Education Guide: Scholarly Resources

CDU Library provides access to several high quality Educational Journals including:

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood 

Publishes evidence-based articles that impart new information and encourage critical exchange of ideas among early childhood practitioners, academics and students.

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (1/3/2000 - 30/9/2003 and 02/01/2008 - present)

Aims to promote research and scholarship on the integration of technology in tertiary education, promote effective practice and inform policy.

Australian Journal of Environmental Education

Presents information and arguments that stimulate debate about educational activities to enhance environmental awareness, understanding and action among all Australians.

Australian Journal of Language and Literacy

Provides balanced and in-depth investigations of literacy practices and theories in everyday settings to teachers.

Australian Journal of Middle Schooling

Covers middle school teaching, education and middle school students.

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Enhances the quality of teacher education through the publication of research reports, learned points of view and commentaries.

Australian Mathematics Teacher

Aimed at teachers of mathematics in years 7 - 10. Presents ideas and experiences in the teaching of elementary mathematics and for the instruction of teachers in the trends and developments of mathematics education.

Australian Science Teachers Journal

Articles and commentary on theory and practice for science education professionals.

Educational Leadership

Presents a variety of viewpoints aimed at leaders in elementary, middle and secondary education, those interested in curriulum, instruction and leadership in schools.

Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education

Journal that publishes original articles on all aspects of education that are informed by the idea of complexity.

Harvard Educational Review

Interdisciplinary forum for discussion and debate about the educatinal field's most vital issues.

Educational Philosophy and Theory

Provides articles concerned with all aspects of educational philosophy.

Different sources are useful for different purposes. Sources such as blogs and Wikipedia can give you background information and further links but may not be acceptable as a reference to support your assignment. The video below outlines what is meant by scholarly or peer reviewed. If you need to verify that a journal is peer reviewed you can use Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia which often appears among the top results of any internet-based search. It can be a very useful tool to start your online research but your lecturers and teachers will not accept citations from Wikipedia in your assignments.

How to use Wikipedia

• get an overview of your topic: use the information and links from a Wikipedia entry to expand your general knowledge and learn new terminology
• expand your search terms: look at the bolded words, contents list and definitions to find synonyms and search terms for your library database research
• find original sources: use the bibliography list at the end of an entry to find further resources or verifications you can cite.

Why shouldn't you cite Wikipedia?

• reliabilty: Wikipedia's content is created by voluntary contributors with no formal review process, therefore there is no guarantee that the information is accurate.
• authority: contributors are not required to provide credentials or other information demonstrating their expertise on a given subject area; this compromises the credibility of the entries.
• bias: although Wikipedia works to maintain a neutral point of view, pages that have been recently edited or are controversial can be very biased.