Progressive holiday reading
What makes students succeed in life?
From AFR
A ground-breaking study into the impact of year 10 choices could now delve into other factors that shape outcomes for school kids.
NAPLAN ineffective, should be scrapped: teachers' union
From Education HQ
Most principals agree that NAPLAN makes no difference to student outcomes, according to a new survey by the Australian Education Union.
Made in Australia: will Labor get the job done with free TAFE?
From Pearls and Irritations
The centrepiece of this Labor policy announcement is free TAFE courses in skills shortage areas.
Must try harder: Parents’ verdict on school reports
From the Sydney Morning Herald
Parents often find school reports vague, overly cautious and lacking in useful information, with many saying they get more useful feedback from parent-teacher interviews.
Alan Kohler: Why Donald Trump should make us thankful for the Australian Electoral Commission
From The New Daily
As we watch the slow, momentous collapse of American democracy, a Scott Morrison-ism comes to mind: How good is the Australian Electoral Commission?
Culturally relevant test questions could halve Indigenous reading gap
From Education HQ
A new study has found that the reading gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students could be halved, and the urban-rural gap could be reduced by a third, simply by changing the phrasing of exam questions.
Victorian teachers vow to strike in campaign for new workplace deal
From The Age
The Australian Education Union – which represents government school teachers – has warned the government that it will escalate its industrial campaign with a 24-hour stop-work and mass gathering early next year if a new agreement has not been signed.
Three things education ministers need to know about the Australian Curriculum
From The Conversation
The Curriculum is not a set of instructions and it cannot fix every social issue.
It’s the stupidity, stupid! On technocratic populism
From Arena
A political world-picture formed through educational meritocracy, abstract knowledge and systems thinking.
East Gippsland defeats mineral sands mine
From green left
After a seven-year battle, the East Gippsland community in eastern Victoria has defeated Kalbar Resources’ proposed mineral sands mine.
When developers strike: Activision-Blizzard’s mistreatment of workers
From Overland
Why are labour relations in video game development so often exploitative? For one thing, the rise of computing labour has coincided with the rise of neoconservative ideology and its hostility to the union movement.
Two reasons why progressives need to temper hopes of victory, if not shelve them
From Crikey
If you think Labor has a chance in 2022, cast a glance over marginal seats around the country, which hint at a different outcome.
In middle Australia, rosy wealth data can hide a world of pain
From The Guardian
Boosted incomes pre-pandemic haven’t been able to dent the effects of inequality, poverty and casualisation
2021 – another year that showed Union values matter
From Australian Unions
As the year limps along to its conclusion, we look to 2022 to deliver us a brighter horizon, but we do so warily because we’ve learnt the hard way to take nothing for granted.
No, There Is No Such Thing as the Undeserving Poor
From Jacobin Australia
Former Liberal Party minister Pru Goward recently published an opinion piece outlining her views on the “underclass.” Her analysis exemplifies the ignorance, mediocrity, and condescension of Australia’s elite.
How Politics Breaks Our Brains
From The Atlantic
Humans are partisans by nature—but there's hope for ways to fight the impulse toward conflict.
Underworld
From GQ
Why do we even have coal mines? That question is what led Jeanne Marie Laskas to spend a few weeks 500 feet underground, getting to know the men behind America’s invisible economy.
Pakistan’s biometric ID scheme is stripping citizenship from thousands of people
From codastory.com
The National Database and Registration Authority has received global praise for the design and maintenance of a vast system that holds the information of 98% of the country’s population. For some, however, it is making normal life impossible