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 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Reprieve for Early Years Foundation
Tas Govt media release, 28
Feb 2015
The government has postponed the
winding up of the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation, education
minister Jeremy Rockliff said today...
STUDENT TRANSPORT
School bus fills up too quickly
The Mercury, 28
Feb 2015
Metro says it will
consult all stakeholders to find a solution following complaints
that a bus from West Hobart to Taroona High is sometimes full before
it leaves Goulburn Street...
 COLOUR
PERCEPTION
Dress divides world opinion
Time Magazine, 27
Feb 2015
Generally speaking, younger people see the colours of this dress as
black and blue while older people see them as gold and white...
EDUCATION REFORM
Forum backs education action
The Mercury, 27
Feb 2015
 A forum held at the University of Tasmania and attended
by about 400 people has strongly supported speedy action to raise
education standards in Tasmania...
Forum on education is first
of five on big issues affecting Tasmania, The Mercury, 26 Feb 2015
 COMPUTER EDUCATION
App course at New Town High
The Mercury, 26
Feb 2015
New Town High School will run a
game app design course in conjunction with app development company
Appster...
SEXUAL
ABUSE ROYAL COMMISSION
No charges for teacher
ABC News, 25
Feb 2015
 A teacher named at the Hobart hearing of the Royal
Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will
not be charged even though he has been found
living in New Zealand...
No charges to be pursued, The Mercury, 25 Feb 2015
TASMANIAN
EDUCATION
UTAS partnership
The Mercury, 23
Feb 2015
A partnership is to be formed between the Tasmanian
government and the University of Tasmania with the ultimate aim of
raising education standards in the state...
Raising education standards
through the new Peter Underwood Centre for Educational Attainment, Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Education
and Training, 23 Feb 2015
Family honoured by centre, The Mercury, 23 Feb 2015
Partnership with UTAS similar to our proposal, Bryan Green,
Leader of the Opposition, 23 Feb 2015
Research centre to tackle retention rates, ABC News, 23 Feb 2014
Money to come from non-classroom funds,
Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Education
and Training, 23 Feb 2015
 SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Call to add snake awareness to curriculum
NewsMail, 23
Feb 2015
A reptile carer says that while people describe the
snake safety education work she does as "great" they also say it
does not fit into the curriculum...
INTERNATIONAL
COMPARISONS
Canada's non-selective secret
The Conversation (opinion by
Laura Perry), 19
Feb 2015
 Selective high schools and competition for students can
lead to inequalities, inefficiencies and a lower ranking in
international league tables, argues an education lecturer in
comparing the Canadian and Australian school systems...
 TASMANIAN
SCHOOLS
Rosny science upgrade opened
Tas Govt media release, 18
Feb 2015
Rosny College's upgraded science facilities were opened
today by the Minister for Education and Training, Jeremy Rockliff...
HEALTH
Students exposed to recalled berries
HeraldSun, 17
Feb 2015
 Home Economics students in a Victorian school are being
monitored for Hepatitis A symptoms, having made smoothies using the
now recalled Nanna's frozen mixed berries...
Frozen raspberries added to
recall,
mumcentral.com.au, 17 Feb 2015
SA students may have eaten berries, news.com.au, 18 Feb 2015
Note that sometimes very young children with Hepatitis A can be
showing no symptoms yet pass the virus on to adults.
LITERACY
Encouraging boys to read
The Conversation (opinion by
Ryan Spencer), 17
Feb 2015
 A literacy specialist provides tips
on increasing the amount of reading that boys undertake, with a
special emphasis on the benefits of involving male role models such
as fathers, uncles and grandfathers...
 SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Call for happiness lessons
The Age, 15
Feb 2015
British education experts are warning that all children
need a one-hour "happiness lesson" each week, given the rise in
anxiety, depression and stress among young people...
 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EDUCATION
Embedding respectful relationships
The Mercury, 14
Feb 2015
The "Breaking the Silence" domestic
violence program from White Ribbon Australia will be made available
to Tasmanian schools this year...
TEACHER TRAINING
Teachers face rigorous selection
SkyNews, 13
Feb 2015
 Literacy and numeracy testing of
potential teachers and tougher re-accreditation of university
education courses feature in the overhaul of teacher training
announced today by federal education minister Christopher Pyne...
Literacy, numeracy tests for
student teachers,
ABC News, 13 Feb 2015
Experts respond to teacher education report, The Conversation,
13 Feb 2015
Teacher training report analysed, The Conversation, 13 Feb 2015
 SCHOOL CHAPLAINS
Chaplains back soon
Tas Govt media release, 12
Feb 2015
Three chaplaincy service providers for 89 Tasmanian
government schools have now been appointed, education minister
Jeremy Rockliff said today...
STUDENT SUPPORT
Schools are failing students with learning difficulties
The Conversation (opinion by
Linda J. Graham), 11
Feb 2015
Instead of students with learning difficulties being subjected to
streaming, ability grouping, labelling and inefficient use of
teacher aides, the focus should be on supporting them in the early
years of school, argues a Queensland academic ...
 EXTENSION TO YEARS 11 AND 12
Extension policy working, says Minister
The Mercury (opinion), 11
Feb 2015
Education minister Jeremy
Rockliff says the government's rural and regional schools extension
policy has been a success so far and that more schools will be
announced by the end of Term 1...
TEACHER TRAINING
Pre-teaching competency tests loom
The Mercury, 11
Feb 2015
 Potential teachers will have to pass
special literacy and numeracy tests to gain their full teaching
qualifications from 2016 under the federal government's plan to
address Australia's downward slide in international rankings in
maths and reading skills...
CLASSROOM ACOUSTICS
Open-plan hearing struggle
The Conversation (opinion by
Kiri Mealings), 10
Feb 2015
Children generally, and those with special
needs in particular, find it harder to hear their teachers in
open-plan classrooms...
 RETENTION RATES
Focus on retention
The Examiner, 10
Feb 2015
Tasmania's poor retention rates will be under the
spotlight at this week's Tasmanian Principals Association meeting...
 FEDERAL
POLITICS
PM
survives
ABC News, 9
Feb 2015, 9.20am
This morning's Liberal Party leadership spill motion has failed (No:
61, Yes: 39, Informal: 1, Absent: 1) ...
LITERACY
Phonics training essential
The Mercury (opinion by
Byron Harrison), 9
Feb 2015
The training of Tasmanian primary
school teachers absolutely has to include phonics, writes Byron
Harrison ..
Balanced approach is best, The Conversation (opinion), 18 Feb 2015
 GENDER EQUITY
More girls need to aim higher
The Mercury (opinion by
Vicki Gardiner), 9
Feb 2015
Girls need to be reassured that
taking on science and maths studies can help them become a success
in business and industry, a female engineer writes...
EXTENSION TO
YEARS 11 AND 12
Be careful with extension policy
The Mercury, 8
Feb 2015
Education experts support the
Tasmanian government's policy of extending rural high schools to
cater for Years 11 and 12 - on condition the government makes sure
it gets the policy right...
PRIVATE VS
GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
Private school spending inefficient?
SMH, 8
Feb 2015
 NSW private and Catholic schools spend billions
more than equally advantaged government schools but achieve the same
academic results, analysis by two researchers shows...
FEDERAL
POLITICS
PM faces leadership spill motion
ABC News, 6
Feb 2015, 2.00pm
A Liberal Party leadership spill
motion against the
Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, is set for early next week.
It will require 52 votes to succeed...
Spill motion brought forward to Monday, ABC News, 8 Feb 2015
 EDUCATION
ADMINISTRATION
Praise for Tas DoE
The Mercury, 6
Feb 2015
The Tasmanian Department of Education is among the most
efficient education departments in Australia, according to the
Productivity Commission...
LITERACY
Synthetic phonics needed
The Conversation (opinion by
Pamela Snow), 6
Feb 2015
Students should be taught to read
using synthetic phonics but teachers are not trained in this system
of explicit and direct phonics, writes a Victorian academic..
STAFFING
Staffing not settled yet
The Mercury, 6
Feb 2015
 It is normal for staffing
finalisation to be still occurring at the start of a school year but
the situation is worse this year, AEU Tasmanian president Terry
Polglase says...
EDUCATION IN
TASMANIA
Don't slash education spending
The Mercury (opinion by
Andrew Wilkie), 5
Feb 2015
Governments in Australia do not value education, writes independent
federal MP Andrew Wilkie...
TAFE
New Chair for TasTAFE
Tas Govt media release, 5
Feb 2015
 Education minister Jeremy Rockliff has announced that
Nick Burrows will be the interim chair of TasTAFE..
Up to ten full-time TasTAFE jobs to go, The Mercury, 5 Feb 2015
STUDENT SUPPORT
Identifying a learning disability
The Conversation, 5
Feb 2015
 Three NSW academics point out what to look for to
identify children with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia...
DISABILITY
FUNDING
More disability funding needed
The Mercury, 5
Feb 2015
Tasmanian independent schools say funding for students
with disabilities is insufficient and is the biggest issue they face
this year...
TEACHING
PROFESSION
Payouts followed streaming policy
The Age, 4 Feb 2015
 A Melbourne school has been the subject of teacher stress
claims and lawsuits following a policy of streaming students on the
basis of ability in which some teachers received no support in being
required to teach the worst of the worst...
 THE BRAIN
Does brain training work?
The Conversation (opinion by
Jared Cooney Horvath), 4 Feb 2015
Teachers considering the use of
brain-training programs are warned to identify their goal in doing
so, because these programs appear not to work if a teacher's goal is
to improve behaviour and cognition...
TASMANIAN
EDUCATION
ABC News feature on education
ABC News, 4
Feb 2015
The ABC has featured a number of stories on education
issues in Tasmania:
Minister stakes his reputation on education reforms (video)
Unions warn of toughest year yet
Concern over cuts hitting rural primary schools
Concern over education and job-starved North West
Many regional students still prefer to travel to colleges
 TASMANIAN
EDUCATION
Students go back to school
Tas Govt media release, 4
Feb 2015
Over 62,000 Tasmanian
students returned to 195 schools today, education minister Jeremy
Rockliff said...
Minister should be listening, not cutting, Nick McKim, Greens
education spokesperson, 4 Feb 2015
SCHOOL CHAPLAINS
Schools could be chaplainless for weeks
ABC News, 3
Feb 2015
A delay over a funding deal means Tasmanian schools
could be without school chaplains for weeks...
No chaplains today, The Mercury, 4 Feb 2015
FINANCE
Reserve Bank cuts interest rates
ABC News, 3
Feb 2015
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the official interest
rate from 2.5 per cent to 2.25 per cent, the first cut in 18 months...
STUDENT BEHAVIOUR
Suspension for invisibility threat
news.com.au, 2
Feb 2015
 A nine-year-old Texas boy who had recently watched a
Hobbit film was suspended from his elementary school for telling a
classmate he could use a ring to make him disappear...
SCHOOL TRAFFIC ZONES
 School zone speed checks
The Mercury, 2
Feb 2015
Tasmania Police will be conducting traffic speed and safety checks
in school zones this week...
HANDWRITING
Should handwriting still be taught?
The Conversation
(opinion), 2
Feb 2015
 Today's students need opportunities
to write but not endless cursive practice, argues Nicola Yelland...
See also:
Finland: Typing takes over from handwriting, BBC News, 21 Nov
2014
Finland dumps handwriting classes for keyboard skills, ABC: The
World Today, 3 Feb 2015
TEACHER SKILLS AND TRAINING
Govt targets teacher skills
Tas Govt media release, 1
Feb 2015
 The Tasmanian government's Developing Our
Workforce Strategy will involve a partnership with the
University of Tasmania to raise teacher skill levels and address current
staffing inadequacies such as the
insufficient number of maths and science teachers...
Cautious backing from AEU, The Mercury, 2 Feb 2015
Regional enrolments boosted by new policy, ABC News, 3 Feb 2015
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