Drawing upon data from an Australian study, this book gives voice to beginning teachers navigating their way through their first year of teaching and discovering what it means to be professional learners. The chapters within provide rich insights into the ways in which beginning teachers make sense of the new and challenging experiences they face…

The discipline of education is a multi-faceted system that must constantly integrate new strategies and procedures to ensure successful learning experiences. Enhancements in education provide learners with greater opportunities for growth and advancement. "Open Learning and Formal Credentialing in Higher Education: Curriculum Models and…

Understanding the factors that encourage young people to become active agents in their own learning is critical. Positive psychology is one lens that can be used to investigate the factors that facilitate a student's sense of agency and active school engagement. In the second edition of this groundbreaking handbook, the editors draw together the…

This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK and the US. It discusses how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of national higher education systems in these countries, and explores…

Mandated literacy assessment is now a ubiquitous practice in many western educational systems. While educational researchers, principals, teachers and education unions continue to offer vociferous resistance in some nations, in others it is now commonplace in the educational landscape and built into the rhythms of the school year. This paper is…

Today, millions of students cross geographic, cultural, and educational borders for their higher education. Trends of international student mobility are significant to universities, educators, business leaders, and governments to increase revenue and campus diversity in the global marketplace. As such, it is vital to examine recent trends in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a national survey of government primary school principals in Australia, investigating the purposes of education, in terms of the importance and level of enactment of those purposes in schools. Design/methodology/approach: In 2009, an electronic survey was distributed to government…

This document is a revised version of the National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework (the Framework) originally developed in 2005. It articulates a rationale for consumer and financial education in Australian schools; describes essential consumer and financial capabilities that will support lifelong learning; and provides guidance on how…

Two separate but related issues in Australia are discussed: the need for good management and planning in higher education and the urgent need for the system to take control of the national policy agenda. It is proposed that creative, imaginative, and intelligent managers can influence Australian higher education's development. (MSE)

Leadership is critical to educational development and specific preparation is vital if leaders are to maximise their effectiveness. In this major new text, Tony Bush draws on his extensive international experience and research to examine the case for leadership development and assess the different modes of preparation used in Europe, including the…

The application of corporate management principles to higher education institutions is examined in the context of the Australian universities. It is concluded that the imposition of government policy, while seemingly inimical to higher education, does offer an opportunity to rethink the university system and refocus it on human beings. (MSE)

Australian higher education has been subject to sustained change for many years, culminating in a 1998 national review. Pressures on higher education are common to many countries. Changes in the external environment for Australian universities, particularly in government policy, are examined and linked to broader patterns of change in the economy.…

This discussion of higher education policy formation in Australia focuses on the changing role of the state governments. The nature of state involvement in policymaking in 1959-87 is chronicled, and the diminished role of the states in very recent years is examined. The need for state participation is supported. (MSE)

Areas in which Australia's binary higher education system has been successful and unsuccessful are examined. It is pronounced a success in the university sector and from the consumer standpoint, unsuccessful for advanced education, and a learning experience for all. A new unified national system threatens to undermine what has been accomplished.…

Between 1999 and 2003 a number of principals (n = 35) from a range of schools in Western Australia were interviewed to investigate the extent to which the state's "Antiracism policy and guidelines for complaint resolution" (1998) had impacted on the day-to-day management of schools. These principals overwhelmingly reported that racism…