterstory of success to emerge. The first is a critical school ethnography undertaken with teachers who are both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. The second is a study that used ‘strategic discourse production’ (Harwood & Murray, under review) to co-create Lead My Learning, an education promotion campaign that adapted social marketing techniques in partnership with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal parents who have experienced educational disadvantages. Finally, the chapter investigates the significance of culturally responsive caring relationships grounded in an Aboriginal ethic of care, as a tool for disrupting the dominant racialized discourse to be found within educational spaces.

On Settler Notions of Social Justice: The Importance of Disrupting and Displacing Colonising Narratives

2026-05-07T02:24:13Z

On Settler Notions of Social Justice: The Importance of Disrupting and Displacing Colonising Narratives Daniels-Mayes, Sheelagh; Harwood, Valerie; Murray, Nyssa Universities have a unique responsibility to social justice with Aboriginal peoples. Yet settler privilege is evident in how teaching standards and research funding are determined predominantly by government, delivered and driven by universities born out of dispossessing colonisation. Consequently, research projects intended to disrupt/displace settler narratives of social justice run the risk of being sucked back into the mainstreamed system (Castagno, Educated in whiteness: Good intentions and diversity in schools. Minneapolis: Minnesota University Press, 2014; Ladson-Billings and Tate, Toward a critical race theory of education. In A. Dimon & C. Rousseau (Eds.), Critical race theory in education: All God’s children got a song (p. 1130). New York: Routledge, 2006), perpetuating university privilege rather than fulfilling the university’s social justice responsibilities. This chapter explores ways universities can work alongside Aboriginal peoples and communities. Drawing on the Arendtian idea of responsibility, the authors ask: could universities better engage in social justice with Aboriginal people if responsibility meant the welcoming of initiatives that might challenge the university and its traditions?