Australian and New Zealand research on poetry teaching is very scarce. Robin McConnell extends it by asking poets as well as teachers for their comments, and winds up with many clear bits of advice.

Should my child repeat the year? Many an anxious parent asks the teacher this question. This Australian study looks at the effects of repeating. Against popular opinion, the long term effects are nil, and the child is a year behind his or her peers.

If people approve of us, then we approve of ourselves – our self-esteem grows. From the British equivalent of set we reprint this research on the ability of young children to rank themselves for academic ability. Reprinted from Topic, Spring 1990 (Issue 3), item 1.

What makes one student successful in his or her first year of university study, and another struggle or fail? First year students were followed, questioned, and the results point to things both the students and their secondary schools can do.

As part of a larger study of the junior school, video recordings were made of new entrants busily adjusting to school learning. Here are fascinating insights into learning, interaction, and classroom climate.

Mainstreaming brings new demands and requires new criteria for creating (and judging) quality education. Research reveals good practice.

What are the best ways of preventing and coping with injuries to small children? Parents, trained teachers, and supervisors of early childhood centres were questioned. This research was carried out for the N.Z. Accident Compensation Corporation.

Observing at school camps gives a brief picture of how attitudes can be improved.

Two articles, the first on school-based enterprises in Australia and changes research suggests (New Zealand information too): the second a report from Britain called 'Impoverished by the Need to Make Money.'

The latest clues come from a walk in the park and an owl at pre-school. Here are new insights which will help us adjust the learning we ask of children and the way we assess what has been learnt.