The DigiLit Framework suggests criteria for digital text and tool selection (content accuracy, intuitiveness, interactivity, quality) and integration (model a literacy skill or strategy, guide a literacy skill or strategy, model digital feature use, guide digital feature use) in literacy lessons. Using survey research, we explored which DigiLit…

Students who perform well at school academically are more likely to complete Year 12 and experience smoother transitions from education to employment. However, disentangling the effects of prior academic achievement on later performance from other confounding factors, such as socioeconomic status, has proved difficult. This study uses data from…

Background: Research on academic development has mainly focused on early time periods with less attention on individual differences in development in the later school years. Methods: To improve our knowledge of how students develop academically during later school years, this study used a multivariate growth model to investigate the developmental…

Many factors are claimed to explain Australian students' declining participation rates in senior secondary science subjects. These include, for instance, the influences of SES, indigeneity, and gender. While acknowledging the compelling case for these factors affecting student pathways, in this study we explore associations between students'…

In this study, we examine children's National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) achievement predictors, which may enable or limit their numeracy performance and assess the relative importance of the predictor variables. Our data source was the NAPLAN numeracy results of Queensland schools from 2014 to 2017. Years 3 and 5…

This study examined the longitudinal relationship between early handwriting skills and the growth of spelling and reading skills in a large sample (N = 569) of 5- to 6-year-old children unselected for ability. The quality of children's handwriting was assessed using five indicators (letter form, slant, rhythm, ability, general appearance).…

Competencies for designing and evaluating scientific inquiries are a key emphasis in national curriculums worldwide and a focus of international large-scale assessment. Teachers globally are encouraged to provide learning opportunities for their students to explore and practice asking and conducting researchable questions. This study focused on…

This paper is based on the research question of what predictors (school characteristics, teachers' attitudes, teacher collaboration and background characteristics) determine secondary school teachers' frequency of computer use in class. The use of new technologies by secondary school teachers for educational purposes is an important factor…

The early years from birth to age 8 are a crucial period for children's learning and development. High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) and continuity from ECEC into school provide children with a strong foundation for lifelong learning. Understanding how language and cognition skills develop during this period of a child's life…

This document summarises key findings and recommendations from an analysis of Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data conducted by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) in 2022. AERO's report marks the first time that the skills considered through the Language and Cognitive Skills (school-based) domain in AEDC have been…

Using the 2012 PIAAC data, our analysis confirms that there are significantly higher earnings and employment returns to "both" increasing levels of formally recognised education, and to increasing levels of numeracy, literacy and information and communication technologies (ICT) skills proficiencies controlling for the level of education.…

Writing provides a means for personal reflection, thinking, creativity, meaning-making and sharing, as well as complementing other modes of communication in a world of multimodal texts. While writing in the digital age has become increasingly fast-paced and exposed to global scrutiny, being able to write efficiently with correct spelling, grammar…

The annual National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) measures the literacy and numeracy skills of primary and secondary students in Australia. Under the three Smarter Schools National Partnership, additional funding is provided to the independent schools with the expectation of improving student performance. Using multilevel…

Language and literacy skills are instrumental to success at school and early success with writing is a key factor in literacy development. By eight years of age, children spend up to half of their school day engaged in writing tasks suggesting that those who find learning to write difficult may be disadvantaged. The ability to hear and record…

A total of 3956 children aged 12-13 years who completed the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC Wave 5) were studied about their experiences of traditional face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying in the last month. In terms of prevalence, sixty percent of the sample had been involved in traditional bullying as the victim and/or the…