Minnis Journals

For Education Leaders

Engagement and Retention in Australian Schools

Students must be present and engaged to be ‘available’ for learning. The research shows that motivation and engagement are important for student achievement. Changes in student motivation and engagement throughout the course of the day, week or month have implications for teachers. Every moment, of every day and for every student matters. There must be a relentless focus by teachers on learning. There is an urgent need to apply a systematic, evidence-based approach to improve attendance and, in turn, help secure a literate future for every Australian. Student achievement, by inviting student involvement, is the quintessential part of a solutions-focused approach. Read more

Community and Support Encourage Teachers to Stay

Having a say on school policies and curriculum, informal lunchtime socialisation, and validating experiences of ‘imposter syndrome’ are among a raft of measures that could be used by the education system to keep early career teachers in the job.
One in two new teachers will leave the job in their first five years, and to turn this around researchers are urging schools to act on the 41 factors that drive ‘teacher belonging’. Read more

Lancet says Anti Vaping Program Works

A major new study published in Lancet Public Health shows Australian OurFutures Institute Vaping Prevention Program reduces the likelihood of adolescent vaping by 65 per cent compared to standard health education.
Held by the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney, the study involved more than 5,000 students across three Australian states, making it the largest trial of its kind. Read more

Maths Anxiety is Real and Often Ignored

We rarely talk about it, but maths anxiety is more common than you think. Lingering in classrooms, shaping the way students, and teachers, experience mathematics, and quietly closing doors to future opportunities in STEM.
This anxiety doesn’t just appear in high school. Research shows that children as young as six can experience anxiety about numbers.
Read more

The Restorative Future of Student Engagement

Today’s kids are entirely different creatures from those of the 1950s. All teachers can speak to the increasing neurodiversity in their classrooms and the spiralling number of students with additional needs.
Even further, we’re also teaching young people in a western world dietary shift that is robbing their growing minds of nutrition; and a social media generation whose values are determined by social media ‘influencers’. Read more

NAPLAN Shows Rise in Proficiency for First Nations

NAPLAN National Results indicate higher NAPLAN scores on average across Years 5, 7 and 9 in numeracy, particularly among stronger students, as well as a reportable increase, from 2023 to 2025, in the percentage of Indigenous students achieving “Exceeding” in writing and numeracy at both Years 7 and 9. Years 5, 7 and 9 students who participated are the first students to have completed 2 assessments since the new proficiency levels arrived. Read more