How is school socio-economic composition associated with student outcomes? A comparative study of seven countries. School socio-economic composition is strongly associated with educational outcomes for all Australian students. This association is problematic because it reduces educational equity and opportunity for students at low socio-economic schools, which in turn reduces Australia's ability to fully invest in its most valuable resource, its young people. The current Labor government is comm ....How is school socio-economic composition associated with student outcomes? A comparative study of seven countries. School socio-economic composition is strongly associated with educational outcomes for all Australian students. This association is problematic because it reduces educational equity and opportunity for students at low socio-economic schools, which in turn reduces Australia's ability to fully invest in its most valuable resource, its young people. The current Labor government is committed to investing in low socio-economic schools. This study will highlight ways to support low socio-economic schools by showing how they differ from more advantaged ones. Comparative analysis of educationally equitable and efficient countries will provide further evidence for ways to support low socio-economic schools in Australia.Read moreRead less
Facilitating Equitable Science Learning Environments for Multicultural Societies: A Cross-Cultural Study in Australia, Taiwan and South Africa. In our multicultural society, science teachers must be sensitive to the culturally-specific needs of students from different cultural backgrounds. This cross-cultural study in Australia, Taiwan and South Africa aims to assess culturally-sensitive aspects of science classroom learning environments using multiple research methods. This information will be ....Facilitating Equitable Science Learning Environments for Multicultural Societies: A Cross-Cultural Study in Australia, Taiwan and South Africa. In our multicultural society, science teachers must be sensitive to the culturally-specific needs of students from different cultural backgrounds. This cross-cultural study in Australia, Taiwan and South Africa aims to assess culturally-sensitive aspects of science classroom learning environments using multiple research methods. This information will be used to explore whether the size of discrepancies between actual and preferred learning environment (1) depends on students' cultural backgrounds and (2) is related to students' a) attitudes b) achievement and c) retention. Finally the study will examine the effectiveness of strategies for creating learning environments that are more suitable for minority students.Read moreRead less