Using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), this briefing paper explores the impact of literacy and numeracy levels on the educational gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. The paper focuses on the early post-school outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people between 1999 and 2007. Raising the levels of literacy and numeracy...

Partnerships between literacy teachers and community service workers have the potential to engage people with low literacy levels in learning. Through interviews and surveys with these two groups, this paper explores their views on literacy, how it impacts on their work, and their ideas about partnerships with each other. Overall, partnerships are viewed more favourably...

The principal aim of the project was to record the state of tertiary teaching of philosophy in Australia and to provide benchmarking data on philosophy at the following levels: the teaching academics, the structure and composition of the philosophy major, and the teaching of philosophy from first year or “service” units/ subjects, through the Honours...

This briefing paper assesses the effect VET in Schools programs have on school retention, post-school vocational education and training (VET) and employment, and on young people's school and post-school aspirations. VET in Schools programs are seen as a way to increase Year 12 retention through broadening subject choices in the school curriculum. Research based on...

The place of the arts in the new Australian K–12 national curriculum is now available for national public consultation until 17 December 2010. Feedback will be used to further revise the draft shape paper, which will then be published as The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. This paper will guide the writing of...