The first year of teaching is notoriously difficult. Many clever and committed beginning teachers find that they cannot endure their early experiences in the classroom, and simply drop out. This attrition not only reflects considerable personal distress for the individuals involved, it also represents a waste of time and money for schools and education systems. Addressing this problem means developing beginning teachers' resilience. However, 'resilience' is too often associated with the idea of purely personal coping strategies and suggests that when individuals don't or can't cope, they themselves are to blame. In reality there are important social, cultural and political influences contributing to attrition and to teachers' capacity for resilience. To lower attrition rates means recognising these influences and reshaping them to guide and support these professionals in the early stages of their careers. Early Career Teachers: Stories of Resilience describes findings from a study into early career teachers and threats to their wellbeing, reporting on research which sought to provide an evidence base for interventions that will increase teacher commitment and reduce attrition.
Research has produced a substantial body of evidence as to what makes teachers, schools and education systems effective, but many factors impede its translation into policy and practice – School Leadership & Management.
When preschool children recount past events in detail, they improve their language and thinking skills, according to the findings of a US study – Journal of Literacy Research.
The Australian Curriculum: History, would benefit from a more inquiry-based approach, with a focus on historical literacy, historical consciousness and thinking historically – Literacy Learning in the Middle Years.
While the Draft Shape Paper for the Civics and Citizenship curriculum is a great success overall, some issues require additional development – Curriculum Perspectives.