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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.

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.

The aim of this scoping review was to systematically map and summarise recent peer-reviewed research on children with dysgraphia between 2015 and May 2021. The research included the perspectives of children, carers, and educators. Dysgraphia is a largely unrecognised specific learning disorder (SLD) in writing that manifests as a disability in handwriting, spelling, and/or composition skills during child development. Data from 77 studies from across five databases were charted to address four key questions and to direct future research. The findings included: (1) limited representations of participants using mostly quantitative methods; (2) children aged 9-14 as suitable for research recruitment; (3) thematic prevalence such as handwriting, spelling, and technology; and (4) low rates of international research output. Thus, future research may focus on compositional difficulties or research participants (children with dysgraphia, carers, and educators) sharing their lived experiences of dysgraphia. This may lead to improved awareness, professional development, and enhanced teacher resources.

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 a screen 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 a phenomenological 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.

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.

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.

This article examines and analyses the authentic experiences of a doctoral student, Kate, in the period just prior to Confirmation, an academic milestone in the Australian doctoral education context. The article uses qualitative phenomenological inquiry as the methodology and employs ideas drawn from the writings of hermeneutical phenomenologist, Paul Ricoeur, especially his notions of narrative, self, time, and human agency. These ideas are utilised in order to 'get inside' the constructions of self, the strategies of learning and adaptation, and the experiences of being a doctoral candidate within the milieu of an Australian university education faculty. The writers argue that such a close and personal examination of experience and a hermeneutical approach to analysis is important for a deep understanding about how Kate negotiated her way through the hurdles of early candidature and adapted her life and identities towards success. Particular focus is given to Kate's experiences of transition and change and the formation of her academic identity that emerged out of these experiences, which led to successful negotiation of this early period of candidature. The research findings reported in this article suggest that Kate's deep reflexivity, enjoyment of her research and sense of her own well-being as a doctoral student are significant for her perseverance through difficult milestones and ultimately her successful completion of her PhD.

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 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 qualitative study focused on educators' perspectives of teaching students with dysgraphia. Dysgraphia can be referred to as a specific learning disorder (SLD) in writing and includes difficulties with handwriting, spelling, and/or composition skills. To explore the educators' experiences, an interpretative phenomenological analysis method was implemented. This involved generating semistructured interviews and locating key concepts from these interviews, in tandem with researcher reflections. The results indicated that educators developed their self-efficacy in supporting students with dysgraphia on the job, augmented by self-guided and external searches for information about dysgraphia. The participants described their colleagues as generally unable to provide them with dysgraphia-specific knowledge due to a lack of awareness of dysgraphia within schools. Two of the three educators pursued Multisensory Structured Language training, departing the classroom to work in private tuition. Three teachers offered strategies for supporting students with dysgraphia, such as explicit, systematic, scaffolded, and repetitive instruction coupled with assistive technologies or lined paper and slant boards. The study concluded that dysgraphia-specific professional learning, coupled with collective efficacy, could proactively build teachers' capacity and self-efficacy in supporting dysgraphia within an inclusive education context. These measures would more aptly support students with dysgraphia to reach their potential. [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]

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]

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]

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.

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]

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]