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ABSTRACT Involving families in mental health care can provide benefits to service users, their families and clinicians. However, family involvement is neither uniform nor routine. Understanding the complexities of this involvement is critical to improving application. This study sought to increase current knowledge about service users' opinions and opportunities for family involvement in mental health care. Data were collected from a total of 10 adult participants through 10 individual semi‐structured interviews of approximately 30 min each. Findings are reported in accordance with COREQ and EQUATOR guidelines. Thematic analysis identified several consistent themes: respect for service user opinions of family involvement; opportunities for family involvement; negative and positive service user opinions of family involvement. Our findings support previous appeals for routine family involvement in care but extend this charge with the assertion that as important is a customary discussion with service users to ask their opinions about this involvement. Establishing this dialogue prior to treatment commencement has the potential to alleviate or resolve service user concerns and potentially improve and/or increase how families are engaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the experiences of nurses that provide 'complex', generalist healthcare in hospital settings. Complex care is described as care for patients experiencing acute issues additional to multimorbidity, ageing or psychosocial complexity. Nurses are the largest professional group of frontline healthcare workers and patients experiencing chronic conditions are overrepresented in acute care settings. Research exploring nurses' experiences of hospital‐based complex care is limited, however. This study aims to add to what is known currently. Four 'complex care' nurses undertook in‐depth semistructured interviews and their narratives were analysed using the conceptual framework of complex adaptive phenomenology. Two overarching themes constituting the 'essence' of complex care nursing were identified: Contextual factors and attribute/value‐based elements. Creating meaningful patient outcomes and feeling part of a team were experienced as fulfilling, whereas time constraints, institutional settings and systemic barriers to comprehensive caregiving diminished the experience of providing complex care. Overall, work meaning presented as a dynamic phenomenon, shaped by personal and professional values, local settings and systemic factors. It is recommended that more expansive research be undertaken to explore the experience of complex care for nurses. Such knowledge can contribute to initiatives that draw a skilled, effective and engaged hospital‐based complex care nursing workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explored the experience of six women whose mothers passed away during their adolescence, defined as between the ages of 10 and 25 years, by using an inductive qualitative approach and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). While grief is a complex, individual experience, the findings identify some common experiences amongst this sample. The participants spoke of their ongoing experience of grief, loss and coping across their lifespan which may be explained by disruption to typical neurological development and experiences of complicated grief. Furthermore, bereaved daughters spoke of the ways in which their loss experience affected their intrapersonal development and precipitated ongoing mental health challenges. Bereaved daughters also shared feelings of insecurity in relationships following their loss, and strong bonds that they had formed with other motherless daughters. Practical implications of the findings are presented for the support networks of adolescent motherless women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that supported Australian teachers to meet the needs of all learners during COVID-19 lockdowns. A qualitative design was used, and interviews were conducted with teachers who were purposely identified. The participants (n = 5) worked across different educational contexts ranging from primary to secondary school settings. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. Five themes were identified related to teachers' intrinsic strengths: passion and commitment, a proactive and organised approach, enhanced flexibility, building relationships and access to online technology. A further three extrinsic supporting factors were identified: supportive school teams, supportive school leadership (empowerment, autonomy and time) and supportive school systems and structures. The implications of these findings are discussed and the need for sharing and applying learnings across the profession are emphasised as an opportunity to further improve the access of every learner to a high quality and inclusive education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Healthcare research exploring the lived experiences of health care professionals from different disciplines, such as nursing, medicine, and allied health, has repeatedly highlighted many methodological challenges, especially in understanding the individual human experience within complex systems. In response, complexity theory and phenomenological approaches emerged and evolved in ways that potentially offered researchers frameworks to inform an understanding of the individual human experience. However, while these two theoretical approaches inform a method of inquiry, there is a gap in understanding the phenomenon of 'being' and how this is embodied within complex systems such as the healthcare system. The Aims and Objectives: The aim of this paper is to present an integrated theoretical framework, namely complex adaptive phenomenology (CAP). CAP aims to address this inquiry gap by offering a structured conceptual framework wherein complexity theory and phenomenology are complementary but multi‐dimensional. The key objective of CAP was to synthesize and integrate two methods of inquiry that examine the relational aspects of 'being', that is the gestalt of perception, action, and context, The authors argue that CAP is well‐suited to complex research contexts such as healthcare. The framework focuses on the reciprocal, co‐constructive relationships extant between perception, meaning, context, and action that shape experiences of 'being' within complex systems. Complexity theory's connectionist orientation explains the relationships that are formative of the experience of being, while phenomenology explores the manifestations of these formative relationships by attending to the notion of 'being' itself. Conclusion: The authors propose that an integrated framework, of phenomenology and complexity theory, can provide a platform for deeper understandings of the experiences of health professionals and contribute to healthcare scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global pandemic of 2020 has changed the ways that university academics do their work and manage their time, including teaching, engaging with graduate students, conducting research, and working with colleagues. The mode of delivery of higher education has substantially moved to the digital, and workspaces have shifted to home. Having to work from home has placed unique demands on academics, including adapting to working entirely on ascreen and adjusting their work/life balance. Despite much anecdotal evidence that the well-being of academics is being adversely affected during this global pandemic, there is currently little published research about this issue. As five academics who work in an education faculty at an Australian university, we present our collaborative autoethnographic reflections of this time. We share these experiences of being academics in 2020 through curated narrative vignettes, with analysis of the meaning of these vignettes. Employing aphenomenological approach, we craft understandings of our experiences and explore the immediate world of these experiences, constituted in our practices as academics and our personal lives in this challenging time of unexpected change. We note the phenomenon of feeling unsettled, distracted, overwhelmed and lacking focus, and being conflicted between various roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the scoping review was to synthesize peer-reviewed literature of daughters' experiences of maternal bereavement. The search was conducted across eight databases and included peer-reviewed, qualitative research that reported on daughters' experiences of the death of their mother. The review identified 21 studies. Experiences included recurrent grief including secondary losses, difficulties establishing and maintaining relationships, and intrapersonal and daily lifestyle changes. Implications for maternal loss during adolescence, and recommendations for those supporting women whose mothers have passed away have been provided. Further research is needed to identify the experiences of loss at different developmental stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the gap between theory and practice has remained the central problem of teacher education. This study will present an alternative approach in an attempt to try to bridge the gap between theory and practice in a teacher education course focused on inclusive education. The approach is based on a model that integrates a university-based and school-based curriculum to promote collaborative partnerships through an arrangement that involved university lecturers and school teachers co-teaching an inclusion unit. The aim of this study was to explore how the experience may have influenced the practice of two university lecturers and two secondary school teachers who co-taught an inclusive unit over a 12-week period. Critical reflections of the university lecturers and school teachers were collected using reflective journal entries and semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed using a critical reflection framework for transformative learning proposed by Liu (2015), as an extension of the Brookfield's critical reflection model. Findings showed that a co-teaching partnership provided opportunities for university lecturers to draw on the practical real-life examples of the two school teachers they co-taught with, they reflected on how this helped them make connections between inclusive education theory and practice for their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children exposed to the risk factors associated with parental mental illness are seen to be at risk of developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioural difficulties in preschool and later in life. Given that educational settings are seen as optimal for early intervention, preschool teachers have an important role to play in identifying and responding to the needs of these vulnerable children at a critical period of their development. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of preschool teachers who have taught, or currently teach, preschool aged children (4–6 years) affected by a parent's mental illness. Seven university qualified preschool teachers were interviewed about their experiences and reflected on their practices, specifically those practices that seemed to help support the child and those that did not. The findings highlighted that preschool teachers are knowledgeable and have the skills to identify warning signs and risk factors for young children, however this knowledge was limited in the context of parental mental illness and associated risks for preschool children. As such, the present study highlighted the need for targeted and specialized training and resources designed for the needs of preschool teachers. Several implications were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For professional school counsellors who work in secondary schools, ethical issues arise more often than in other practice settings. While ethical codes and guidelines provide guidance in decision making, a reliance on ethical principles may still leave professionals open to criticism since such principles can be interpreted to suit the situation. Research in ethical decision making in psychology has proposed and tested a variety of constructs that influence ethical decisions. The Koocher and Keith-Spiegel (KKS) (2008. Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions. New York: Oxford University Press) model is grounded in moral cognitive theory and is a well-established practice-based model that provides a step-by-step process for examining a situation. However, the potentially complex legal and ethical dilemmas faced by school psychologists stem not only working with minors but also with other stakeholders including parents, teachers, school administrators, and community members. In this paper, I argue that depending on the moral intensity of the issue, a KKS (2008. Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions. New York: Oxford University Press) step-by-step approach has limitations in complex and dynamic environments, such as secondary schools. Therefore, I propose that two other ethical decision-making models supplement the KKS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research was undertaken to explore the parental experiences of developmental dysgraphia, or specific learning disorder in written expression, through semi-structured interviews to elicit in-depth accounts. Using a phenomenological methodology, five mothers of school-aged children (aged 10–12 diagnosed with dysgraphia) were recruited. The results indicated that children with dysgraphia were enveloped by both protections and vulnerabilities at the individual, family, and community (school) levels. Mothers described their children with a range of writing difficulties, comorbidities, and heightened emotional and behavioural responses at home and school. This placed substantial pressure on parents, particularly mothers, to circumvent challenges. Parents found navigating school communications largely cumbersome with teachers having little or no knowledge of dysgraphia in many instances. The outcomes suggest there may be an ineffective transference of inclusion policies within classrooms. Further research may be warranted to gain an educator’s perspective to better understand the success and challenges of supporting children with writing disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the preschool years (3-5 years), children living with parental mental illness are more at risk of various adverse developmental outcomes, compared to other children. Early childhood services are opportune settings for prevention and early intervention strategies that may support preschool children living with parental mental illness. However, there is limited research examining how the early childhood sector supports the child, parent and family. The aim of the study was to explore family focused practices within the early childhood sector in terms of the level of self-perceived knowledge, skill and confidence; and compare the self-perceived knowledge, skill and confidence between preschool teachers and childcare workers. A sample of 40 preschool teachers and 39 childcare providers rated themselves across eight domains that describe their knowledge, confidence and skill using the Family Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire (FFMHPQ). Overall, the sample rated themselves positively across all domains. In a cross-sectional analysis, a t-statistic comparison of preschool teachers and childcare providers showed that childcare providers scored significantly higher than preschool teachers in parenting support, referrals and assessing the impact of parental illness on the child. Future studies might identify the barriers and enablers for Family Focus Practice (FFP) across different groups of workers in the early childhood sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of developmentally vulnerable children living with parental mental illness has been well documented, however due to stigmatised attitudes and prejudice these children may be ‘hidden’ and not identified as requiring additional assistance in early childhood settings. The aim of the present study was to explore the experiences and workforce needs of centre-based child care staff working with families living with parental mental illness. Eight staff (four child care workers and four child care directors) who worked in centre-based child care were interviewed using a semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis framework. The findings of the present study highlighted four central themes: child development issues, tension around referral and worker anxiety, inadequate knowledge and training about parental mental illness and sensitivity when working with families. While these participants knowingly prioritized the importance of working with families in their daily work, they described feeling stressed and anxious about discussing referral options with these parents, and often worried about ‘making things worse’ for the child and the parent. The present study has contributed knowledge in regard to an important segment of the early childhood workforce; such information can inform the development of tailored professional training and resources that provide information about referral procedures and support programs for these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Care in teaching has been widely investigated; however, little research has sought secondary pre-service teachers’ understandings of caring and their potential responsibility to care for students. Accordingly, semi-structured interviews were employed with four focus groups, involving 12 (2 male and 10 female) participants. Data were analysed within a qualitative paradigm using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and inter-rater reliability. Five overlapping themes were identified, and although many tensions around the ambiguities of establishing appropriate boundaries to care were shown, caring was deemed central by the participants to being effective teachers. Overall, pre-service secondary teachers agreed that neither pedagogy nor discipline strategy would be effective without care. Training implications and suggestions for future research conclude this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While many people with a mental illness care for young children, there is a paucity of resources for these families and the professionals working with them. The purpose of this paper is to describe a new online resource, Pathways of Care, specifically designed for parents with a mental illness, early childhood educators, and mental health workers, and report on a pilot evaluation of the resource. Using a mixed method design, the effectiveness of the online resource in effecting worker confidence, knowledge and family-focused practice change will be examined. Pathways of Care aims to promote collaborative practice between agencies, identify relevant agencies and support workers in talking to parents about mental illness in families. Fifteen workers completed the Family Focus Mental Health Practice Questionnaire pre- and post-viewing the resource, to measure confidence and practice change; semistructured interviews were then conducted with eight of these same workers to further explore the utility of the resource. Findings tentatively indicate that the resource was effective in increasing worker knowledge and confidence. This study highlights the importance of the development and provision of resources, such as the Pathways of Care, to promote collaboration between service providers in the early childhood and mental health sectors working with families with young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities often struggle to translate theory of inclusive education into real life practices for pre-service teachers (PSTs). In this paper, we evaluate an innovative partnership between Australian secondary school teachers and university academics where they co-designed and co-taught an undergraduate inclusive education course. We used a quasi-experimental design where 67 PSTs were grouped into two cohorts: one co-taught by the team of school educators and university academics (n = 26), the other taught only by university academics (n = 41). PSTs' scores on teaching efficacy, attitudes and intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms were measured at the pre and posttest stages of the course. Our evaluation showed significant increases in positive attitudes and teaching efficacy skills, decreased concerns and higher intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms among PSTs who were co-taught. The co-teaching team also identified various professional and personal benefits of collaborating. We further discuss the implications of our research for teacher education programmes and the usefulness of including school educators' expertise in bridging the gaps between theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The experiences of teachers teaching children impacted by high conflict divorce. • Teaching distressed children of divorce was emotionally exhausting for teachers. • New insights of how teachers can support distressed children of divorce. • Implications for teacher training and support at different levels are discussed. Ongoing parental conflict after divorce is particularly difficult on school aged children. Consistent research has demonstrated that high conflict divorce can induce adjustment problems and increase risk of child psychopathology. For these children, school represents a safe space to thrive and develop the cognitive, social and emotional skills that can serve as a buffer and reduce the risk of adjustment difficulties and mental health problems. Trained in child development, teachers have the knowledge base and play a critical role in identifying behavioral warning signs of children 'at risk'. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of teachers working with children exposed to high parental conflict before, during and after divorce/separation. Using semi-structured interviews, five primary school teachers shared their every-day experiences of teaching and caring for primary school aged students struggling to cope with the emotional distress related to high levels of parent stress and parent conflict associated with family breakdown and the process of high conflict divorce. The data was analyzed using an Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis framework by Jonathan Smith. The findings revealed that 'caring' for and about studentswas a key feature of being sensitively responsive to these children. However, as highlighted by these teachers, this work is emotionally exhausting and professionally challenging, placing teachers at risk of burnout. The findings contribute to the knowledgebase of how-to best support teachers who teach vulnerable school populations. Implications for teacher training and support at different levels within the school system are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children have the right to voice views on matters that impact their lives, including writing disability. In this study, five children diagnosed with dysgraphia used art‐based research to depict their experiences of dysgraphia. The children described the impossibility of transferring ideas from head to paper and the difficult emotions associated with writing. The results highlighted a symbiosis between writing and identity, with dysgraphia adversely impacting the children's identity development. The study highlights the value of using art to communicate children's perceptions, aligned with inclusive practices. The insights shared offers caregivers, educators, and others scope to develop affirmative writing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite policy initiatives to ban use of corporal punishment, some teachers still use punitive classroom management strategies in countries like Indonesia. With the urgent need for teachers to use evidence-based strategies to address challenging behaviours, it is important to understand the factors that may predict teachers' likelihood to employ proactive practices. This study examined the influence of teacher attributions for student behaviour problems, teacher self-efficacy in classroom management, and teachers' background variables in their likelihood to use proactive classroom behaviour management strategies in a sample of 582 primary school teachers in Indonesia. Data was collected using self-report questionnaires. Regression analysis indicated that teacher self-efficacy in classroom management, teacher attribution to family-related factors, and teachers' participation in teacher professional learning programmes predicted Indonesian teachers' reported use of proactive strategies in managing student behaviour. Implications for future research and teacher professional learning programmes for Indonesian teachers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]