Education

Students who don't speak English at home are scoring higher in spelling, grammar, writing and numeracy tests than their Aussie-born peers. Asian students perform particularly well but it's not because they are smarter.

The widening gap between low and high performing students is costing the nation billions of dollars as Australia's global educational standards decline, a new report claims. The scores of our lowest-performing students have fallen 50 per cent more than their higher-achieving peers.

The debate over school funding is gearing up, with demands for more money for the public system. It's clamied public schools will lose $1.9 billion federal funding in 2018 and 2019. However the Turnbull government has hit back, saying there have been "no cuts" to school funding.

An eight-week parenting program could help mums and dads deal with teens with behavioural problems. Researchers hope the simple strategies could reduce a lot of parenting stress.

A study of 30,000 Aussie school kids has found a link between attendance rates and graduating. Students with fewer absences in Year 7 are more likely to finish high school than those who skip too much school.

Australia's brightest history students have been awarded the prestigious 2018 Simpson Prize. The 16 winners examined Australia's involvement in the Great War and demonstrated a deep understanding of the ANZAC spirit.

Preschoolers will get an early start on STEM subjects in a play-based program exposing students to science, technology, engineering and math. The program developed by the Univeristy of Canberra will be piloted at 100 preschools across the country.

Queensland kids hope their own photos of their school will attract teachers to work in rural and remote areas. The Teach Queensland Style campaign is designed to entice more beginning and experienced teachers to break out of the cities and explore the state.

Since taking on the role of college principal in 2013, Darren Trippett and his leadership team have prioritised the development and implementation of restorative practices across the campuses; to improve student-teacher and student-student relationships, as well as provide a more stable and orderly environment for student learning.

Post-#MeToo, teachers who are already engaged in skills-building in the area of consent might explore its nuances. They might delve deeper into sexual harassment and what it looks and feels like. And help shift young people’s understanding that consent is not just about (mainly) girls saying “no”, but also (mainly) boys understanding “yes”.