Media Centre

Opinion split on walking to school
07 February 2012

A new study of neighbourhood satisfaction has revealed older residents believe it is safer for children to walk to school than the parents of primary school-aged children believe to be the case. The study, by ACER Research Fellow Ms Catherine Underwood, examined survey responses from over 800 residents aged 60 years and over and from over 500 parents of students aged 5 to 12 years living in six Victorian municipalities.
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Don’t miss out on a scholarship for 2013
19 January 2012

Parents risk having their children miss the opportunity to receive a scholarship to an independent school if they wait too long. In 2012, ACER’s Cooperative Scholarship Testing Program (CSTP) test date has been brought forward and will now occur in February, instead of May as was the case in previous years.
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Future academics need encouragement to stay in Australia
16 January 2012

The higher education sector must focus on creating roles for early career academics and retaining research graduates or it risks impeding Australia’s ability to meet its university attainment targets, according to an Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) research review paper. In the seventh research briefing for the Joining the Dots series, ‘Where are the academics of tomorrow? Supply and demand issues for Australian universities’, ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Daniel Edwards explored how the academic workforce is placed to cope with the forecast rise in student numbers that will result if university attainment targets are to be met.
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Mobile phones may help get kids active
19 December 2011

19 December 2011: Children who know how to use a mobile phone, as opposed to those who don’t, are more likely to move about their neighbourhood without adult supervision, new research from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) suggests.
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ACER releases results of PISA 2009+ participant economies
16 December 2011

• Costa Rica, Georgia, India (Himachal Pradesh & Tamil Nadu), Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Venezuela (Miranda), Moldova, United Arab Emirates • Girls significantly outperform boys in reading
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Higher education student engagement under the microscope
22 November 2011

Higher education experts and stakeholders have gathered in Melbourne this week to discuss challenges around student engagement and share strategic insights to further improve the quality of Australian higher education.
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ACER scholarship test reaches 50-year milestone
09 November 2011

In 2012, ACER’s Cooperative Scholarship Testing Program (CSTP) will undertake its 50th testing cycle. The test date will be brought forward three months and will now occur in February. Established in 1962, CSTP is an annual program of scholarship testing used by schools across Australia to select academically gifted students for the award of a scholarship. Approximately 150 independent schools currently use the service for entry into the first, middle or final years of secondary school.
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University retention and completion rates have improved
07 November 2011

The retention rate for commencing bachelor degree students in Australia has increased from 81 per cent in 2001 to 84 per cent in 2009, while the completion rate has increased from 72% in 2005 to 80% in 2008, according to a research briefing released today by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The ACER 'Joining the Dots' research briefing also noted that in the next few years new university enrolments are expected to come disproportionately from low socio-economic status (SES) groups that are historically under-represented.
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ACER resource aims to build resilience in dyslexic students
19 October 2011

A new ACER Press resource being launched in Melbourne tomorrow aims to assist students who have dyslexia to develop more effective coping skills and feel a greater sense of well being. Success and Dyslexia: Sessions for coping in the upper primary years, by Melbourne-based academics Dr Nola Firth and Associate Professor Erica Frydenberg, is an evidence-based program that assists students with dyslexia to increase their ability to take control of and cope with the problems that occur in their lives. It is estimated that one in ten students in Australia have dyslexia.
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NAPLAN results show importance of early learning, says ACER
09 September 2011

This year’s NAPLAN results highlight the importance of providing all children with good early learning opportunities, according to Professor Geoff Masters, Chief Executive of the Australian Council for Educational Research. “The greatest gains in literacy and numeracy levels between 2008 and 2011 in Australia occurred among Year 3 children in Queensland, following the introduction of a Prep year in that state,” Professor Masters said.
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Principals hand reins to business, community leaders
22 August 2011

Around 100 community and business leaders will take the reins at Victoria’s state schools tomorrow as part of the annual Principal for a Day program. Principal for a Day is a partnership between the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD).
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Teaching and learning oral language skills
15 August 2011

More than one in every five children entering primary school lacks the oral language skills necessary for successful school learning, particularly in literacy and numeracy, according to the author of an ACER Press book being launched in Melbourne on Thursday. Teaching Oral Language: Building a firm foundation using ICPALER in the early primary years by Dr John Munro, Head of Studies in Exceptional Learning and Gifted Education in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne, provides schools and teachers with an explicit guide for teaching and monitoring oral language development.
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Closing the gap in school completion rates for Indigenous students
09 August 2011

The Year 12 retention rate for Indigenous students is steadily increasing, according to a presentation to be given at the ACER Research Conference today. Kate Connors, Senior Adviser to the COAG Reform Council, will present findings showing that between 1995 and 2009 the retention rate to Year 12 increased from 30.7 per cent to 45.4 per cent, an increase of 1.2 per cent each year. The average annual increase was 0.3 per cent for non-Indigenous students. There was exceptional improvement in NT and SA.
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Community input needed to improve Indigenous student engagement
09 August 2011

A focus on engagement, attendance and retention could help improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, Australian Council for Educational Research researchers Dr Sarah Buckley and Ms Stephanie Armstrong will tell delegates to the ACER Research Conference today. “We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on average have a lower level of participation in education than non-Aboriginal Australians, but we need to know more about why,” Ms Armstrong said, speaking ahead of the conference.
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Education systems must bridge Indigenous and Western worlds
09 August 2011

Education for Indigenous students must complement, not overwrite, Indigenous wisdom and values, a Canadian expert will tell delegates to the ACER Research Conference today. Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge and Learning Professor Lorna Williams, of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, will draw parallels between the education of Indigenous peoples in Canada and Australia.
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Education key to improving Indigenous health and life expectancy
09 August 2011

Collaboration between education and health systems is necessary to break the cycle of disadvantage for many Indigenous Australians, experts will tell delegates to the Australian Council for Educational Research conference on Tuesday 9 August. Professors Jonathan Carapetis and Sven Silburn of the Menzies School of Health Research will speak on the factors influencing educational outcomes for Indigenous students and their implications for planning and practice in the Northern Territory.
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Closing the gap not enough
08 August 2011

Closing the current gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous student outcomes is not enough, and planning must prevent a future digital divide from developing, Adelaide University Dean of Aboriginal Education Professor Lester-Irabinna Rigney will tell delegates to the ACER Research Conference today. “Current education policy, with good cause, is firmly fixed on closing education gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. Meanwhile, however, schools which already teach 21st-century skills are moving further ahead,” Professor Rigney said, speaking ahead of the conference.
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Successful post-school transitions for Indigenous youth
08 August 2011

Approaches to improving education for Indigenous students should take a bottom-up approach, building on successful classroom and community programs to inform policy, Australian Council for Educational Research researchers Justin Brown and Gina Milgate will tell delegates to the ACER Research Conference on Monday 8 August 2011. Brown and Milgate, whose presentation to the conference will focus on successful post-school transitions for Indigenous youth, said that community engagement and input were vital.
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Two way teaching and learning key to educational equity
08 August 2011

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ educational outcomes will only be improved when teaching and learning become part of an equal and genuine cultural exchange, according to a new book published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). In 'Two Way Teaching and Learning: Towards culturally reflective and relevant education', co-editors Hannah Rachel Bell, ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Nola Purdie and ACER Indigenous Liaison Officer Gina Milgate highlight the overriding need for Australian people and educational systems to better engage with communities and elders in order to address the underlying issues that face Indigenous people from socially and culturally diverse backgrounds.
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Respect and research key to Indigenous educational success
08 August 2011

Australia can achieve sustainable education outcomes for Indigenous students through changes in attitudes and teaching practices, Charles Sturt University’s Foundation Chair of Indigenous Studies Professor Jeannie Herbert will tell the Australian Council for Educational Research annual conference today. Speaking ahead of the conference, Professor Herbert said that all Australians needed to make a concerted effort to create more positive attitudes toward education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
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