Research and Practice Library
The articles and resources in our Research and Practice Library form a contemporary evidence base for the teaching and learning of reading and viewing; writing and representing; speaking and listening.
Click on the tabs below to filter the collection via Category. You can also use the Tag Cloud below to explore the collection via keywords.
Explore articles and resources from the collection with a Curriculum focus:
What’s the point of drama class?
“So why study drama? As scholars who have researched drama and learning for 30 years, it’s clear studying drama can enhance your teenager’s present and contribute to their future. Drama teaches skills for life, learning and employability.” Reference: Raphael,J. &…
Being with a Puppet: Literacy through Experiencing Puppetry and Drama with Young Children
Karaolis, O. (2023). Being with a Puppet: Literacy through Experiencing Puppetry and Drama with Young Children. Education Sciences, 13(2) 291. In this article, Karaolis discusses the usefulness of using puppets when teaching young children who experience a disability…
Arts-Based Approaches to Languages Education with Refugee-Background Learners in the Early Years: Co-Creating Spaces of Hope
Burke, R., & Field, R. S. (2023). Education Sciences, 13(1), 85. In the paper, Burke and Field review recent research related to arts-based approaches to languages teaching and learning for young children who have refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds. The paper…
Children’s Meaning Making: Listening to Encounters with Complex Aesthetic Experience
Davis, B., & Dunn, R. (2023). Education Sciences, 13(1), 74. This paper describes a research project conducted by researchers in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA, Sydney, Australia). The project was designed to bring young children to the MCA…
Engaging Methods for Exploring ‘Funds of Identity’ in Early Childhood Contexts
D’warte, J., & Woodrow, C. (2023). Education Sciences 13(1), 4. D’warte and Woodrow draw on data collected across two countries, Australia and Chili, where children attending the early years of school worked in creative ways with their educators through arts-based…
Arts and Arts Education in Crisis: the need for reimagined Arts and Education policy and practice
AARE blog, Arts Education in Australia, Robyn Ewing May 2022 The Arts are imperative for making meaning in today’s world. They are core to our health, learning and wellbeing. While research has demonstrated that the transformative and educative benefits of the Arts in…
Explore articles and resources from the collection with a Policy focus:
Setting the Standards: who chooses ‘best practice’?
A convincing argument using the APST to decide what constitutes both ‘best practice’ and ‘best practitioners’. Reference: Cole, J. Setting the Standards: who chooses ‘best practice’? (2026, February 3). Edu Research Matters Setting the Standards: who chooses…
Is the focus on NAPLAN’s ‘top’ schools a good idea?
Taking issues like staffing, resources, explicit teaching, support for parents, wraparound services and funding into account means that NAPLAN results do not provide parents with a comprehensive guide of what a particular school can provide for their individual child….
How we can all fix NAPLAN. Starting now.
Ashenden suggests that what needs fixing is not NAPLAN but the system which controls it. He suggests that the ‘system’ is a combination of state/territory and national agencies, including ACARA. The information generated about schools is used to report on the work of…
Is induction ‘the solution’ to early career teacher retention
Quality Teaching Rounds are examined as a manageable and well researched response to the challenges schools face in inducting and retaining early career teachers. Each new year a challenge which many schools face is the very problematic and ongoing issue of teacher…
Hey, ministers, now’s the time to make better choices.
Reference: Adam,H. Hey, ministers, now’s the time to make better choices. (2025, November 14). Edu Research Matters. The disconnect between policy and practice is examined in this article through a lens provided by Dr Adam’s research over the last decade. Three…
What the new AERO could learn from the British model
AARE blog, Pat Thompson October 31, 2025 The review of the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) is due to report in May 2026. However, the federal minister Jason Clare has just announced the formation of the new Teaching and Learning Commission, bringing…
Explore articles and resources from the collection with a Pedagogy focus:
Babies as young as 4 months can tell how the sounds of different languages are made – new research
“Babies are like little detectives, constantly piecing together clues about the world around them. If you’ve ever noticed your baby staring at you while you talk, it’s because they’re picking up on more than just sounds – they’re learning how those sounds are made.”…
Teaching spelling in context can also be explicit and systematic
Daffern, T., Thompson, K. & Ryan, L. (2020). Teaching spelling in context can also be explicit and systematic. Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years, 25 (1), 8-12. This article shares a few practical insights from a large intervention study that focussed…
Arts Education: We fail our students with so many tests
“In today’s educational climate, with its intense focus on raising standardised test scores, it seems like we have lost sight of nurturing the extensive human potentials of both our students and teachers. There is an ongoing fixation with individualised…
READING part five: Why teachers must have more than this year’s model of literacy.
“Noella Mackenzie and Martina Tassone explore structured literacy, whole language and balanced literacy. This is the fifth post on reading to celebrate Book Week.” In this article, penultimate in this series, the authors examine the differences between…
Understanding Evidence-Based Teaching: A Conversation with Misty Adoniou
Misty Adoniou, a renowned literacy expert, joins the discussion to shed light on evidence-based teaching. Reference: Misty Adoniou, The Teachers Toolkit for Literacy Podcast Link:…
Explicit teaching mandate – a pushback now is critical
Jill Brown argues against NSW’s mandate for a system-wide focus on explicit teaching, warning that no single pedagogy suits all students and that teachers should retain professional judgment to blend approaches based on discipline and context. The piece sparked mixed…
Explore articles and resources from the collection with a Reading focus:
Announcing your 2026–2027 Australian Children’s Laureate Andy Griffiths
Internationally acclaimed and best-selling children’s author Andy Griffiths is the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2026 and 2027, sharing his mission: READING IS AN ADVENTURE. Andy says: “I am honoured to have been chosen as the Australian Children’s Laureate. My…
Choosing Books
Two resources to support teachers and parents to choose quality literature for children. Ewing, R. (2026, February 10) Some criteria to consider when choosing quality literature for your classroom How do I choose quality books for my child?
Parents, please don’t stop reading to your children – a great picture book could change their life
The Guardian 27 January, 2025 by Sally Rippin Picture books help children develop their imaginations, find empathy for others and take pride in what makes them unique – all of which make for good adults. I can’t think of a better way to start the year than having one…
The Guardian view on the National Year of Reading 2026: time to start a healthy habit for life
In the UK, 2026 has been declared The National Year of Reading, the first Children’s Booker prize will be launched, and free books and library cards are being provided for babies. These are responses to the current context in which, according to the National Literacy…
Australia’s best picture book: voting now open in Guardian Australia poll
It’s time to get voting for your favourite Australian picture book. Here’s how the Guardian’s poll works. Click here.
‘My work is often misunderstood’: Shaun Tan on his surreal Tales from Outer Suburbia
The Guardian 27 December, 2025 by Walter Marsh …“I think my work is often misunderstood,” Tan says of Outer Suburbia’s look and feel. “I’m always at pains to say my style is not ‘quirky’, it’s not ‘weird’. It’s about normal things, normal feelings. They’re just…
Explore articles and resources from the collection with a Writing focus:
Writing Analysis Tool
“This tool is designed to map shifts over time in the range of skills and competencies young writers use to communicate intended meanings and messages using standard writing conventions. While designed for the purpose of research, the tool has the potential to help…
Science and writing: Why AERO’s narrow views are a big mistake
“Will narrow instructional models promoted by AERO crowd out quality teaching and learning? A recent ‘practice guide’ from the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), on ‘Writing in Science’ raises significant questions about the peak body’s narrow views on…
Teaching creative writing in primary schools: a systematic review of the literature through the lens of reflexivity
Barton, G.; Khosronejad, M.; Ryan,M.; Kervin, L. & Myhill, D. (June 2023). The Australian Educational researcher. (51),1311-1330. In this article teaching creative writing in primary schools is examined with reference to a systematic review of research undertaken…
Decoding, reading and writing: the double helix theory of teaching
This landmark paper presents a new model for literacy education which draws on the biological sciences to describe literacy learning as a complex phenomenon. A kind of “theory of everything”, the double helix model is an alternative to the ‘abstract’ and ‘inanimate’…
The 2023 Donald Graves Address presented by Libby Gleeson AM, The Joy and Power of Writing
The Donald Graves Address is presented annually at the ALEA National Conference. The invited presenter is asked to reflect on the research and practice of Donald Graves, seating it in current research and practice and their own practice related to writing and writing…
Reading and Writing for Pleasure: A Framework for Practice
The Mercer’s Company 2023 Research reveals that the habit of reading in childhood is associated with academic, social and emotional outcomes and can mitigate educational disadvantages associated with gender and socio-economic status (OECD, 2021; Torppa et al., 2020)….
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