This investigation comprised two studies that sought to identify the role of COVID-related disruptions in Australian university students' academic motivation and engagement. Study 1 involved a dataset of 500 university students and examined the links between COVID-19 pandemic disruptions (remote and hybrid learning modes, lockdown, isolation) and…

Talking about teaching with colleagues is one way that academics learn about university teaching. In contexts that offer inconsistent support for teaching, what influences conversations? This study investigated mid-career academics' conversations at an Australian research-intensive university. Twenty-four academics were interviewed and the…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the anticipated and actual challenges encountered by occupational therapy and physiotherapy students during their first full-time professional placement and to understand the strategies they implemented to manage their multiple life roles. Design/methodology/approach: Longitudinal qualitative research examined…

Background: Australian research indicates that post-parental care transitions are rarely planned and primarily occur following a crisis for a primary carer. This paper examines disability staff perceptions of transitions for people with intellectual disability and their ageing carers in rural South Australia. Method: A focus group interview model…

Successful House Concerts rely on an equal positive interaction between three groups of people: the musicians (or artists), the audience and the host, with the performance being the central activity. A concert facilitator may be engaged by the host to assist with organisation. Each has a participatory role to ensure that the House Concert…

This systematic literature review synthesizes empirical evidence to comprehensively examine factors driving international students' choice of Australia as their preferred destination for tertiary education. Deductive analysis of findings from the 46 selected studies, framed within the push and pull framework, identified 27 factors that revealed…

Purpose: Active school travel (AST) programmes aim to change commuting behaviour to improve children's physical and mental health. However, very limited health education programmes for children use segmentation to create tailored solutions that understand the specific characteristics of each group of children and their caregivers in order to yield…

Grounded in Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory, this paper examines how often teachers are involved in children's imaginative play and discusses their beliefs about their role in supporting children's imaginative play. To investigate this problem, video (65 hours of digital observations) and interview data (two hours and 30 minutes) of 60…

This paper outlines the socio-educational contexts within which NSW regional conservatoriums operate, thereby demonstrating the breadth of their operations, as well as their existing relationships with, and activity in, rural, regional and remote (RRR) schools. The paper elucidates the socio-educational disadvantage of the schools within which…

Work-based placements, site visits, field trips and embedded industry-informed curriculum are employability strategies frequently applied by universities, and clustered under the umbrella term -- work-integrated learning (WIL). Referring to each of these strategies as WIL can complicate comparisons (e.g. long-term placements vs. field trips) and…

Background: Environments are important to children's participation, but little is known about which environmental factors restrict their participation, particularly in children with moderate to severe developmental disability. Method: Parents of 64 children attending special schools completed the Environmental Restriction Questionnaire (ERQ). Two…

Due to its close links to the labour market, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) can play an important role to improve job opportunities and livelihoods for young people, and in particular for disadvantaged youth. However, this potential is not always fully realized, and relatively little research and evidence has been collected…

This is an exploration of methodological debates related to ethnographic research. Reflection on conducting research on school choice in an Australian regional centre is the beginning point for a discussion of what Appadurai describes as a dialectical relationship between the neighbourhood and its capacity to exist and reshape itself in relation…

In this article, we reflect on ways that young adolescents learn through embodied practice, which we define as moments when the body is "caught up" in learning activities. Our observations draw from two workshops conducted as part of the "IMC Sky High!" program which annually involves over 150 Year 7 and 8 students from schools…

Although there is a long tradition of play pedagogy in early childhood education, teachers have mostly taken a passive role in children's play. There are relatively few studies of the pedagogical roles adults take from inside of children's imaginary play. This paper seeks to fill this gap through presenting the findings of a study where the play…