How we work: Research

AERO's Research Agenda outlines our annual priority areas of research.

The 3 factors that help determine what goes in our agenda are:

  • Demand – We listen to the Australian education community to hear your priorities and interests.
  • Impact – We consider evidence gaps and areas of research that are likely to lead to the greatest impact.
  • Feasibility – We consider operational issues, including availability of resources, data and expertise.

Deciding our research projects

Projects are scoped through extensive consultation with relevant education stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, teachers and educators. We seek expert advice to assess the rigour and potential impact of our research projects. Projects are also approved by our expert Board.

From time to time, we may also be commissioned by partner organisations to conduct research.

How we undertake research

AERO undertakes research projects in 3 ways:

  • internally using our research staff
  • commissioning other organisations or researchers to conduct entire research projects or a part of a particular research project
  • partnering with other organisations or researchers to collaborate on shared research projects.

We follow procurement governance policies and processes when commissioning or partnering with others.

Responsible research practice

AERO’s Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research and Evaluation supports research practices that are aligned with national research regulations and associated guidance. By holding ourselves accountable to the principles and responsibilities outlined in the Code, we conduct research that is of a high standard of ethics, responsibility, quality and integrity.

We have an independently chaired Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) to review, approve and monitor our research as per national research regulations. We also contribute to national education research governance initiatives such as supporting improvements to a national application for conducting research with education sites.

Find out more about Research Governance and Ethics

Supporting quality research in the education sector 

AERO plays an important role in enhancing national education research infrastructure. AERO is a co-convenor of the Impact Evaluation Practitioners Network (IEPN) and established the Measurement, Analytics and Data (MAAD) collective; both of these bodies enable collaboration and knowledge exchange in education research. AERO also supports improvements being made to a national application for conducting research in education settings. AERO and the New Zealand Education Review Office (ERO) formed the TransTasman Education Research Alliance in 2024, to share and jointly build knowledge of education research across Australia and New Zealand. This work helps to ensure that quality research can be undertaken in an efficient and sustainable way.

Producing quality research 

AERO’s research and evaluation quality framework includes:

  • seeking input from our advisory groups to ensure the research addresses the questions of interest and meets the perceived needs of stakeholders
  • external guidance and peer review by experts such as researchers and practitioners, selected based on their expertise and experience in the area of focus
  • internal reviews and checks, particularly to confirm compliance with national research regulations and adherence to our Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research and Evaluation
  • following human research ethics and systems and sectors guidelines and processes for conducting research in schools and ECEC services
  • the AERO Board overseeing the quality assurance process and, where required, taking action to ensure quality standards are maintained.

Strategic Plan

Our work will only have impact at scale if it is useful to, and used by, others across the early childhood education and care (ECEC) and school sectors.

With many actors in the complex education system, tracking our contribution to improvement in learning outcomes is challenging. Within this context, we ensure that our work is high quality through self-review mechanisms that include external views, monitoring measures of outputs, and reports on our performance. Our Strategic Plan provides further details on how we track our progress.