A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Anna Hogan, Queensland University of Technology We have estimated around $8 billion of non-government or private funding flows through Australia’s school system each year — both public and private. The vast majority of this comes from school fees. The rest is from “other private sources”, including donations and community fund-raising. Unsurprisingly, the independent school sector [...]
Shelly Makleff, Monash University More than 30,000 people have signed a petition, launched by ex-Sydney school girl Chanel Contos, demanding for consent to be at the forefront of sexual education in schools. The text in the petition states: Those who have signed this petition have done so because they are sad and angry that they [...]
Saul Karnovsky, Curtin University Australian universities enrol thousands of people to become teachers. Some who choose to study education are motivated by a desire to make a difference to the lives of young people, while others are looking for job security and intellectual fulfilment. A course in education encompasses a broad range of cognitive and [...]
Jenny Gore, University of Newcastle; Andrew Miller, University of Newcastle; Jess Harris, University of Newcastle, and Leanne Fray, University of Newcastle There have been some reports students fell behind during the remote learning period in 2020. For instance, a report by the NSW education department found NSW students in year 3 were up to four [...]
John Munro, Australian Catholic University Research during the first phase of remote teaching in Victoria reported some students found the workload “too high”, missed interactions with peers, felt their thinking ability was impaired, and reported a difficulty coping with study and life more generally. All these factors impact on students’ sense of well-being. While learning [...]
Mandie Shean, Edith Cowan University Starting school is an important event for children and a positive experience can set the tone for the rest of their school experience. Some children are excited to attend school for the first time, yet others feel anxious. Back to school anxiety is a widely accepted phenomenon, but there is [...]
The disruption and stress of 2020 resulted in a spike in mental health problems that are likely to continue into 2021. Mental illness accounts for 16% of the global burden of disease and injury for youth aged 10-19. One in seven Australian young people are affected by a mental disorder, with a recent report finding that [...]
David Armstrong, RMIT University The Victorian government has announced an investment of nearly A$1.6 billion for public schools to ensure students with disability are supported in the classroom. The money will double the number of students with disability receiving extra support to 55,000. Further detail on the funding is imminent. But this seems to be [...]
Lisa Mundy, Murdoch Children's Research Institute The middle years of school are defined as being from 8-14 years of age. These were often described as a latent or quiet phase of development. We now understand this is not the case — the middle years are a foundational period for development. But there is not enough [...]
Elin Thordardottir, McGill University; James Law, Newcastle University, and Susan Roulstone, University of the West of England Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common disorders affecting children but is relatively unknown. Affecting more than seven per cent of children, DLD is 20 times more common than autism. Ninety per cent of people [...]
