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Bullying, which includes cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying, is amongst the most pervasive threats to the wellbeing of children and young people. As social environments, schools are at the forefront of managing bullying behaviours. The rapidly changing and complex nature of bullying requires schools to put in place and maintain systems to prepare for and respond to such activities, and to continually test and refine these systems to ensure optimal performance. Despite this clear need, there is a lack of school level, self-assessment tools that enable schools to assess and measure their preparedness to deal with bullying and related disruptive activities. The aim of this paper was to describe the development, and reliability and validity testing, of such a tool—the School Self-Assessment Tool. The result is a 22-item, evidence-based, reliable, and validated instrument, situated within socio-ecological theory, and drawing on theories of behaviourism, social learning theory, prevention science, and systems change in the school climate literature. Schools may use the SSAT-22 in a number of ways depending on their needs, including to monitor progress, examine areas of strengths or challenges, and/or assist in collaborative efforts with other schools.

ABSTRACTThis systematic review examines academic literature published between 2012 and 2022 on micro-credential research and practices in higher education. A deductive analysis of empirical evidence from the 29 included articles offers insights into awareness, benefits, challenges, effectiveness, and factors influencing effectiveness of micro-credentials in the sector. The results suggest that there are potential benefits for including micro-credentials in higher education. The findings also highlight that micro-credentials are not a micro task for students to complete or for higher education providers to successfully implement. Micro-credentials in higher education, however, are still at the early stage of development, and further research is required to evaluate their viability and effectiveness in the long term. The review carries implications for micro-credential research and practices.

The transitions from the first year of school to Year 1, and from Year 7 to Year 8, may be particularly fraught. Going from Year 7 to Year 8 Be enthusiastic about Year 8 (and Year 9) when you talk with your child. [Extracted from the article]