Teacher standards are used in many countries, but it has been argued that there is a disconnection between the standards and teachers' everyday practices. Mega-narratives about teachers' practices have been recognised as powerful for educational change and when implementing and legitimising standards. In this comparative study, the standards for…

The quality of vocational education and training (VET) and, in particular, the quality of VET teaching, is a prominent topic of discussion in Australia's post-compulsory education sector. VET teachers are described as 'dual professionals', and expected to maintain current vocational competencies (industry currency) as well as pedagogical skills…

Definitions of teaching quality differ across jurisdictions and have evolved over time. Drawing on a study of five high-achieving countries with strong supports for teachers' professional learning and practice, this article describes the perspectives on good teaching rooted in standards for entry, preparation, and practice. These nations…

Intercultural education (ICE) is a priority for schools and schooling systems worldwide. While extensive policy and academic literature exists that describes how ICE should be done in schools, relatively little has been published about the pragmatics of implementing and enacting ICE, despite evidence that principals, teachers and schools feel ill…

This study reports on the responses to a survey of 55 upper primary school teachers, conducted prior to their classes engaging in a substantial unit of work in multimodal composition. The survey was designed to ascertain the extent to which the teachers were already familiar with, and had already embedded in their teaching, a metalanguage of…

Differentiating writing instruction has been a puzzling matter for English teachers when it comes to teaching creative writing to high potential and high performing (HPHP) students. The lack of differentiation in creative writing pedagogy for HPHP students in Australia is due to two major issues: (1) teachers' lack of high-level linguistic and…

The aim of this article is to examine current national early years' policy reform, which emphasises the importance of service integration, national quality standards and a quality knowledge base for educators concerning the provision of early childhood education and care. Using Queensland, Australia, as an example, a policy discourse analysis…

Teachers' professional learning can be enhanced by positioning teachers as practitioner researchers and professionals who are capable of generating change within their local educational communities. In this article a teacher's story is used to show how teacher knowledge was developed and how teachers designed research questions, gathered evidence…

Overwhelmingly, school-based sexuality education programmes focus on the prevention of infection, pregnancy and abuse, with little if any attention given to positive views of sexuality and rarely the inclusion of sex positive issues such as pleasure, intimacy and desire. This paper explores the experience of teaching about pleasure to pre-service…

To implement cooperative learning successfully in practice, teachers require knowledge of cooperative learning, its features and terms, and how it functions in classrooms. This qualitative study examined 12 Australian generalist primary teachers', understandings of cooperative learning and perceived factors affecting its implementation. Using…

The aim of this study is to describe and then contrast the New South Wales Department of Education and Training's model of quality teaching with the Jordanian Ministry of Education's conception of quality teaching, looking particularly at potential differences in interpretation. A content analysis methodology was used. Each perspective has been…

There has been increasing interest in an evidence-based approach to education in Australia, but relatively little research has provided relevant data on knowledge of the evidence base for instructional practices among teachers preparing to enter the profession. Final year teacher education students (N = 290) in 15 Australian tertiary institutions…

Research has shown that the care and education of infants and toddlers is an under-represented area in early childhood teacher education. This is also the case in Australia, meaning that pre-service teachers have few opportunities for learning about infants and toddlers and thus tend to have limited theoretical and practical knowledge about…

As they complete their teacher education degrees, Graduate Teachers should possess knowledge and skills to plan for, and manage, learning programs for their students. Their graduate competencies include designing lessons that meet the requirements of curriculum, assessment and reporting. As they embark on a teaching career that moves them forward…

Following entry into the workforce, there are limited opportunities for new graduate teachers to engage in critically reflective activities about their educative practice. In an increasingly complex and challenging profession, the need for teachers, administrators and school systems to become involved in professional development activities is ever…