Childhood obesity, physical activity and wellbeing: Discovering the influence of children's understandings and experiences of places, spaces and communities. The study aims to discover 3-13 yr old children's understandings, perceptions & experiences of physical activity & associated places & spaces. Childhood obesity is a modern 'epidemic' & governments agree that low physical activity levels contribute significantly. Epidemiological & clinical research has been undertaken, but we lack Australia ....Childhood obesity, physical activity and wellbeing: Discovering the influence of children's understandings and experiences of places, spaces and communities. The study aims to discover 3-13 yr old children's understandings, perceptions & experiences of physical activity & associated places & spaces. Childhood obesity is a modern 'epidemic' & governments agree that low physical activity levels contribute significantly. Epidemiological & clinical research has been undertaken, but we lack Australian studies that systematically listen to & understand the pivotal voices of children themselves. Failure to develop such theoretically sound, practice-based understandings may mean ineffective interventions that misunderstand children's worlds. This collaborative study unites highly experienced researchers, practitioners & policy makers who will actively involve children in creating & using new knowledge.Read moreRead less
Renewing the teaching profession in regional areas through community partnerships. Schools are at the heart of community, social and economic regeneration in regional areas but teacher shortages and high turnover put quality of learning at risk. Improving teacher quality, attracting new teachers and retaining more experienced teachers will expand learning opportunities for young people in rural and remote areas, and make the region attractive to other workers recruited to bring their families to ....Renewing the teaching profession in regional areas through community partnerships. Schools are at the heart of community, social and economic regeneration in regional areas but teacher shortages and high turnover put quality of learning at risk. Improving teacher quality, attracting new teachers and retaining more experienced teachers will expand learning opportunities for young people in rural and remote areas, and make the region attractive to other workers recruited to bring their families to the area - for mining, industry, service or professional employment. This partnership study will enable policy makers, employers, country community groups and teacher education faculties to be more strategic in working together in providing necessary teaching staff; with potential implications for other professional groups.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100107
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$414,325.00
Summary
Resilience, culture, and class: A sociological study of Australian students. This project aims to promote academic resilience and school success in contexts of adverse conditions. Using interviews, Social Network Analysis, and psychometric measures, the project will explore links between academic resilience, culture, and class. The project is designed to provide insights that can reduce educational failure and enhance life prospects of at-risk students. Expected outcomes include publicly availab ....Resilience, culture, and class: A sociological study of Australian students. This project aims to promote academic resilience and school success in contexts of adverse conditions. Using interviews, Social Network Analysis, and psychometric measures, the project will explore links between academic resilience, culture, and class. The project is designed to provide insights that can reduce educational failure and enhance life prospects of at-risk students. Expected outcomes include publicly available project findings and an instructional animation to assist end-users build academic resilience in Australia's multicultural contexts. Expected benefits include attenuated achievement gap, increased social cohesion and mobility, and reduced public cost on educational failure.Read moreRead less
A new conceptualization of forgiveness: Altruistic and self-interested foci as predictors of psychological costs and benefits of forgiveness. The project makes a pioneering theoretical contribution by recognising that forgiveness possesses both altruistic and self-interested dimensions. This reconceptualisation will result in three main community benefits: [1] researchers and practitioners will be better able to predict when forgiveness is most beneficial and when it is psychologically costly; [ ....A new conceptualization of forgiveness: Altruistic and self-interested foci as predictors of psychological costs and benefits of forgiveness. The project makes a pioneering theoretical contribution by recognising that forgiveness possesses both altruistic and self-interested dimensions. This reconceptualisation will result in three main community benefits: [1] researchers and practitioners will be better able to predict when forgiveness is most beneficial and when it is psychologically costly; [2] forgiveness strategies and principles will be more appropriately and strategically applied across different social contexts; and [3] public understanding of what it really means to forgive will be enhanced, thereby increasing the extent to which forgiveness may be embraced in the population.Read moreRead less
Children of the new millennium: Using information and communication technologies for playing and learning in the information age. This research explores the development of young children's expertise with information and communication technologies from the preschool to the second year of school. It examines where young children in diverse socioeconomic areas use information and communication technologies, how many forms of it they use and to what extent technology relates to other forms of play ....Children of the new millennium: Using information and communication technologies for playing and learning in the information age. This research explores the development of young children's expertise with information and communication technologies from the preschool to the second year of school. It examines where young children in diverse socioeconomic areas use information and communication technologies, how many forms of it they use and to what extent technology relates to other forms of play and learning in literacy and numeracy. An assessment tool will be developed to explore how children's knowledge, understanding and use of technology changes over time. The research will inform policy and curriculum directions in the early years of education.Read moreRead less
Building the capabilities of school communities to improve their wellbeing. Wellbeing remains an issue for all education systems and for the nation. One indicator of this is that, on average, one in six Australian students experience affronts to their wellbeing through bullying or harassment at least once a week. Teacher wellbeing is also an issue of national importance as education systems face issues of teacher retention. This project will provide a model that can be used by other schools and ....Building the capabilities of school communities to improve their wellbeing. Wellbeing remains an issue for all education systems and for the nation. One indicator of this is that, on average, one in six Australian students experience affronts to their wellbeing through bullying or harassment at least once a week. Teacher wellbeing is also an issue of national importance as education systems face issues of teacher retention. This project will provide a model that can be used by other schools and educational systems for development of interventions that address wellbeing issues of social competence, learning and leadership for key groups in school communities. Read moreRead less
Optimising intersectoral collaboration between the health and education sectors. The Australian Government has a clear commitment to improving the health of all Australians. In the face of rising rates of chronic illness and attendant unsustainable high medical costs, optimising outcomes for public health initiatives, such as school based immunisation programs, is of the utmost importance. The recent H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemic school closures highlight the need for a more effective, efficient and ....Optimising intersectoral collaboration between the health and education sectors. The Australian Government has a clear commitment to improving the health of all Australians. In the face of rising rates of chronic illness and attendant unsustainable high medical costs, optimising outcomes for public health initiatives, such as school based immunisation programs, is of the utmost importance. The recent H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemic school closures highlight the need for a more effective, efficient and flexible intersection between education and health. This project offers the opportunity for the public health and education sectors to work closely together to identify how they can best configure future collaborations to maximise outcomes for all Australians.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100510
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,977.00
Summary
How first-in-family males transition to Australian university life. This project aims to study how gender, ethnicity and social class affect Australian males from low socio-economic backgrounds as they transition to university. Despite an emphasis on widening participation in the Australian university sector, the path to university is still precarious, particularly for first-in-family students. Males from low socio-economic backgrounds remain severely underrepresented in higher education, and ho ....How first-in-family males transition to Australian university life. This project aims to study how gender, ethnicity and social class affect Australian males from low socio-economic backgrounds as they transition to university. Despite an emphasis on widening participation in the Australian university sector, the path to university is still precarious, particularly for first-in-family students. Males from low socio-economic backgrounds remain severely underrepresented in higher education, and how these students experience university life is unclear. The project will use qualitative research to better understand the experiences of first-in-family males entering universities in different locales/institutions across Australia. Expected outcomes include improved targeted support systems to enable their success.Read moreRead less
Cyberkids and cyberworlds: new literacies, identities and communities in formation. Little is known of the online cyberworlds of young Australians. Yet they are the highest users of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). This project theorises that these cyberworlds are sites for the development of new forms of literacy, identity and community. This study will achieve a new perspective by utilising a multi-disciplinary approach to produce case studies that examine new literacies an ....Cyberkids and cyberworlds: new literacies, identities and communities in formation. Little is known of the online cyberworlds of young Australians. Yet they are the highest users of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). This project theorises that these cyberworlds are sites for the development of new forms of literacy, identity and community. This study will achieve a new perspective by utilising a multi-disciplinary approach to produce case studies that examine new literacies and communities generated online and their consequences for literacy and ICT education practice. Such information is vital in Australia and internationally if education is to produce the highly technologically literate citizens on whom future economic prosperity depends.Read moreRead less
Teaching reading in Australia: An historical investigation of early reading pedagogy, the figure of the teacher and literacy education. This project will make a distinctive national and international contribution to reading pedagogy and literacy research by reconceptualising debates about the teacher of reading and establishing an historical foundation for the study of reading pedagogy in teacher education and professional development practices. Teacher education, already a site of national conc ....Teaching reading in Australia: An historical investigation of early reading pedagogy, the figure of the teacher and literacy education. This project will make a distinctive national and international contribution to reading pedagogy and literacy research by reconceptualising debates about the teacher of reading and establishing an historical foundation for the study of reading pedagogy in teacher education and professional development practices. Teacher education, already a site of national concern, will be reinvigorated by new insights and frameworks for training through access by teacher educators to the corpus of data on a website and through publications and conference presentations that will provide a new vision of the complex processes involved in teaching reading.Read moreRead less