Traditionally we have told students that if they work hard at school and get good results they can go to university and upon graduation will get a good job.

Such stories are no longer true (I wonder whether they were ever true for many people). Our career pathways are more complex than that. Here's my story - (more…)

In the Industrial Age schooling was focussed on preparing folk for working on production lines - standardisation was the name of the game and standardised testing was an appropriate way to enhance schooling. Today, in the Automation Age, we need to prepare young people to tackle wicked problems - standardised testing is no longer fit for purpose. We need new ways to assess the knowledge, competences and dispositions that people need to succeed ... (more…)

Schools tend to focus heavily on end of Year 12 exams (e.g. HSCs and the ATAR in Australia) that will enable students to progress to university. However, most students do NOT go on to university and of those who do many do not rely on an ATAR to get their place. It is time that schools focussed on the success (more…)

For over 20 years I worked at the Open University (UK) which is a world leader in online distance education. Over the last few years I have had the privilege of spending time at a number of predominantly face-to-face universities in Australia that were at various stages of developing their online provision, including over the last few months when most courses went online due to COVID19. I have been struck by the vast range of different approaches to online course provision I have seen, and thought it would be useful to try to categorise them. (more…)

By Roger Broadie

Whatever other impacts the COVID-19 virus may have on education systems, there will be a big impact on parents which is likely to change attitudes.

Children going to school has allowed parents to (more…)