Columnists articles

‘Equity demands a curriculum responsive to individual needs, not blind equality.’ In his new Teacher column, Professor Geoff Masters AO highlights the important difference between equality and equity in education.

What should Australian schools and teachers focus on in order to improve students’ general understanding of mathematics and science? In her final Teacher column of the year, Dr Sue Thomson explores newly released TIMSS 2019 data to highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of Australian students at the national level.

‘While this crisis has exposed the many inadequacies and inequities in our education systems, this moment also holds the possibility that we won’t return to the status quo when things return to “normal”,’ Andreas Schleicher writes in his latest Teacher column.

‘In a year that has seen a great deal of disruption to classes, the relationship between students and their teachers has become far more important.’ In her new column, Dr Sue Thomson explores the latest report from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and offers insights into how Australian students perceive their teachers.

In his latest Teacher column, Andreas Schleicher explores PISA data on teacher support and enthusiasm, school climate, student satisfaction with life and parent participation. ‘[The] most interesting lesson from PISA is that a higher sense of student wellbeing does not need to come at the expense of lower academic outcomes.’

In her new Teacher column, Dr Sue Thomson examines the importance of financial knowledge and skills in addressing socioeconomic disadvantage during the current global economic downturn.

The OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey shows almost six in 10 Australian teachers say they feel quite a bit or a lot of stress in their jobs, significantly higher than the average across participating OECD countries. In her latest column, Dr Sue Thomson explores the factors that contribute to teachers’ stress at work.

‘I believe we could dispense with ATAR at almost no cost, but significant benefit. There are several observations that lead me to this conclusion,’ Professor Geoff Masters AO writes as he makes the case for change in his latest Teacher column.

‘The current New South Wales school curriculum is in need of reform. That was the clear message from state-wide consultations and submissions to my review.’ In his latest Teacher column, Professor Geoff Masters AO discusses three aspects of the curriculum identified as being in need of reform.

'The school curriculum should embody a society’s vision for its future and play a vital role in achieving that vision.' Professor Geoff Masters AO reflected on this during his review of the New South Wales curriculum and on a study visit to Estonia.