Laura Perry PhD

Critical thinking is crucial in the twenty-first century, fundamental to cultivating capable, adaptive, and socially responsible individuals, particularly in the context of rapid advancement in artificial intelligence and the global imperative to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It is widely incorporated into curriculum frameworks globally, leading to a significant increase in experimental studies on teaching and learning strategies for promoting critical thinking. However, an overview of the research landscape on cultivating critical thinking in K–12 schools remains underdeveloped. This scoping review examined experimental studies on teaching and learning interventions aimed at cultivating critical thinking among K–12 students. Our review included 378 studies conducted in 51 countries over the past decade. Nearly half of these studies were conducted in four grade levels and primarily in science-related learning areas. Seventy per cent of the studies were conducted in Asia with a significant proportion in Indonesia, followed by the Middle East. Three critical thinking frameworks were commonly used and nearly 70 tools were used to measure critical thinking. The findings highlight the need for rigorous studies from diverse countries, learning areas, and grade levels. This review provides a comprehensive overview of critical thinking research in K–12 schools and identifies areas for future research to support teachers in cultivating critical thinking in school-aged children.

Increasing the participation of students who study science and mathematics curricula is a priority in many countries, but between-school inequalities in the offerings of these subjects is not well understood. We examine stratified opportunities to learn science and math subjects in upper secondary schools in Australia, as a case study for examining how educational marketization reduces access to curricular subjects in comprehensive secondary education systems. Using census data from one state, we found biology and chemistry are offered in most schools, but substantial inequalities exist in access to physics and especially advanced mathematics. School size, socioeconomic composition, sector and location predict whether a school offers advanced mathematics. The findings suggest that inequalities in access to science and mathematics curricula are patterned by social background and that these inequalities are linked with educational marketization.

K-12 online distance education (ODE) continues to experience growth in student enrollments, yet existing research remains largely US centric, with a predominant focus on supply-side development rather than student experiences or outcomes. This paper presents findings from an Australian mixed-methods study exploring parental perceptions of student experiences and, where relevant, reasons for withdrawal. Situating the study within the wider literature both theoretically and empirically, push and pull factors are used as a lens to interpret the results. High parental satisfaction in the mode is evident across numerous metrics. Three key themes emerge: ODE is a beneficial educational mode for many students; student well-being is a primary driver of high parental satisfaction; and ODE often serves as an educational bridge during periods of transition or challenge for students. Policy implications include the need to support and promote ODE as a viable option within the broader educational landscape, along with recommendations for online schools to refine systems and structures to better meet student needs.

K–12 online distance education (ODE) is a growing sector of the education market. However, the demand-side factors that drive parents’ decisions to enroll their children in online schools remain understudied, particularly beyond the United States. This literature review considers both the U.S. and Australian historical school-choice policy contexts, demonstrating freedom in the former and some restrictions on the sector in the latter. Using the wider school-choice research field as context, the theoretical and psychological drivers, particularly the push factors toward ODE and pull factors away from traditional schooling, are considered. Contemporary debates and research needs are presented.

School segregation is an international problem undermining the performance and equity of education systems. Australia's secondary schooling system offers international insights into the causes of segregation owing to it being one of the most segregated in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, its long history of school competition and privatisation, and a lack of government regulation of the fees, enrolment and exclusion policies of private schools. This study examines the role of institutional differentiation and school fees in the uneven enrolment of low socioeconomic status (SES) and Indigenous students within geographical areas over which school choice is a viable option. We found that no secondary school sector was representative of the Australian secondary student population and that there was substantial variation in segregation between states and territories. States and territories with lower rates of Catholic, independent and selective schools have lower levels of segregation. Indigenous students were doubly segregated into schools with high concentrations of low SES students. School segregation varied between geographical areas with the degree of institutional differentiation, and this was partially accounted for by school fees. Independent, Catholic and selective schools contributed to the segregation of low SES students while independent and Catholic schools contributed to the segregation of Indigenous students. Policy reform options include improving the funding and political support for government schools and raising the accountability of government-funded schools for the enrolment of low SES and Indigenous students. This study has relevance in the international comparison of causes and potential reforms of school segregation.

Purpose
Challenges associated with transitioning from graduate to employee are often attributed to a lack of “work readiness”. A useful tool to address this issue is a valid and reliable measurement scale for graduate work readiness (GWR), which is the purpose of this study.

Design/methodology/approach
Using a mixed-method exploratory sequential design, this study draws from a priori conceptual knowledge of GWR to refine and validate a new 67-item scale. It also explores the interrelationships between factors to establish the nomological network. A sample of eight students participated in focus group discussions and individual interviews to pilot test the scale, after which another sample of 101 second-year university students completed a GWR survey.

Findings
A partial least squares-structural equation modelling with 101 survey responses confirmed the original four-factor solution, comprising cognitive, metacognition, intrapersonal and interpersonal domains organised into a hierarchical structure, six lower-order constructs: critical thinking, innovative thinking, problem-solving, planning and organisation, collaborative leadership and social self-efficacy mapped onto three higher-order constructs, namely cognitive, metacognition and interpersonal, while the intrapersonal construct was not hierarchically organised. The validated model comprised 35 items with good internal reliability and validity. The results also indicated statistical evidence that the metacognition and intrapersonal constructs influenced the interpersonal construct and the intrapersonal construct significantly affected the cognitive and metacognition constructs.

Originality/value
This study provides a new validated scale for measuring students’ and graduates’ work readiness more robustly than previous scales.

The present study aims to investigate how school segregation, as well as the (in)congruence between the school and individual SES, can explain the variation in student achievement. Additionally, it examines the role of instructional leadership in mitigating this association. Using international large-scale assessments (PISA-TALIS link data) from seven countries – Australia, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Malta, and Turkey – we applied several multilevel polynomial regressions with response surface analyses. The results showed that both individual SES and school segregation have a profound impact on student achievement, with varying results across countries. Second, we found differential school composition effects, with the school composition effect strongest for low SES students in high SES schools. Third, our results do not support congruence theory, but they do somewhat favor (in)congruence theory. Finally, strong leadership magnifies benefits for low-SES students in high-SES schools and for all students at low-SES schools. Implications for policy, practice, and further research are discussed.

This study proposes a more nuanced understanding of the elements constituting refugees' cultural and social capital to help education providers and policymakers develop a non-deficit view of refugees. Such an understanding, informed by empirical research, ought to shape the type of support that is offered to this cohort to facilitate successful participation in higher education. This paper deploys the concepts of cultural and social capital, habitus and field as articulated within Bourdieu's theory of practice. The findings of this study favour an 'asset view' of refugees within the higher educational context. Using a qualitative research design, 20 participants who come from a refugee background were interviewed. It was found that cultural identity and embeddedness within community has a varied influence on the higher educational experience of people from a refugee background in Australia. Additionally, diverse learning environments and, even, generic support structures, help provide a positive higher educational experience for refugees. These findings complement current research suggesting that people who come from a refugee background possess a range of cultural and social capital which can be assets to their higher educational endeavours.