In recent decades, several countries have made efforts to close the historic gender gap in physics through curricular reforms. Research indicates that while the acute underrepresentation of females in physics courses and related careers is linked to a number of interlaced social, contextual and motivational factors, the personal relevance of physics curricula is important. Some researchers argue that physics has been historically perceived as a “masculine” domain which operates through contexts that are unfamiliar to females. Introduction of a “girl-friendly” physics curriculum is one of the prominent measures employed to mitigate this concern, with researchers arguing that a context-based/humanistic physics curriculum will improve gender inclusivity and thereby increase females’ motivation to learn physics. However, this approach has been criticised as a “feminisation” of the physics curriculum. This paper uses a mixed-methods approach underpinned by expectancy-value theory, to analyse 247 students’ perceptions of an Australian senior secondary physics curriculum and investigates the claim that including “female-friendly” topics will make physics more appealing to females. Findings suggest that while most students found their physics curriculum interesting and personally relevant, neither females nor males found the “feminine” topics particularly appealing. Both male and female students also found there was a lack of mathematical applications, and they identified descriptive topics, such as those addressing social and historical contexts, as uninteresting and irrelevant in a physics curriculum. This paper concludes that gender was non-significant in student perceptions of a senior secondary physics curriculum.

Papua New Guinea's National Education Plan (2020–2029) positions teacher professional development (TPD) as a key mechanism for improving the quality of education. Despite this commitment, the provision of TPD in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is challenging due to the remoteness of schools and limited infrastructure. This article reports on an innovative model of TPD founded in a research-practice partnership between an international development agency, Long Term Fund, and university, established in 2020, entitled the Schools E-Learning Project (SELP). The SELP combines localised, ongoing coaching by PNG educational leaders with technology integration to strengthen teacher competence and confidence. The design and evaluation of the initiative are underpinned by a program logic and wrap-around evaluation framework constructed by the research-practice partnership to support the sustainability and scaling of the SELP across remote communities in PNG. A baseline needs analysis identifies teachers’ professional learning needs and contextual challenges, providing empirical grounding for the design and implementation of the TPD model. Using a mixed-methods approach, the baseline analysis comprises questionnaires completed by 90 teachers and semi-structured interviews with 40 teachers from the same sample in Balimo, PNG. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analysed using thematic coding. Findings identified several key areas of professional learning needs and contextual challenges, including access to teaching and learning resources, information technology access and competence, pedagogical, curriculum and assessment knowledge, and classroom management. This article contributes insights into how a TPD model and evaluation framework, grounded in a research-practice partnership and informed by baseline needs analysis, can be designed to respond to barriers preventing the delivery of TPD in remote schools in PNG.

An Expectancy-Value Model of Motivation, Engagement, and Physics Continuation Intentions in Senior Secondary StudentsAbstract Declining enrolment and persistent gender imbalance remain two critical challenges in physics education, both in Australia and internationally. Although research on physics enrolment, particularly at the senior secondary level, is expanding, it has predominantly focused on variables that predict students’ initial intentions to enrol in future physics courses. However, relatively few studies have examined the motivational factors that sustain students’ intentions to continue studying physics after engaging with the enacted curriculum over an extended period. Understanding these sustained influences is critical for addressing attrition beyond the point of initial subject selection. Using a validated, gender-invariant survey instrument, data were collected from 247 students to assess their motivation and intention to pursue physics into their final year of secondary education. Structural Equation Modelling was employed to test a theoretically informed framework, revealing that interest value emerged as the strongest predictor of continued enrolment. In contrast to prior topic-specific models, this study highlights the variability of motivational patterns across the broader domain of physics, reflecting the level at which students make decisions about whether or not to enrol in the subject. Notably, no significant gender differences were found across most motivational constructs at the senior secondary level, although a significant gender difference was identified in sex stereotyped attitudes. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how sustained engagement in physics is shaped and offer important implications for educational practice and curriculum design aimed at improving retention in senior secondary physics education.