Trailblazing schools shun the mainstream system - and they’re thriving

By Sarah Duggan
Published May 29, 2019

Skim across the mainstream headlines, and Australia’s school system doesn’t always present as a glowing hub of innovation.

Regularly likened to large-scale production factories, relics of the industrial era that efficiently but callously churn out a final product ...

This story appeared in the June 2019 edition of Australian Teacher Magazine.

Teacher Technology - Taree High School

Taree High School Taree

Teaching - Secondary / Feb 18, 2026

Head Teacher Secondary Studies - Richmond Agricultural Centre

NSW Department of Education Sydney NSW

School Management / Feb 18, 2026

Head Teacher Teaching & Learning - Asquith High School

Asquith Girls High School Asquith

School Management / Feb 18, 2026

School news / Survey shock behind push for extra paid out-of-classroom prep time

Teachers are juggling more complexity in the classroom than ever but lesson preparation hours have not changed in decades, according to a new survey.

School news / Our tokenistic sustainability education is missing the mark: peak science associations

A new position paper prepared by three peak science teacher associations has lifted the lid on deep dissatisfaction across the sector regarding climate change education and the way it is taught in schools.

Opinion / How leaders cultivate teachers’ social-emotional confidence for wellbeing

Teaching is a highly rewarding profession, yet it is also recognised as inherently complex and often challenging.

School news / Union sets stop-work date for Vic public school staff seeking fair pay and conditions

The Australian Education Union’s Primary and Secondary Sector Council has set a date for 24-hour stop-work action in Term 1.

School news / Link between kids’ attitudes to hand writing and motivation/quality: research

Beginner writers’ attitude and motivation towards writing is related to the quality of their writing and writing skills (handwriting vs keyboard automaticity), new research has found.

School news / The need for sex ed focus to be on respect, consent and communication

On the eve of Valentine’s Day, with love and relationships front of mind, educators, young people and parents are being encouraged to look beyond risk-based sex education to focus on communication, consent and emotional safety.

School news / ‘Polycrisis’ threatens future of arts education in Aussie schools: researchers

Sidelined from the early years and scrapped at senior levels, arts education in Australian schools is rapidly deteriorating – and our nation’s creative and cultural capital is now at serious risk of dying out, two researchers have warned.

School news / Oxford’s Aust Children’s Word of the Year reveals positive cultural shift: researchers

Oxford’s Australian Children’s Word of the Year for 2025 has just been revealed, and researchers say it may come as a huge surprise.

School news / ‘The numbers don’t add up’: union slams Catholic employers’ attempt to thwart SIA

Victoria’s Catholic education employers have submitted numbers suggesting that their workforce has somehow miraculously sky-rocketed from under 35,000 to nearly 45,000, the Independent Education Union (IEU) Victoria Tasmania says.

Community / ‘Is that even legal?’: teachers’ CCTV concerns must be taken seriously

In the wake of the deeply disturbing allegations concerning Victorian childcare worker Joshua Brown last year, the topic of CCTV cameras has become more urgent than ever before.

Trailblazing schools shun the mainstream system - and they’re thriving

Comments

EducationID

Our services

Ad centre