The current COVID-19 situation has seen a plethora of data, statistics and predictions presented to society--some making incredible claims. The authors are concerned that statistics and probability still receive inadequate attention in the classroom, leaving students without the statistical literacy needed to make sense of the claims being made.…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) remains a priority area for public policy, internationally and in Australia. However, an analysis of empirical research published internationally up to 2008 has identified a bias toward positivist methodologies within a "scientific/psychological' rather than educational perspective and with a focus on…

Apprenticeship completion rates have remained persistently low for decades in spite of broad agreement over the causes of non-completions. A possible factor missing from these explanations is climate, particularly in northern Australia where traditional trade apprentices are exposed to extreme conditions and exert themselves. We hypothesize that:…

This paper presents the experienced difficulties of students participating in the multidisciplinary, remote collaborating engineering design course challenge-based innovation at CERN. This is with the aim to identify learning barriers and improve future learning experiences. We statistically analyse the rated differences between distinct design…

Engineering education is undergoing a restructuring driven by the needs of an increasingly multidisciplinary engineering profession. At the same time, power systems are transitioning toward future smart grids that will require power engineers with skills outside of the core power engineering domain. Since including new topics in the existing…

The processes of puberty, including reproductive fertility and social-role transitions, now begin earlier, last longer, and are experienced in very different contexts. Because of this, all children and adolescents need good-quality puberty education in school curricula, and this need is supported by positive cost-benefit analysis and international…

Contemporary science educators must equip their students with the knowledge and practical know-how to connect multiple disciplines like mathematics, computing and the natural sciences to gain a richer and deeper understanding of a scientific problem. However, many biology and earth science students are prejudiced against mathematics due to…

Josh Reid and Colin Carmichael describe how some Year 6 children have developed their understanding of mathematics by studying Asian countries. The statistical analyses undertaken by these children appears to have strengthened their understanding of statistical concepts and at the same time provided them with tools for understanding complex…

In this paper, we report on an investigation into sustainability education in schools in the Australian state of Tasmania following the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. Sustainability is one of three cross-curriculum priorities in the new national curriculum and is the focus of this research (sustainability cross-curriculum priority…

The development of transferrable skillsets, articulated in statements of graduate learning outcomes, is emphasised in undergraduate science degree programmes. Science students enrolled in dual (double) degrees comprise a significant minority of Australian science undergraduates. Research comparing perceptions of single and dual degree students on…

This study investigated students' perceptions of their graduate learning outcomes including content knowledge, communication, writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking in two Australian universities. One university has a traditional discipline-orientated curriculum and the other, an interdisciplinary curriculum in the entry…

In an era of international multimedia exposure and a global economy, there is no question that global education (GE) must be part of the school curriculum. Effective delivery of GE is reliant on adequate teacher preparation. A group of teacher educators at one University sought to raise the profile of GE with pre-service teachers through the…

Statistics and statistical literacy can be found in the Learning Areas of Mathematics, Geography, Science, History and the upcoming Business and Economics, as well as in the General Capability of Numeracy and all three Crosscurriculum priorities. The Australian Curriculum affords many exciting and varied entry points for the teaching of…

This paper describes students' experience of participating in a case-based peer-assisted learning (PAL) program in order to examine whether the approach is pedagogically effective and likely to contribute to students' professional development. It presents the findings of a study which examined the integration of PAL and case-based learning (CBL)…

This paper examines the achievement levels of students undertaking the Tertiary Enabling Program (TEP) at La Trobe University. The TEP is an alternative pathway program that traverses multiple institutions, campuses, and disciplinary areas, and is designed to prepare a diverse student cohort for tertiary study. The Program integrates several…