New publications

As Australia moves towards the implementation of a national curriculum in the arts, a new review of research calls for the arts to be embedded in all academic disciplines and fields as a way of cultivating creativity and imagination. Australian Education Review 58, The Arts and Australian Education: Realising Potential stresses that the arts (dance, drama, literature, media arts, music and visual arts) must not be seen as servants to other curriculum areas. The review highlights international research that shows those students whose learning is embedded in the arts achieve better grades and overall test scores, are less likely to leave school early, rarely report boredom and have a more positive self-concept than those students who are deprived of arts experiences. Adapted from publisher's description.

Popular books, magazines and scientific articles perpetuate traditional 'myths' about biological differences between the male and female brain. Drawing on the latest research in developmental psychology, neuroscience and social psychology, Delusions of Gender rebuts these claims. Cordelia Fine reveals the mind's remarkable plasticity, shows the substantial influence of culture on identity and, ultimately, exposes just how much of what we consider to be 'hardwired' is actually malleable. Adapted from publisher's description.

The report analyses 20 systems from around the world, all with improving but differing levels of performance, examining how each has achieved significant, sustained and widespread gains in student outcomes, as measured by international and national assessments. Based on more than 200 interviews with system stakeholders and analysis of some 600 interventions carried out by these systems, this report identifies the reform elements that are replicable for school systems elsewhere as they move from poor to fair to good to great to excellent performance. Adapted from publisher's description.

Appraising Research considers the nature and use of academic writing in English, including disciplinary differences between the humanities, sciences and social sciences. The issues considered include the tension between the pursuit of objective written expression, involving conventions of caution and distance, and the need to be clear and unambiguous. Adapted from publisher's description.

There are a number of myths surrounding the use of technology in education, and the effects of technology use on student learning, behaviours and skills. Findings from a survey of more than 1,000 US educators, including 783 teachers and 274 principals or assistant principals, suggest that teachers play a vital role in the intersection of technology and 21st-century expertise. Respondents are closely representative of teacher and administrator populations by region, school level and years of experience. Adapted from publisher's description which is available online.

The final installment of a three-part series on e-learning, this special report examines how schools are working to create high-quality digital curriculums and online courses. It covers the influence the common-core academic standards are likely to have on building the online curriculums of the future, the growing emphasis on teaching social skills to virtual school students, how schools are building courses that blend face-to-face and online learning, and the evolving role of e-assessments. Adapted from publisher's description.