This policy insights paper examines the rising trend of school suspensions in New South Wales (NSW) and their connection to student interaction with the criminal justice system. It identifies practical, evidence-based strategies – as alternatives to school exclusion – to create safer learning environments for students, teachers and schools to support long-term outcomes.

This policy brief analyses the state of teacher shortages in Australia based on data drawn from the 2024 OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey, based on lower secondary teachers. The analysis shows that Australia’s education system is facing a significant staffing crisis, leaving Australia among the worst-performing nations in the OECD.

Schools often manage problem behaviours by enacting exclusionary school discipline policies that remove students via suspension or expulsion. This study characterises exclusionary school discipline practices in a representative, longitudinal, population-based cohort of 71,955 students attending New South Wales public schools in Australia. The findings indicate that suspending and expelling children does not address problem behaviour.

This research report examined whether attending an Australian non-government secondary school gives an advantage in choice of career in later life. The study examined the occupations held in 2021 by the sex of the person and the sector of secondary school (Government run, Catholic, other Independent) attended in 2011.

This research summary provides an overview of how professional learning can influence and support the use of evidence-based practices in schools and early childhood education and care services, to enhance learning outcomes. It outlines early evidence from a research project on coaching. Coaching is a promising strategy for supporting improvements in teacher practice.