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Research

Review of the quality of evidence for preschool and school-based programs to support social and emotional skills, perseverance and academic self-concept

This project provides guidance to help school leaders review the evidence for different programs, as well as a review of universal, evidence-based pre-school and school-based social and emotional learning programs available in Australia.

Research

Promoting Mental Health in New Zealand: Building Resilience in Teenage Children

There has been concerns about the increasing incidence of youth depression and anxiety, with school teachers seeking out ways to better equip youth with skills to help them deal with daily life. A resilience training programme for youth was implemented in one region of New Zealand.

Research

Findings from the Kids in Communities Study (KiCS): A mixed methods study examining community-level influences on early childhood development

There is increasing international interest in place-based approaches to improve early childhood development (ECD) outcomes. The available data and evidence are limited and precludes well informed policy and practice change. Developing the evidence-base for community-level effects on ECD is one way to facilitate more informed and targeted community action.

Research

Basic epidemiology of wellbeing among children and adolescents: A cross-sectional population level study

Wellbeing and mental health are fundamental rights of children and adolescents essential for sustainable development. Understanding the epidemiology of child and adolescent wellbeing is essential to informing population health approaches to improving wellbeing and preventing mental illness.

Research

Data Resource Profile: The South Australian Well-being and Engagement Collection (WEC)

Mental health and well-being during childhood and adolescence have been shown to impact on health, educational attainment and employment in adulthood.1–3 Although health and education systems worldwide have long recognized the importance of promoting student well-being,4–6 population-wide monitoring of well-being remains uncommon.

Research

Clustering of Wellbeing, Engagement and Academic Outcomes in Australian Primary Schools

The mental health and wellbeing of young people has important consequences for students and society. Schools are a logical environment for management and early intervention of wellbeing, mental health and engagement with school. Interventions aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing in education systems requires knowledge of how wellbeing is clustered at a school level. Cluster-randomised trials, and regression analyses of such data also require knowledge of clustering.

Research

Factors Influencing Parental Acceptance of Trans Children and Young People: Findings from Trans Pathways

Trans youth are at high risk of mental health difficulties and negative life events. Strong parental support is highly protective however there is little understanding of what factors facilitate the process of parental understanding and acceptance of a child’s gender identity.

Research

‘It’s All About Context’: Building School Capacity to Implement a Whole-School Approach to Bullying

Student bullying behaviours are a significant social issue in schools worldwide. Whilst school staff have access to quality bullying prevention interventions, schools can face significant challenges implementing the whole-school approach required to address the complexity of these behaviours.

Research

Informing Resource Allocation for Investment in Early Childhood: A Review of the International Peer-Reviewed Evidence

Early childhood investment decisions represent critical policy frameworks that ideally reflect a strong evidence base. This review seeks to assess early childhood intervention priorities based on return on investment without limitation by health, education or social science sector.

Research

Breakfast skipping and cognitive and emotional engagement at school: A cross-sectional population level study

Research on the consequences of breakfast skipping among students tends to focus on academic outcomes, rather than student wellbeing or engagement at school. This study investigated the association between breakfast skipping and cognitive and emotional aspects of school engagement.