Media Centre

ACER in the news

The following articles provide examples of recent news coverage of ACER’s work.

Joining the Dots

Joining the Dots is a subscription-based resource provided by ACER to those with an interest in Australian Higher Education. In September 2012 ACER issued a media release about how newly released data from the 2011 Census of Australian Population and Housing has been explored to provide insight into the characteristics of Australian university students and how they have changed in the first decade of the 21st century. The following newspaper articles discuss this research:

ACER Research Conference 2012

The ACER Research Conference 2012, on the theme School Improvement: What does the research tell us about effective strategies?, was held in Sydney from 26 to 28 August. Presenters highlighted the conditions, contexts, curriculum, pedagogy and practices required for school improvement to occur. Following the media releases issued for the conference, several news outlets published articles about a keynote presentation.

Other recent news

The Australian interviewed ACER Chief Executive Professor Geoff Masters about his submission to the Senate Inquiry on Teaching and Learning. (‘More teachers “not the answer to lifting standards”, says Geoff Masters’ by Justine Ferrari, The Australian, 12 November 2012, page 1).
An article about new ACER Press title Creative Arts in the Lives of Young Children featured quotes from the authors of the book’s foreword, Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. (‘Cate Blanchett pleads for more kids' play in schools’ by Wes Hosking, The Herald Sun, 14 November 2012, page 11).
The Australian published an article about the future viability of the OECD Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO), the Feasibility Study for which is being led by ACER. (‘Doubts over OECD comparisons’ by Bernard Lane, The Australian, 10 October 2012, page 30).
In an article about submissions to the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into ‘sexting’, ACER Research Fellow Dr Paul Weldon discussed the necessity of context when dealing with minors who have taken or sent explicit text messages. (‘The Sext Files: why current laws are creating new victims’ by Bridget Northeast and Justin Daly, Crikey, 10 October 2012).
The Australian published an article about the Grey Literature Strategies research project and conference, about the rise of research and other content published informally online. (‘Filling the black hole with grey literature’ by Bruce Muirhead, The Australian, 11 October 2012).
The Age published an opinion article written by ACER Research Fellow Dr Sarah Buckley about the impact of mathematics anxiety in children. (‘Sum of our fears’ by Sarah Buckley, The Age, 22 October 2012, page 11).
On World Teachers Day, the Daily Telegraph published an article about ACER Chief Executive Professor Geoff Masters’ recommendations for improving teaching quality. (‘Testing the new teacher – the plan to lift classroom quality’ by Katherine Danks, The Daily Telegraph, 26 October 2012, page 18).
Comments made by speakers at ACER’s 4th National Student Engagement Conference received coverage in an article published in The Australian. (‘Fund plan axed after standards concerns’ by Andrew Trounsen, The Australian, 31 October 2012, page 31).
The Australian published an article about a new ACER Press title English Language Standards in Higher Education. (‘Unis urged to get serious about English proficiency’ by Bernard Lane, The Australian, 5 September 2012, page 24).
ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Lawrence Ingvarson and ACER Chief Executive Professor Geoff Masters were quoted in an article about the differences in teaching conditions in the top performing PISA countries. PISA, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, measures how well 15-year-olds from across the globe are prepared to use their knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics and science to meet real-life challenges near the end of compulsory schooling. (‘World rankings a lesson in valuing role of teachers’ by Rachel Browne, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 September 2012, page 5).
Australian Teacher Magazine published an opinion article written by ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Lawrence Ingvarson about the need for a professional certification system for teachers that providing successful teachers with access to a substantially higher salary scale. (‘A new direction for teaching as a profession is needed’ by Lawrence Ingvarson, Australian Teacher Magazine, 18 September 2012).
The Huffington Post interviewed the editor of An Extraordinary School: Re-modelling special education, published by ACER Press, about best practice in special education. (‘The global search for education: In search of special education’ by C M Rubin, The Huffington Post, 28 August 2012).