Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101053
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,556.00
Summary
Influence of parent and educator feeding practices on child self-regulation. This project aims to be the first study to investigate whether children who experience consistent and responsive feeding practices both at home and in early childhood education and care have higher levels of self-regulation, optimal eating behaviour and diet quality. The project expects to develop simple and low-cost strategies that parents and educators can use at mealtimes to enhance child self-regulation. With one mi ....Influence of parent and educator feeding practices on child self-regulation. This project aims to be the first study to investigate whether children who experience consistent and responsive feeding practices both at home and in early childhood education and care have higher levels of self-regulation, optimal eating behaviour and diet quality. The project expects to develop simple and low-cost strategies that parents and educators can use at mealtimes to enhance child self-regulation. With one million Australian children in care during their parent’s working week, outcomes of this project have widespread benefits. Higher self-regulation improves a child's health and well-being and provides short- and long-term social and economic benefits including school readiness, academic achievement and workforce participation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100687
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$463,976.00
Summary
Child sleep development in the context of family work lives. Sleep in early childhood is the single most critical activity for healthy brain development. Yet, a third of young children are identified by their parents as having a sleep problem. This study aims to test the hypothesis that social mechanisms underpin developing sleep patterns and problems. The study examines the change in sleep patterns as children enter non-parental care and the daily and weekly regularity of sleep as they transiti ....Child sleep development in the context of family work lives. Sleep in early childhood is the single most critical activity for healthy brain development. Yet, a third of young children are identified by their parents as having a sleep problem. This study aims to test the hypothesis that social mechanisms underpin developing sleep patterns and problems. The study examines the change in sleep patterns as children enter non-parental care and the daily and weekly regularity of sleep as they transition between home and their diverse care arrangements. Discovery of the ways family work lives influence child sleep presents the potential to offer new solutions to support healthy sleep development and avert sleep problems. The benefits are for caregivers, family well-being, and children’s development.Read moreRead less
Generating Evidence For A Strong Foundation: Using Population Health Data For Translational Child Health, Healthcare And Policy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,500,000.00
Summary
Professor Natasha Nassar’s research program uses advanced research methods to address new challenges in child population health. She will investigate the role and impact of early life factors, paediatric healthcare practices and long-term morbidity and survivorship on child health and development. Identification of at-risk children and involvement of clinicians and policy-makers in research will ensure improved child population health and development and healthy start to life for all children.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100452
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$364,774.00
Summary
TransformUs Higher Ed: Developing confident, 'classroom-ready' graduates . The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children has been far-reaching. Many students have fallen behind academically, are experiencing mental health challenges and have critically low levels of physical activity. These issues have become a global research priority, the focus of national and state policies, and urgently need addressing. This project offers a novel initial teacher education program that integrates meaningfu ....TransformUs Higher Ed: Developing confident, 'classroom-ready' graduates . The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children has been far-reaching. Many students have fallen behind academically, are experiencing mental health challenges and have critically low levels of physical activity. These issues have become a global research priority, the focus of national and state policies, and urgently need addressing. This project offers a novel initial teacher education program that integrates meaningful physical activity into classroom learning to address critical classroom challenges, exacerbated by COVID-19. The empirical findings are expected to generate new knowledge and practices to strengthen teaching degrees from a robust evidence base and benefit the learning and health outcomes of all Australian students.
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Child health and developmental inequities: Evidence for precision policy. The project aims to use cutting edge analytic approaches applied to existing data to identify how policy interventions related to parents’ mental health, preschool programs, and the built environment can be optimised to reduce inequities in children’s mental, academic, and physical health outcomes. The project will be informed by our partners and advisers from across government portfolios and service delivery, ensuring tha ....Child health and developmental inequities: Evidence for precision policy. The project aims to use cutting edge analytic approaches applied to existing data to identify how policy interventions related to parents’ mental health, preschool programs, and the built environment can be optimised to reduce inequities in children’s mental, academic, and physical health outcomes. The project will be informed by our partners and advisers from across government portfolios and service delivery, ensuring that the evidence generated has contemporary policy relevance. The project expects to identify clear and actionable policy pathways to reduce child inequities in Australia, which can benefit decision makers by helping them to direct limited public funds towards intervention opportunities that will have the greatest impact.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. Our vision is for Australian children to be healthy, educated and connected. This Centre will integrate child health, education, and digital and social connectedness, innovating across disciplines to meet Australia’s ongoing challenges of supporting young children growing up in a rapidly changing digital age. The Centre’s world-leading team investigates children’s digital practices through three interconnected research programs supported by a longi ....ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. Our vision is for Australian children to be healthy, educated and connected. This Centre will integrate child health, education, and digital and social connectedness, innovating across disciplines to meet Australia’s ongoing challenges of supporting young children growing up in a rapidly changing digital age. The Centre’s world-leading team investigates children’s digital practices through three interconnected research programs supported by a longitudinal family cohort study and children’s technology laboratories. The Centre will address tensions in a contested field to inform government and non-government policy, technology innovation, and develop programs and guidelines for children, families, educators and technology developers. Read moreRead less
The developmental significance of sleep transition in early childhood. This project aims to advance understanding of sleep functioning as children transition from many naps, to one nap, then none. Through an intense, objective longitudinal study of sleep from age one to five years, the project seeks to examine the interplay of sleep, care environment and ongoing child development. The project is expected to deliver much needed evidence to address the controversy surrounding care practice in fami ....The developmental significance of sleep transition in early childhood. This project aims to advance understanding of sleep functioning as children transition from many naps, to one nap, then none. Through an intense, objective longitudinal study of sleep from age one to five years, the project seeks to examine the interplay of sleep, care environment and ongoing child development. The project is expected to deliver much needed evidence to address the controversy surrounding care practice in family and early childhood education and care contexts. The expected benefit for parents and educators is improved knowledge and confidence in supporting children’s sleep. The expected benefit for children is positive development, given the known impacts of sleep on ongoing learning, behaviour and health.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Relationships for Young People in Residential Care. Young people in residential care face major challenges in forming positive relationships, many having experienced adults as a source of threat rather than safety. This project aims to investigate practices within therapeutic residential care that enable or limit young people’s identity formation, positive social connections, safety and wellbeing. This research will generate nuanced knowledge informing interpersonal and institution ....Strengthening Relationships for Young People in Residential Care. Young people in residential care face major challenges in forming positive relationships, many having experienced adults as a source of threat rather than safety. This project aims to investigate practices within therapeutic residential care that enable or limit young people’s identity formation, positive social connections, safety and wellbeing. This research will generate nuanced knowledge informing interpersonal and institutional change. Expected outcomes include improved approaches to therapeutic care and to methods for enabling the participation of young people in care in matters that may change their life trajectory on exiting care. Expected benefits include more responsive policies and frameworks for practice.Read moreRead less
Educator-child interactions and childhood social and emotional learning. This project aims to enhance educator-child interactions to support young children’s social and emotional learning in Early Childhood Education and Care. It expects to generate new knowledge about adult-child interactions for improved child outcomes by examining the effectiveness, theories of change and implementation of an online Social-Emotional Engagement and Development Program to promote educators' engagement with thre ....Educator-child interactions and childhood social and emotional learning. This project aims to enhance educator-child interactions to support young children’s social and emotional learning in Early Childhood Education and Care. It expects to generate new knowledge about adult-child interactions for improved child outcomes by examining the effectiveness, theories of change and implementation of an online Social-Emotional Engagement and Development Program to promote educators' engagement with three tiers of social and emotional learning strategies. The intended outcome is a confirmed evidence base supporting the program at scale and aligned professional learning resources. This project has potential to mitigate against the financial and social costs associated with mental ill-health in early childhood.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Preconception And Perinatal Substance Use And Misuse In Childhood Social, Emotional And Behavioural Problems
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,562,250.00
Summary
This project will use perinatal and preconception data from three long-running Australian studies that have tracked the health and wellbeing of several thousand participants prior to parenthood. The aim is to understand how parental histories of substance use, and patterns of use during pregnancy, and in early life, shape offspring social, emotional and behavioural outcomes across childhood. Results will inform new approaches to preventing substance-related harms within and across generations.