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2017 (3) 14 March 2017
ET News Digest
Your Weekly Education Newsletter
 Are we there yet? When it comes to academic success, postcode matters – Annie Facchinetti In Sydney, it’s known as the ‘Latte Line’, an imaginary boundary that divides the education haves from the have-nots (Ting & Bagshaw, 2016). Largely spanning Sydney’s north-eastern suburbs, the schools above the Latte Line are responsible for producing the bulk of the highest HSC results, when compared with the areas below the Latte Line in the southwest. Although not necessarily as neatly defined, there are similar divisions in the achievements of schools along geographical and socioeconomic lines right across the country. Read More  Critics warn parents that NAPLAN is not the whole story The My School website has been updated with NAPLAN results from 2016 and a wealth of data about schools and how students performed. But critics warn parents to look beyond NAPLAN averages when choosing schools. "My School numbers do not add up to create the whole story of a school community," said Karen Spiller, National Chair of the AHISA. Read More Preschoolers learning languages with ELLA New independent analysis of the Early Learning Languages App (ELLA) has found pre–school children are grasping foreign languages more effectively using the play-based program compared to conventional measures like flash cards. The Federal Government plans to introduce ELSA, an app focused on STEM subjects. Read More    Quality health and PE improves academic results Australia’s peak education and health, sport and physical education bodies ACHPER, APPA, ASPA and Tennis Australia, are voicing collective concern about recent evidence showing that we are putting our kids at early higher risk of chronic disease and impeding their academic progress by failing to provide quality Health and Physical Education in all schools. Read More  Australian program reduces bullying in world’s schools An Australian anti-bullying program now being introduced into the US and other countries is effective because students and teachers helped design and produce it, says the educational researcher who developed it. Read More  Creativity lost in pursuit of top marks in literacy and numeracy
St Paul’s School principal Dr Paul Browning said the inquiry into Innovation and Creativity: Workforce for the new economy had laudable aims but was flawed while its terms of reference focused only on tertiary education. Read More  Fifth Australian Gallup Student Poll gets underway Gallup Senior Scientists have studied educational best practice for decades, and have identified three non-cognitive factors that have a great impact on students – Hope: Ideas and energy we have for the future; Engagement: Involvement in and enthusiasm for school; Well-being: How we think about and experience our lives. The 2017 poll opened last week, and remains open until April 7. Read More Auditor General scolds VIC Dept of Ed for poor record-keeping
Victorian Auditor General, Andrew Green, has cited The Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) for poor record-keeping in his March 2017 report to Parliament Managing Public Sector Records. He reported that: "insufficient executive support for, and attention to, records management is preventing DET and the Dept of Health and Human Services (DHHS) from achieving full compliance with the PROV standards, and thus fully lawful and effective records management." Read More Report calls for increased investment in rural VET Australian governments should increase investment in community education to address higher levels of disadvantage and unemployment in rural and regional Australia, according to a new report from Community Colleges Australia. Participation rates in VET courses are 50% higher in rural and regional Australia than in metropolitan areas. A much larger percentage of rural and regional VET learners also study lower level qualifications. Read More  |
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