Success despite learning difficulties: The effectiveness of a coping program for adolescent students. Despite skilled teaching and average general ability, people with specific learning difficulties (SLD) will never learn to read or write with ease. As approximately 10 percent of the population has SLD, the higher than average risk of negative life outcomes for these people is of significant social and economic cost to the community. Expected outcomes of this study are theory and practice that c ....Success despite learning difficulties: The effectiveness of a coping program for adolescent students. Despite skilled teaching and average general ability, people with specific learning difficulties (SLD) will never learn to read or write with ease. As approximately 10 percent of the population has SLD, the higher than average risk of negative life outcomes for these people is of significant social and economic cost to the community. Expected outcomes of this study are theory and practice that can assist schools to implement programs that help Australian adolescent students with SLD to be empowered and successful in school and adult life. This will be of significant long-term national and community benefit. Read moreRead less
Beyond Bullying in Primary Schools: Explicating Psychosocial Antecedents and Implementing an Effective Intervention to Enhance Pro-Social Behaviour, Well-Being and Academic Engagement. Early intervention to combat bullying in primary schools is vital given the pervasiveness and long-term consequences of bullying for academic failure, mental health costs, and anti-social behaviour. Consistent with National Research Priorities (promoting/maintaining good health & well-being), our research offers i ....Beyond Bullying in Primary Schools: Explicating Psychosocial Antecedents and Implementing an Effective Intervention to Enhance Pro-Social Behaviour, Well-Being and Academic Engagement. Early intervention to combat bullying in primary schools is vital given the pervasiveness and long-term consequences of bullying for academic failure, mental health costs, and anti-social behaviour. Consistent with National Research Priorities (promoting/maintaining good health & well-being), our research offers important educational and socio-economic benefits by enriching the psychosocial adjustment and life potential of young Australians. Effective intervention and explicating the determinants/consequences of primary school bullying enhances pro-social behaviours, self-concept, mental health, and school engagement of bullies and victims. This fosters safer schools that contribute to individual, local community, and national well-being.Read moreRead less
Supervision of psychotherapy: Understanding the processes that build professional competence. Psychotherapy can save lives and improve well-being. Clinical supervision is used to improve psychotherapy effectiveness and support therapists. This study contributes to the national research priorities of promoting and maintaining good health by building our knowledge of clinical supervision processes and how they influence therapist practice and client outcomes. The study will lead to an evidence-bas ....Supervision of psychotherapy: Understanding the processes that build professional competence. Psychotherapy can save lives and improve well-being. Clinical supervision is used to improve psychotherapy effectiveness and support therapists. This study contributes to the national research priorities of promoting and maintaining good health by building our knowledge of clinical supervision processes and how they influence therapist practice and client outcomes. The study will lead to an evidence-based model of effective supervision practice, which will enhance future service delivery, prevent therapist burnout, and improve client outcomes. The study will also inform development of: measures of core supervisory processes, clinical supervision practice standards, supervisor training, and professional development programs. Read moreRead less
Developing Coping Skills: Following young people through the transition from primary to secondary schooling. This study provides a unique opportunity to determine developmental changes in coping by tracking a group of young people through the transition from primary to secondary school. The program targets coping efficacy and perceived control over internal states and thus is designed to increase adaptive coping behaviours whilst controlling for the degree to which family is supportive. Using a ....Developing Coping Skills: Following young people through the transition from primary to secondary schooling. This study provides a unique opportunity to determine developmental changes in coping by tracking a group of young people through the transition from primary to secondary school. The program targets coping efficacy and perceived control over internal states and thus is designed to increase adaptive coping behaviours whilst controlling for the degree to which family is supportive. Using a quasi-experimental design it is possible to test theories that suggest that coping efficacy beliefs mediate the relationship between family environment and actual coping behaviours. The study extends successful and innovative work in building resilience in the upper primary school population to the secondary population.
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Increasing student retention rates in Victorian rural and metropolitan areas through engaging and empowering students with learning difficulties. Learning difficulties (LD), which affect a significant population, have a neurological cause and are a life-long phenomenon. Students with LD are at increased risk of negative outcomes including school dropout, unemployment and emotional difficulties. This project examines the prevalence of LD in students of average to above average ability and its r ....Increasing student retention rates in Victorian rural and metropolitan areas through engaging and empowering students with learning difficulties. Learning difficulties (LD), which affect a significant population, have a neurological cause and are a life-long phenomenon. Students with LD are at increased risk of negative outcomes including school dropout, unemployment and emotional difficulties. This project examines the prevalence of LD in students of average to above average ability and its relationship to at-risk behaviours. It also examines the impact of expanding teacher understanding of LD and use of pedagogy that engages and empowers students through the acquisition of compensatory skills. This project goes beyond traditional literacy and numeracy support by focussing on sense of belonging and personal control as key determinants for improving outcomes for students with LD.Read moreRead less
Enhancing adolescent mental health through positive education. Positive education is a preventative, strengths-based approach to address the mental health needs of young people in schools. This project will use innovative methods to examine the contribution of positive education to adolescent mental health, and to social and learning outcomes; and will also guide effective and widespread dissemination of positive education, more generally.