Australia Association for Research in Education
social and emotional competence
What teachers need now to survive (hint: not this old trick)
The advice given to teachers entering the classroom for the first time is often ‘Don’t smile until Easter’. The expression suggests hostility, attempting to place the teacher as the enforcer and the one who will wield the power for the year. While the phrase might still ring true for some teachers, we, as teachers, are …
Australia doesn’t need a ‘Behaviour Curriculum’. We need to implement Social and Emotional Learning now
Last month, the Senate Education and Employment References Committee released an interim report on the Senate Inquiry into increasing disruption in Australian school classrooms – and it looks like we will get the final report today. It used an unsubstantiated decline in Australia’s rank in the OECD’s disciplinary climate index to claim Australian classrooms as …
Part two: A new way forward for toddlers, teens, educators, parents
Educators and parents often complain about toddlers and teenagers. In the first article of this two-part series, we explained similarities in their physical, social and emotional development. In this second article, we explore the cognitive similarities, share tips on building positive relationships, and provide ways to address their mental health and wellbeing. What are the …
Toddlers and teens: the news educators and parents need right now
Among educators and parents, the most often complained about age groups are toddlers and teens. Physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively there are many similarities in these developmental ages. Understanding these similarities can reduce frustrations and help us better connect with them. In this two-part series, we explore the physical, social and emotional similarities. In the …
Is the cheery praise for mindfulness based on expert evidence?
Educators, desperate to offset the mental health impacts of COVID on students, are taking up mindfulness programs to …
How to talk to students right now about the most important crisis of our time
Charlotte Jones on why we need to pay attention to the emotional significance climate change has for students, as many young people experiencing legitimate and increasing anxiety as they grapple with climate change. Cristy Clark on the existential threat posed by climate change and why the only ethical thing educators can do is to acknowledge …
Playground duty really is quality time: how joyful learning happens outside the classroom
The Quality Time Action Plan is described by the department of education as an approach intended to reduce and simplify administrative processes for teachers and provide them with more time for “high value tasks”. It is here that I have a quibble with this document and its definition of playground duty or supervision at lunch …
Six things schools need to do now to stop gendered violence
Wesley College refers sexual assault and harassment complaints to police (ABC News, March 2021) Abuse Scandal Shocks St …
Why bizarre milkshakes will never replace world-class consent education
The Government would only have had to go as far as Victoria to do better, writes Amanda Keddie. Education academics, women’s rights campaigners and many in between have criticised some of the material in the government’s new respectful relationships resource for schools. Particularly controversial in the Good Society resource is a video of a girl …
Teachers ‘must show’ emotional intelligence but how will it be measured? (And other questions)
All initial teacher education graduates must now “show superior cognitive and emotional intelligence measured via a psychometric assessment” before they will be considered for teaching jobs in New South Wales public schools. This requirement is part of the Teacher Success Profile launched last year by the New South Wales Education Minister Rob Stokes. I asked …