Archived News for Education Sector Professionals - February, 2014
The Prime Minister has pledged to do better, and Indigenous ministers are crying out for more, with the release of this year's Closing the Gap report.
Finding effective checks for kids' mental health
Studies are looking into the effectiveness of mental health checklists filled out by parents when their child was aged 4-5 years, to see if they can accurately identify future risks.
Food forum looks to face mounting hunger
Some of Queensland’s brightest young minds will try to solve the problems facing an increasingly hungry world, with some help from top experts.
Prawns' plight gets broad human help
Prawn populations are receiving an academic boost, with experts coming to together to ensure the next generation thrives.
Young experts give 'little tiger' its stripes
A team of junior ichthyologists have determined the most appropriate taxonomy for a new species of reef fish.
Asbestos closures slow new start at state school
New asbestos contamination has forced the closure of several buildings at a public high school, but the state’s Education Department is downplaying the risk.
Better deals to build apprenticeship base
Changes to pay rates for apprentices have come into effect, which will mean increases for many young workers.
Experts unite for digital science upgrade
High definition 3D models and real scientific data will be used to create astounding virtual recreations of significant sites for students.
New maps show species threats and pressure worldwide
An international team has developed a series of maps showing how fast and in which direction local climates have shifted, to illuminate species at risk worldwide.
Big figure leaves LaTrobe over complementary conflict
A chief health academic has resigned over perceived conflicts in a $15 million complementary health research deal.
Big new crew, same few captains in WA
Western Australia has eleven thousand new state school students this year, but they will be taught by the same amount of teachers as before.
Cost cuts hit Indigenous education officers
Money-saving measures have hit hard in Western Australian Indigenous education, with more than 100 full-time Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers (AIEO) asking what the state government intends to do without them.
Feeling bionic hand makes mechanical sense
A Danish man has become the first in the world to be fitted with a prosthetic hand that can feel.
$70 mil for self-owned schools seen as unhelpful distraction
Seventy million dollars will be spent in an effort to convert 25 per cent of public schools to the Independent Public School model, with Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne now announcing a special ambassador to help make it happen.
Hammer to fall on five failed schools
One state’s Education Department is recouping its losses from failed schools, selling the buildings and the land on which they sat.
Evolution reaches across time and face
Timing is indeed crucial, with a new paper finding time is the difference between fear and surprise in facial expressions.
New field, new ideas as data and science mingle
Just as answering one question leads to several more, developments in one scientific field often create entirely new areas of study.
Once-hot rocks hold old secrets, pushing first life back eons
New research could shake our understanding of the origins of life on Earth, setting the date back about a billion years.
Tests to find we can really know in weird quantum world
A team from the University of Queensland is not so sure about Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
Search for life in space descends to smaller scale
A new technique could help scientists sift through space dust for the ingredients to make life.
Novel approach finds likely source of autistic habit
Many who work with autistic children and adults are aware of the habit of ‘withdrawal into self’, but a new study has shed some light on where the characteristic might come from.