Reducing Colorectal Cancer Burden In Young Adults: Precision Prevention And Early Detection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,449,800.00
Summary
Bowel cancer rate in young adults before age 50 is increasing worldwide including Australia. Since it is impossible to screen everyone, it is critical to identify who is likely to develop the disease, to optimise screening. Using the world's largest resource for young-onset bowel cancer, I will conduct studies to generate high-quality evidence to inform how to best prevent bowel cancer in young adults and translate into the policy and practice, to reduce colorectal cancer burden in young adults.
Attracting, preparing, and sustaining quality teachers in early education. This project aims to address the chronic shortage of early childhood teachers in Australia, which is compromising quality and return on investment in early education. The project expects to generate new understandings about this specialist teacher workforce through an innovative, ecological, longitudinal design that will track early childhood teachers’ career trajectories and develop a world-first tool to assess early chi ....Attracting, preparing, and sustaining quality teachers in early education. This project aims to address the chronic shortage of early childhood teachers in Australia, which is compromising quality and return on investment in early education. The project expects to generate new understandings about this specialist teacher workforce through an innovative, ecological, longitudinal design that will track early childhood teachers’ career trajectories and develop a world-first tool to assess early childhood teacher quality. Findings are expected to inform policy— including the Australian Government-endorsed 10-year national Workforce Strategy and the Australian Government's Early Years Strategy— to support the future sustained supply of a quality early childhood teacher workforce and improve outcomes for young children.Read moreRead less
Unravelling early self-regulation: A longitudinal study. National data show persistent issues in Australian children's social-emotional vulnerability. Research shows we have had limited success shifting these trajectories through current education and intervention efforts. In short, we understand enough about self-regulation to establish it as a priority target in early childhood, yet not enough to meaningfully alter current trajectories. This project will develop a ‘big picture’ theory of child ....Unravelling early self-regulation: A longitudinal study. National data show persistent issues in Australian children's social-emotional vulnerability. Research shows we have had limited success shifting these trajectories through current education and intervention efforts. In short, we understand enough about self-regulation to establish it as a priority target in early childhood, yet not enough to meaningfully alter current trajectories. This project will develop a ‘big picture’ theory of children’s self-regulation abilities and change, supported by Australia’s first longitudinal study of early self-regulation, from preschool into early primary school (ages 4 to 6). This robust theory of change is expected to better position ongoing education and intervention efforts to succeed.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL220100137
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,320,000.00
Summary
10,000 Hours: Time in early education and care for better life opportunity. An Australian child spends up to 10,000 hours in early care and education programs prior to school. These hours are a developmental opportunity. Their potential to improve life chances is well documented. Yet many programs do not deliver on this promise. Nearly 1 in 4 Australian children enter school developmentally vulnerable. This study aims to interrogate the meaning of quality in early education and care programs wit ....10,000 Hours: Time in early education and care for better life opportunity. An Australian child spends up to 10,000 hours in early care and education programs prior to school. These hours are a developmental opportunity. Their potential to improve life chances is well documented. Yet many programs do not deliver on this promise. Nearly 1 in 4 Australian children enter school developmentally vulnerable. This study aims to interrogate the meaning of quality in early education and care programs with focus in communities experiencing the greatest challenges. The expected result is understanding of the mechanisms that limit delivery of the highest quality learning opportunities and outcomes for children. The benefit will be for children attending early education and care programs, their families and the nation’s future.Read moreRead less
Engagement in early childhood education in the context of disadvantage. This research responds to enduring inequalities in children’s participation in high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Contemporary families face precarious labour markets and a childcare system with stringent workforce participation requirements. This project will illuminate the affordances of everyday life for families most challenged by these emergent conditions and develop understandings of how to calibr ....Engagement in early childhood education in the context of disadvantage. This research responds to enduring inequalities in children’s participation in high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Contemporary families face precarious labour markets and a childcare system with stringent workforce participation requirements. This project will illuminate the affordances of everyday life for families most challenged by these emergent conditions and develop understandings of how to calibrate services accordingly. Findings will support universal ECEC access through knowledge translation about contemporary disadvantage to policy and practice forums. A strong Indigenous component contributes to researcher training and knowledge about effective practice for Indigenous children and their families.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
Designing distanced intergenerational interaction with tangible technology. Older people and their young relatives/grandchildren who are geographically distanced cannot currently experience closeness in tangible ways, which are the natural ways they would play and build relationships in “real” life. Enabling this connection would have positive impacts for both groups, and two types of technologies – Mixed Reality and Tangibles - can be explored to allow us to understand how to do this. We will d ....Designing distanced intergenerational interaction with tangible technology. Older people and their young relatives/grandchildren who are geographically distanced cannot currently experience closeness in tangible ways, which are the natural ways they would play and build relationships in “real” life. Enabling this connection would have positive impacts for both groups, and two types of technologies – Mixed Reality and Tangibles - can be explored to allow us to understand how to do this. We will develop approaches to distanced tangible intergenerational interaction which are designed specifically to increase intergenerational closeness and to be innovative and subtle so that they fit seamlessly into the lives of older people and young children.Read moreRead less
Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular imag ....Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular images of work with young children as easy and instinctual, or of teaching as only school based, mislead potential workforce entrants and erode the status of educators, leading to attrition. This project’s audit and description of exemplary educators’ work, across each level of mandated qualification, will inform strategies to sustain a high quality early childhood workforce into the future.Read moreRead less
Young children in digital society: An Online Tool for service provision . This project aims to identify the practices enacted and shared amongst young children, their families and educators in digital society.The project is significant because in digital society families and educators face new demands ensuring technologies are used in the best interests of young children. Knowledge about practices in digital society informs adult decision-making using technologies with, by and for young children ....Young children in digital society: An Online Tool for service provision . This project aims to identify the practices enacted and shared amongst young children, their families and educators in digital society.The project is significant because in digital society families and educators face new demands ensuring technologies are used in the best interests of young children. Knowledge about practices in digital society informs adult decision-making using technologies with, by and for young children in the early years. The outcome is a new Online Tool for the Partner Organisations to share exemplar practices benefiting Australian children, their families and educators with new resources, materials and programs in areas including: digital media production, cyber-safety education, digital play and digital parenting.
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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