We talk to Phill Dawson (Deakin University) about how to make sense of some of the latest trends around authentic assessment, self-assessment and ‘ungrading’. We also talk about what makes good feedback, and how students and teachers can benefit from developing ‘feedback literacy’.

Students choosing to study overseas has long been an important part of higher education, but is becoming increasingly politically contentious. Professor Rachel Brooks (University of Oxford) talks about her research around student mobilities in UK higher education – highlighting the complex institutional politics and personal experiences of studying abroad.

Many Australian schools have extensive rules around what students are expected to wear and what they should look like. Kayla Mildren (Griffith University) talks about her work on the sociology of school uniform policies – especially schools' attempts to regulate students’ hair and hairstyles.

Getting published in academic journals can be a major source of stress for education researchers. We talk to Sam Sellar (lead editor of Discourse) about how best to navigate the article writing and submission process, dealing with peer reviews, and seeing journals as a space for ongoing conversations and community-building.

We hear regular reports of a ‘crisis’ in teacher recruitment and what has been characterised as an exodus of educators leaving the profession. Professor Jo Lampert (Monash University) talks about her research around teacher workforce issues, and a new study examining the realities of working in ‘hard-to-staff’ schools.

Prof. Kristiina Brunila (University of Helsinki) talks about the rise of ‘Precision Education Governance’ – the current push to reform education systems through markets, digital technologies, standardised measurements, behavioural sciences and the precise shaping of human conduct.

Mental health is now recognised as an important part of schooling. Neil Humphrey (University of Manchester) talks about recent efforts to establish compulsory mental health education across English schools, and the benefits of supporting students’ social and emotional learning.

Academic research is becoming increasingly peripheral to education policy-makers and practitioners. Prof. Sally Power (Cardiff University) talks about the current shortcomings of our work, and how education research might be reinvigorated through a new ‘politics of method’.

Why did Twitter so quickly fall apart as a place for scholarship? Where are academics now going for their social media buzz? How can you use Chat GPT as a genuinely useful interlocutor? Mark Carrigan (University of Manchester) joins us to talk about two of his latest books – ‘Social Media For Academics’ (2nd edition) and the forthcoming ‘Generative AI for Academics’. We talk about how academics can get the best out of digital tools to support their scholarship, and how academia can push back against a looming age of automated research communication.

A/Prof Pontso Moorosi (University of Warwick) joins us to talk about her research on leadership preparation in South African schools, and the varying experiences of Black women school principals around the world.