Return on investment (ROI) has become part of the policymaking toolkit, particularly pertinent for activities like school-based career guidance deemed optional by some policymakers. There are institutions supporting ideal ROI methods alongside an academic critique, but little research on how ROI has been applied in practice in a guidance setting.…

In recent years, research policy has increasingly prioritized the societal impact of academic work, emphasizing external relevance, public value, and collective benefit. In many countries, a wealth of data has been generated by national assessments that require universities to submit narratives on their contributions outside the academy. Despite…

The efficacy of the Australian Disability Employment Services (DES) for autistic jobseekers has not been examined and is currently undergoing Government reform. To help inform the new DES strategy, we sought the views of: 24 autistic individuals; seven family members of autistic individuals, and; 46 DES employees. Data were collected using surveys…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between higher educational institution bullying policies and the subsequent cultural impact to determine the effectiveness of policy in ameliorating bullying within the university culture. Design/methodology/approach: This study consisted of two separate but related case studies at…

The paper studies the rise of neuroscience in initial teacher education, paying attention to the relatively recent Australian Government (2023) report titled 'Strong Beginnings'. In taking up a critical policy sociology lens, we focus on the first priority within the reforms, which is mandating brain science and the 'brain and learning' as core…

In late 2013, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abbott, the Australian Government announced a new policy designed to increase attendance rates in remote community schools--the Remote School Attendance Strategy (RSAS). The model assumed that employing local people in the program, which was designed to support parents get their children to…

While teachers' initial education is key to ensuring that new teachers are prepared for their work, it is only one piece in the continuum of teachers' professional growth. Continuing professional learning is vital for teachers to broaden and deepen their knowledge, keep up with new research, tools and practices and respond to their students'…

Blended learning, which combines traditional face-to-face instruction with online learning components, offers numerous benefits such as flexibility, scalability, and increased access to educational resources. It has been widely recognised that blended learning offers distinct benefits to students and academic staff since the approach increases…

Over the 10 years of 'Closing the Gap', several interventions designed to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have been trialled. In 2014 the Australian Government announced the 'Flexible Literacy for Remote Primary Schools Programme' (FLFRPSP) which was designed primarily to improve the literacy outcomes of…

In the field of preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) schools have an important role to play, but precisely how policy actors and educators should best respond to extremism within their schools remains uncertain. Reporting on data from a broader study, this article draws on semi-structured interviews with three participants. The…

Objective: School-based prevention interventions informed by the World Health Organization Health Promoting School (HPS) framework aim to improve the health and wellbeing of school-aged children, yet few studies describe factors influencing the successful implementation of this framework in secondary schools. This study sought to explore why and…

In this paper, we present case study data from research that sought to evaluate the implementation and impact of a Respectful Relationships in Education (RRE) program. The program is part of the Victorian state government's school-based response to ending violence against women and their children. It advocates a liberal feminist aligned 'gender…

Taking the students' perspective, Education Policy Outlook 2018: Putting Student Learning at the Centre analyses the evolution of key education priorities and key education policies in 43 education systems. It compares more recent developments in education policy ecosystems (mainly between 2015 and 2017) with various education policies adopted…

Queensland, Australia has the highest rates of skin cancer globally. Predetermined criteria were used to score the comprehensiveness of sun protection policies (SPP) of primary schools across Queensland. SPP were sought for schools in 10 regions (latitude range 16.3°S-28.1°S) from 2011 to 2014. Of the 723 schools sampled, 90.9% had a written SPP…

This paper reviews the literature on best practices to engage parents in order to equip them to support their children's higher education aspirations. Parents from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds, in common with other parents, report that they want "the best" for their children's future. Getting a good education is a part of…