Purpose: I take as a starting point the disparaging comments about the place of history and philosophy of education in initial teacher education (ITE) made by the chair of the Teacher Education Expert Panel established by the Australian Government in 2023, which I take to be the most recent attempt at resurrecting the tired debate over "the…

Politicians have used the promise of "back to basics in our schools" as an educational platform for some time now, possibly in recognition that this is something the general population perceives as an issue they might just vote for. In the various positions the author has held, both professional and in community service, she has been…

In his book entitled "Teaching Defiance: Stories and strategies for activist educators," this author asserted that, although his book was not a discussion of the Iraq war, it was concerned with the way the war has been "waged" in the countries of the three invaders: the USA, the UK and Australia. For him, the fact that each…

Argues that contemporary society requires new and more sophisticated ways of thinking. Reviews several approaches to teaching new cognitive processes in schools. Includes lists of characteristics that inhibit and promote higher order thinking skills. (CFR)

Communication may be complicated in the kind of complex polyethnic interaction setting that is part of the Australian educational scene. In a polyethnic school, breakdowns in communication can occur from interference not recognized by either the teacher or the student. Interference may occur because the cultural grammar of the child may not mesh…

Argues that current testing of student understanding provides insufficient information to a researcher investigating strategies for changing students' explanatory ideas. Outlines a new test based on recent work in child development. (DDR)

In this study, ethnographic and process-tracing methodologies were used to explain the nature of a teacher's theory of action and the relationships between that theory and interactive thinking and specific teaching behaviors. Lesson aspects of particular interest were questioning and structuring by the teacher and teacher baiting by the students.…

Discusses cognitive processes associated with mental rotation and procedures for presenting and learning orthographic projection. Descriptions include a series of three experiments generated by cognitive load theory that investigated the effects of worked example formats on high school students using two- and three-dimensional representations. (19…

Argues that since the successful teaching of reading does not depend on materials and schemes alone, a teacher who fails to acknowledge cultural factors that influence a pupil's ways of knowing will achieve only limited success. (EL)

Discusses how learning occurs and the role of the learning environment as a source of information. Argues that the culture of the learner has a central role in the learning of science using the traditional world view of African students as an example. Contains 124 references. (DDR)

Educational administrators have the power to determine the nature of decision-making structures and processes within their institutions and the extent to which decisions are implemented. This paper reviews assumptions underlying decision-making structures and processes established by school administrators; examines potential individual motives…

Explores the impact of a change in status in language programs and the culture of second language learning in Australian schools, particularly in light of declared goals such as a language other than English for all and the integration of language teaching and learning with Australia's external political and economic priorities. (32 references)…

Education systems around the world are talking about "lifelong learning", "futures", "critical literacies", and so on. What do these things mean in the context of being a teacher of mathematics? In this article, the author attempts to put these things into perspective. She contends that, in clarifying any situation…

Discusses three types of distance in art education that should be bridged: (1) between studio art and art criticism/history; (2) between thinking in images and thinking in words; and (3) between art and culture in cognition. Recommends a curriculum to integrate studio work with criticism and teach art along with culture. (CFR)

This book argues that adult learning from experiences in paid and unpaid work contexts should be the basis for a new perception of what is truly educative about life. Part I sets out what practice is like in postmodern times. Chapter 1 introduces the argument that 'know how' is important in lifelong learning. Chapter 2 shows organic learning is a…