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Scholars in critical masculinities studies argue that we need men involved and engaged in gender equity movements for gender justice to be realised. Yet we need to know more about how different groups of men are understanding gender equity and what the barriers might be. Amidst significant media interest in elite private boys' schooling and its possible (re)production of sexist cultures, this paper explores how 13 men who attended such schools in Australia between the 1970s and the 2000s understand gender justice, revealing a diversity of positions and practices across the different generational groups. We argue the men's engagements with gender justice are shaped by a broad 'curriculum of privilege' including school and non-school based experiences that mediates their lives. Further research with both elite boys' schools and their alumni is needed to better understand generational change in their engagements with gender justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understandings of gender diversity have increasingly recognised the rights and experiences of children and young people (Meyer & Pullen Sansfaçon, 2014, Smith et al., 2014). A small, but significant body of work focusses on the schooling experiences of gender diverse children/young people. The critical role parents play in supporting gender diverse children/young people is acknowledged (Davy & Cordoba, 2020; Riley et al., 2011), including their involvement in negotiating schooling. This research uses a qualitative research design to explore the schooling experiences of five parents with gender diverse children, attending primary or secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia. A feminist poststructuralist framework was used to analyse the complex factors that influenced school choice, and to explore the challenges or opportunities they had encountered during their child's schooling years. The participants in this study highlighted the qualities of schools they believed to be inclusive, which affirmed their own school choice. However, participants also reflected on their sense of rejection when their children were not accommodated at school, or when they had to find a new school. Negotiations around school choice were made easier with economic and social capital. These findings highlight the layered inequalities of the Australian educational marketplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Play is the primary occupation in childhood and fundamental to occupational therapy practice. Objective: To evaluate a play intervention in special school settings. Design: Pre- and postinvolvement of a 7-mo play program. Setting: Four special schools in Victoria, Australia, for children with IQs < 70. Participants: Thirty-eight children with diagnoses including intellectual disability, autism, and global developmental delay, 7 teachers, 2 speech pathologists, and 2 occupational therapists. Intervention: Learn to Play Therapy for 1 hr per week over a 7-mo period. Outcomes and Measures: Pre–post outcome measures included children's pretend play skills, language, social skills, emotional regulation, and academic competence. Results: Mean age of 38 children (15 girls and 23 boys) at baseline was 5 yr 7 mo (SD = 0.46 yr). Results showed significant changes in children's pretend play (p =.03), ability to recall sentences (p =.02), social skills (p =.022), and academic competence (p =.012). Learn to Play had a large effect on children's narrative skills (d = 2.72). At follow-up, object substitution at baseline influenced expressive language (p <.001), narrative mean language utterance (MLU; p =.015), social skills (p <.001), and academic competence (p <.001); elaborate play at baseline plus time influenced social skills (p <.001); and elaborate play at baseline influenced narrative MLU (p =. 016), sentence recall (p =.009), and academic competence (p =.001). Conclusions and Relevance: Embedding pretend play within practice positively influenced children's language, narrative, social, and academic skills. Plain-Language Summary: This study adds to the limited research on play-based therapy programs in special school settings for children with an IQ of less than 70. Children participated in Learn to Play Therapy, during which an occupational therapist, who has observed and assessed the child's play and understands the child's play abilities, played beside the child. Learn to Play Therapy is a child-centered therapy that is used to increase a child's ability to self-initiate and enjoy pretend play. The positive impacts of supporting the children's pretend play ability were highlighted by increases in their pretend play, language, social skills, academic competence, and narrative language after participating in Learn to Play Therapy in their special schools. This study adds to the limited research on play-based therapy programs in special school settings for children with an IQ of less than 70. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote Education Tutors (RETs) enact crucial roles in Australian distance schooling, by living with families who reside in geographically isolated locations and supporting their school age children's learning. As part of a larger research project, this paper presents a study of four RETs derived from semi-structured interviews conducted in their respective home schoolrooms. Informed conceptually by Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological systems theory (1979, 1986), the thematic analysis generated four substantive themes related to the participants' lives and work: pedagogical competencies; healthy relational dynamics; optimism with a solution focus; and substantive occupation. More broadly, the RETs contribute indispensably to the educational success and the lifestyle sustainability of the school age children with whom they work, yet currently there is no formal recognition of that contribution, just as there is no viable career pathway for RETs seeking to become qualified teachers. Accordingly, they are as occupationally invisible as the remote living families whom they serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Physical literacy (the physical, psychological, social and cognitive capacities needed for movement and physical activity) is arguably important to occupational therapy yet is not explicit within current practice. This study aimed to understand how occupational therapists can engage with the physical literacy concept. Method: Eight paediatric occupational therapists were recruited by purposive sampling. Participants completed up to three semi-structured interviews to understand perspectives on physical literacy, introduce a novel pictorial assessment and to seek feedback on the assessment after trialling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Sixteen interviews were conducted. Four themes were identified: 'Foreign tongue' (occupational therapists have an understanding of physical literacy but used different terminology); 'Sounds very OT oriented' (illustrating the connection between physical literacy and occupational therapy); 'We need the child's voice' (measure highlights the child's perspective); and 'Contemporary, useful BUT not for all' (measure had utility for some children but was dependant on child's condition). Conclusion: Occupational therapists can apply the physical literacy construct to traditional models and core concepts. The assessment can be used in paediatric occupational therapy practice supported by clinical reasoning, although future tool iterations may need to accommodate some children with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While vegetable intakes in Australia remain sub-optimal across all age groups, children are rarely consulted about their ideas on how to increase consumption. Qualitative research involving children provides an opportunity to consider their views. The aim of the Kids initiative inspires Dietary Success in Adults and Youth (KiiDSAY) project was to explore the views of school-aged children, who had participated in a school-based nutrition education program, about inspiring their peers and families to eat more vegetables. Methods: A total of 26 children (15 boys) aged 10–12 years from four primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, participated in seven focus group interviews. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit participants. The study involved open-ended semi-structured questions conducted via Zoom that were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis with deductive and inductive coding in NVivo. Results: Four major themes emerged: (i) taste; (ii) family environment; (iii) healthy eating; and (iv) change makers; with subthemes that were embedded within Social Cognitive Theory and Ecological Model of Health Behaviour theoretical frameworks. Conclusions: Children's inputs hold great potential for informing future interventions, particularly when designing or refining school-based nutrition programs. Children offered suggestions on how to inspire increased vegetable consumption among their peers and families that could be taken into consideration for future research and practice. These included: cooking activities in the home and school settings using recipes that creatively hide/mask/enhance the flavour of vegetables, involving positive role models and supportive school environments. Additionally, children recommended a sequential approach to the delivery of recipes starting from fruit-based and transitioning to vegetable-based recipes. Given the challenges faced in increasing children's vegetable consumption, particular focus on future research in this area is warranted. Trial registration: FEAST Trial registered 14th December 2020 with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12620001347954). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Queensland, Australia, there has been a major reform shifting Year 7 from Primary to Secondary Schools and implementing the Junior Secondary initiative for Years 7-9 in government schools. Six Guiding Principles, including establishing a Distinct Identity, provide the framework. This study examined 317 students transitioning from Year 6 to 7, with a focus on how, and to what extent, they established a Distinct Identity, evident in their sense of belonging and connectedness, and of feeling safe and confident in their school. This longitudinal study was conducted in two Phases with data collected over a year. Phase 1, pre-transition, involved 471 Year 6 students in 18 primary schools. Phase 2, post-transition, involved 317 matched respondents now in Year 7 in 11 secondary schools. Student voice is featured in this study as a key point of difference to previous studies about young people's transitions. The findings reveal that students' sense of belonging at school remained mostly stable and positive across the Year 6 to 7 transition, with a small decline in mean scores. This finding is a positive reflection on the effectiveness of the Junior Secondary initiative, which set out to address declines previously reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research to date has failed to generate a comprehensive understanding of the source of the gender gap in financial literacy in adulthood. Using microdata from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and an analysis covering four age groups (15–19, 20–24, 25–29 and 30–34), this paper suggests that the gender gap starts young and well before individuals enter adulthood. The analysis also suggests that that raw (unadjusted) gender gap likely underestimates the underlying gap. It is important to establish whether the gap begins before or after children enter school, since policy aimed at addressing it would be very different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children face many threats that have implications for their future. Empirical evidence on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's health and its variation across geography remains limited. Parents (n = 340) and their primary school-aged children in five Australian states completed anonymised online questionnaires early during the pandemic in mid-2020. COVID-19-related forms of worry were measured, and contributing variables were examined. Most children were worried: 89% were worried about contracting the virus, and 79% were worried about playing outdoors. Forms of worry varied by ethnic background. There were geographical patterns in variables contributing to children's worry aligning with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality across all states. Parents' characteristics of age and history of distress symptoms, daily exposure to pandemic-related news, and parents themselves being worried predicted children's worry. Technology use lacked predictive power. The outcome has implications with international relevance: children living in stressful environments, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, are highly vulnerable despite not personally being at a high health risk. During health crises, parents are urged to limit children's exposure to unfiltered news and care for their children's and their own mental health. Timely intervention and better access to mental health care may help mitigate the impact of health crises on children. Listening to children's voices and addressing the diverse needs of all communities can promote equitable children's well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper explores the context within which experimental, pedagogically progressive schools were established in Australia during the first decades of the 20th century. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a case study of the establishment of Rosbercon Girls' Grammar School. It draws on educator accounts, archival documents and contemporary literature to provide a brief narrative of the events leading to the opening of the school; to sketch the family of educators who were pivotal in making it a reality; and to identify key aspects of the social and legislative context that made such an initiative possible. Findings: Rosbercon was established at a time when a modest school could be established relatively easily by a small group of educators with a shared vision. The early 20th century was a moment of national optimism in Australia, where an appetite for new educational ideas created a climate in which innovative educators found fertile soil for their pedagogical experiments and adaptation of emerging ideas from around the world. Their efforts were facilitated by an emerging global network of personal interactions, professional learning, professional associations and educational literature. Originality/value: This paper addresses the relative lack of scholarly examination of the origins of Rosbercon Girls' Grammar School, an institution that previous authors have identified as Australia's oldest experimental school. The case study also contributes to a broader appreciation of the trajectory of progressive education during the early 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Schools have long been perceived as an ideal setting to support the healthy eating behaviours of children. The aim of the study was to examine the views of Australian primary school parents regarding school food and nutrition, including education, practices and policy. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was conducted among 787 parents in March 2021, which included closed and open-ended questions. Findings: The results indicated the inconsistent implementation of policies and/or varying practices among different schools. Parents' views were slightly associated with some demographic and personal measures including their SES levels, education, age, the main language spoken at home and universalism values. Parents viewed healthy food provision through canteens, policies and informing parents, fruit and vegetable breaks and kitchen and garden programs as the main contributors to the promotion of healthy eating. They believed unhealthy options in canteens, school fairs, events and birthdays are the major contributors to the formation of unhealthy eating habits among children at schools. Results revealed the efforts to establish health promoting school food environments in Australian primary schools; however, inconsistencies and discrepancies among schools should be addressed to ensure equity among all children. Practical implications: The findings may provide directions for policymakers and school managers and can inform future reforms and initiatives in Australian primary schools and elsewhere. Originality/value: This is the first study that has examined Australian parents' views of school food policy, practices and environments using a mixed-methods design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Positive early development is critical in shaping children's lifelong health and wellbeing. Identifying children at risk of poor development is important in targeting early interventions to children and families most in need of support. We aimed to develop a predictive model that could inform early support for vulnerable children. Methods: We analysed linked administrative records for a birth cohort of 2,380 Northern Territory children (including 1,222 Aboriginal children) who were in their first year of school in 2015 and had a completed record from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC measures early child development (school readiness) across five domains of development. We fitted prediction models, for AEDC weighted summary scores, using a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) considering four groups of factors–pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, known at birth, and child-related factors. We first assessed the models' internal validity and then the out-of-sample predictive power (external validity) using the PLSpredict procedure. Result: We identified separate predictive models, with a good fit, for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. For Aboriginal children, a significant pre-pregnancy predictor of better outcomes was higher socioeconomic status (direct, β = 0.22 and indirect, β = 0.16). Pregnancy factors (gestational diabetes and maternal smoking (indirect, β = -0.09) and child-related factors (English as a second language and not attending preschool (direct, β = -0.28) predicted poorer outcomes. Further, pregnancy and child-related factors partially mediated the effects of pre-pregnancy factors; and child-related factors fully mediated the effects of pregnancy factors on AEDC weighted scores. For non-Aboriginal children, pre-pregnancy factors (increasing maternal age, socioeconomic status, parity, and occupation of the primary carer) directly predicted better outcomes (β = 0.29). A technical observation was that variance in AEDC weighted scores was not equally captured across all five AEDC domains; for Aboriginal children results were based on only three domains (emotional maturity; social competence, and language and cognitive skills (school-based)) and for non-Aboriginal children, on a single domain (language and cognitive skills (school-based)). Conclusion: The models give insight into the interplay of multiple factors at different stages of a child's development and inform service and policy responses. Recruiting children and their families for early support programs should consider both the direct effects of the predictors and their interactions. The content and application of the AEDC measurement need to be strengthened to ensure all domains of a child's development are captured equally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents face many academic pressures that require good coping skills, but coping skills can also depend on social resources, such as parental support and fewer negative interactions. The aim of this study was to determine if parental support and parental negative interactions concurrently and longitudinally relate to adolescents' ways of academic coping, above and beyond the impact of three types of academic stress, students' achievement at school (i.e., grades in school), and age. Survey data were collected from 839 Australian students in grades 5 to 10 (Mage = 12.2, SD = 1.72; 50% girls). Students completed measures of support and negative interactions with parents; academic stress from workload, external pressure (teachers/parents) to achieve, and intrapsychic pressure for high achievement; and ways of academic coping that were grouped into two positive and two negative types. Hypothesized associations were tested concurrently and from one year to the next using path modeling. Beyond the numerous significant influences of academic stress and achievement on coping, and control for age and COVID-19 timing, adolescents with more parental support reported more use of engagement coping (e.g., strategizing) and comfort-seeking, whereas those who reported more negative interactions with parents reported more use of disengagement coping (e.g., concealment) and escape. In the longitudinal model, parental support predicted an increase in engagement and comfort-seeking and a decrease in disengagement coping, whereas negative interaction with parents predicted an increase in disengagement coping. Overall, the findings support the view that coping with academic stressors will continue to depend on parent-adolescent relationships even into the teen years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote Education Tutors (RETs) are central to the delivery of distance schooling in Australia and are accountable for the face-to face supervision and educational support of students. They act as the government mandated adult supervisors of Australian primary and secondary school students enrolled in distance education, including geographically isolated learners. This paper draws on statistical data from a national survey (N = 575) that was designed to map the perceptions of Australian RETs. These data confirmed that RETs act as a conduit between the distance schooling teacher and student, and that their role requires complex capabilities to be performed within a structured framework. Time restrictions with competing demands present a constant challenge to the RETs' work satisfaction. Constraining this occupation is the reality that there is no formal qualification available for RETs. Without specific credentialling, it appears that the RETs' (in)visible role risks being overlooked as a substantive educational occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an instrumental case study exploring what migrant and refugee-background youth in Australia make of the critical media literacy they learn in school, and what critical media practices they use out of school. It addresses the perennial question of the relationship between school literacy learning and everyday literate lives, paying deliberate attention to the experiences of youth whose diversity is underrepresented in research. Interviews with two English teachers and focus groups with culturally and linguistically diverse Year 10 students were analysed using content analysis and the concept of recontextualization. Findings are that these youth see significant value in their critical literacy learning at school, and they report utilising the types of critical reading/viewing skills they experience at school but for different purposes. They frequently use five main strategies for critical reading/viewing out of school: 1. using awareness of myriad multimodal semiotic features to examine representations of products and information; 2. evaluating trustworthiness; 3. fact checking; 4. doing further research; 5. identifying attempts at positioning. This research brings in-school and out-of-school domains together to understand the connections between critical literacy practices undertaken in school, and those reshaped by immigrant youth, who are still learning English, out of school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Excessive worry is an invisible disruptive force that has adverse health outcomes and may advance to other forms of disorder, such as anxiety or depression. Addressing worry and its influences is challenging yet crucial for informing public health policy. Methods: We examined parents' worries, influences, and variability before and during COVID-19 pandemic and across geography. Parents (n = 340) and their primary school-aged children from five Australian states completed an anonymous online survey in mid-2020. After literature review, we conceptualised the influences and performed a series of regression analyses. Results: Worry levels and the variables contributing to parents' worry varied before to during the pandemic. The proportion of parents who were "very worried all the time" increased by 14.6% in the early days of the pandemic. During the pandemic, ethnic background modified parents' worry and parents' history of daily distress symptoms was a significant contributor (p < 0.05). Excessive exposure to news remained significant both before and during the pandemic. The primary predictor of parents' worry before COVID-19 was perceived neighbourhood safety, while the main predictor during COVID-19 was financial risk due to income change. Some variable such as neighbourhood safety and financial risk varied in their contribution to worry across geographical regions. The proportion of worried children was higher among distraught parents. Conclusion: Parents' worry during the health pandemic was not triggered by the health risks factors but by the financial risk due to income change. The study depicts inequality in the impact of COVID-19 by ethnic background. Different policies and reported virus case numbers across states may have modified the behaviour of variables contributing to the geography of parents' worry. Exposure to stressors before the COVID-19 pandemic may have helped parents develop coping strategies during stressful events. Parents are encouraged to limit their exposure to stressful news. We advocate for parents-specific tailored policies and emphasise the need for access to appropriate mental health resources for those in need. Advancing research in geographical modelling for mental health may aid in devising much-needed location-targeted interventions and prioritising resources in future events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues Addressed: Energy drinks (EDs) are not recommended for children due to their high caffeine content and adverse health risks. Their popularity among children may be due to children's exposure to ED marketing. This study aimed to identify where children have seen ED marketing and whether they believe ED marketing targets them. Methods: Participant data were drawn from 'AMPED UP: An Energy Drink Study', where 3688 students in grades 7–12 (age 12–17 years) from 25 randomly selected secondary schools in Western Australia were asked if they had ever seen ED advertising on television, posters/signs in shops, online/internet, movies, cars/vehicles, social media, magazines/newspapers, music videos, video games, merchandise and free samples. Participants were also shown three ED advertisements and asked, 'Which age group/s do you think this ad targets?' (12 years or less, 13–17 years, 18–23 years, 24 years or older) and could select multiple age groups for each advertisement. Results: On average, participants saw ED advertising on 6.5 (SD = 2.5) of 11 possible marketing channels, including television (seen by 91% of participants), posters/signs in shops (88%), online/internet (82%) and movies (71%). Participants also perceived ED advertisements targeted children (< 18 years). Conclusions: ED marketing has a high reach among Western Australian children. The voluntary ED advertising pledge to not market EDs to children in Australia does not prevent children from seeing or being targeted by ED marketing. So What?: Stronger regulatory control of ED marketing is needed to better protect children from the appeal and adverse health risks of ED use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor‐quality and overcrowded housing in remote communities in Australia is widely seen to negatively impact Indigenous children's health and development. Despite widespread reports of, in some instances, quite appalling housing conditions, recent analyses of data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) found little evidence of adverse housing effects for Indigenous children living in very remote Australia. Given the apparent inconsistency in evidence coming from representative survey data and other accounts, a small‐scale case study was conducted in the Kimberley's Fitzroy Valley to gain greater insights into housing in very remote communities for families with school‐aged children. The LSIC very remote sample is confirmed to offer a good representation of housing conditions in these communities, based on replication of key housing data items in a small survey of Fitzroy Valley parents. While not apparent in those parent surveys, problems of severe overcrowding were highlighted in interviews with community leaders. Other issues raised included delays in maintenance and repairs and a lack of local input into housing management and associated employment, which was seen to disempower communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is considerable evidence that parents/guardians play an important role in their children's education. The supportive behaviours of parents have important implications for children's learning. However, most research in this area has focused primarily on the perspectives of school leaders, teachers and parents. One area that thus remains relatively under‐studied is student perspectives on what constitutes beneficial parental supports. This research explores two case studies: one with primary school students, the other with secondary students. Both studies interviewed students from former‐refugee and non‐English speaking backgrounds who had recently settled with their families in Australia. The students were asked to reflect on supportive behaviours of their parents/guardians relating to their education. Findings suggest that despite many barriers, parents demonstrated high levels of support for their children's education. By foregrounding student voice, this study identifies several types of parental behaviours that students find most helpful for effective learning. These include: affirmation, role‐modelling, backup supports, conversations and discussions, encouragement and advice, and decision‐making and problem‐solving. Students' responses suggest that slightly different sets of behaviours may be required at primary and secondary levels. This study highlights the types of supportive parental behaviours which schools could encourage, to help parents maximise the impacts of their supports for students, so these students are enabled to achieve effective learning and—more broadly—educational and career aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The interaction of polygenic risk (PRS) and environmental effects on development of bipolar disorder (BD) is understudied, as are high-risk offspring perceptions of their family environment (FE). We tested the association of offspring-perceived FE in interaction with BD-PRS on liability for BD in offspring at high or low familial risk for BD. Methods: Offspring of a parent with BD (oBD; n = 266) or no psychiatric disorders (n = 174), aged 12-21 at recruitment, participated in the US and Australia. Empirically-derived profiles of FE classified offspring by their perceived levels of familial cohesion, flexibility, and conflict. Offspring BD-PRS were derived from Psychiatric Genomics Consortium BD-GWAS. Lifetime DSM-IV bipolar disorders were derived from the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children. We used a novel stepwise approach for latent class modeling with predictors and distal outcomes. Results: Fifty-two offspring were diagnosed with BD. For those with well-functioning FE (two-thirds of the sample), higher BD-PRS tracked positively with liability for BD. However, for those with high-conflict FEs, the relationship between BD-PRS and liability to BD was negative, with highest risk for BD observed with lower BD-PRS. In exploratory analyses, European-ancestry offspring with BD had elevated history of suicidal ideation in high-conflict FE compared to well-functioning-FE, and of suicide attempt with low-BD-PRS and high-conflict FE. Conclusions: The data suggest that the relationship of BD-PRS and offspring liability for BD differed between well-functioning versus high-conflict FE, potentially in line with a multifactorial liability threshold model and supporting future study of and interventions improving family dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically examines the design and impact of two commonly used education platforms for reading, PM eCollection and Epic. Framed by a data justice lens, the study employs a walkthrough methodology to examine the ways each platform (re)configures teaching and learning practice, and more broadly schooling. The study extends the method by engaging three primary school teachers in the walkthrough process embedded in their practice. Findings demonstrate significant asymmetries in the value derived from the data practices of the digital reading platforms by teachers, schools and EduTech companies. While of limited value in teacher's practice, the use of the digital platforms and data has implications for the way reading is represented, students are made visible and treatment of teachers, students and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standardized literacy assessments that place emphasis on testing and attainment of results have caused many students, particularly in middle years schooling to be disenfranchised by literacy teaching and learning practices. This study employed an action research methodology to investigate whether an outdoor learning experience in a Year 7/8 English Writers Workshop course (including students aged 13–14 years) at a secondary school in Victoria, Australia enhanced creative writing capacity and engagement. This study was conducted in three stages, with qualitative and quantitative data collected. Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney U tests demonstrated significant improvement in creative writing from pre-intervention to post-intervention (z = −3.73, p < 0.001, r = −0.58). Qualitative thematic analysis identified the learning environment, quiet space, and the instructional approach as key themes. The findings provide insight into more effective teaching practices and outline how outdoor learning could be integrated into English and other curriculum learning areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's need for contact with nature is critical to their well-being, especially in school environments where they spend the majority of their daytime. Vertical schools are increasingly built in high-density neighborhoods; however, due to their limited access to outdoor environments, they may struggle to offer children a sustained engagement with nature. This participatory study explored children's perspectives on their preferences for biophilic design within three vertical schools in Australia. Thematic analysis of children's narratives indicated their preferences for nature across the three categories of direct and indirect experience of nature, and in the nature of the space. The discussion argues that biophilic design can be incorporated in this school typology through the design of terraces, rooftop gardens, school grounds, windows, interior decoration and climbing play equipment. Building more vertical schools in the future seems inevitable. This paper argues that design of the vertical environment with reference to children's observations and preferences can improve children's contact with nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School closures across Australia in response to COVID‐19 have persisted since 2020, with rising mental health problems in children and adolescents, alongside rising negative family health and socioeconomic outcomes. Further, some children and young people who were already experiencing disadvantage pre‐pandemic may be at heightened risk of poorer educational outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify the factors for poorer educational outcomes that may be exacerbated by COVID‐19 amongst disadvantaged school students. Key development stages of disadvantage were identified: young children who started school behind, older students already at risk of disengagement from school and children and young people who have had contact with the child protection system. Five databases were systematically searched, across two search periods. A total of 69 Australian, peer‐reviewed articles, published in 2005–2021, examining risk factors for poor educational outcomes for children attending school met the inclusion criteria and were included in final analyses. Our findings provide evidence of key risk factors that make these populations susceptible to worsening outcomes resulting from the COVID‐19 pandemic, and of the critical importance of ongoing research to guide policy and practice support for these at‐risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Evidence for longitudinal associations between childhood weight status and academic achievement remains unclear due to considerable heterogeneity in study design, measures of academic achievement and appropriate categorization of weight status. Objective: To examine longitudinal associations between childhood weight status (underweight, healthy weight, overweight/obese) and academic achievement in the transition from preschool to primary (elementary) school among Australian school children. Methods: Data were from the Healthy Active Preschool and Primary Years study. Height and weight, for calculating BMI were measured at baseline (preschool age 3–5 years; 2008/9) and follow‐up (primary school age 6–8 years; 2011/12). Academic achievement was measured at age 9 years. Results: No associations between BMI z‐score or weight category in the preschool years and later NAPLAN scores were found for boys. For girls, having a higher BMI z‐score (B = −13.68, 95%CI: −26.61, −0.76) and being affected by overweight (B = −33.57, 95%CI: −61.50, −5.24) in preschool was associated with lower language scores. Remaining affected by overweight from preschool to primary school was associated with lower numeracy (B = −25.03, 95%CI: −49.74, −0.33), spelling (B = −33.5, 95%CI: −63.43, −3.58), language (B = −37.89, 95%CI: −72.75, −3.03) and total achievement scores (B = −24.24, 95%CI: −44.85, −3.63) among girls. For boys, becoming affected by overweight was associated with lower spelling (B = −38.76, 95%CI: −73.59, −3.93) and total achievement scores (B = −27.70, 95%CI: −54.81, −0.58). Conclusions: Associations between being affected by overweight/obesity and poorer academic achievement were more pronounced in girls than boys, indicating potentially inequitable impacts of excess weight and highlighting the greater need for intervention among girls. However, stronger study designs are needed to confirm our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the pragmatic skills of 41 deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students, enrolled in a Deaf Facility within a mainstream primary school. Five groups of DHH students (aged 6–12 years) across Foundation to Year 6 participated in two small-group wellbeing lessons with their teachers of the deaf. Video recordings of these lessons were analysed into two types of interactions: (1) peer-to-peer, and (2) teacher-led group interactions. Peer-to-peer interactions were further analysed to explore the pragmatic skills of these students. Results showed that the highest percentage of time at all year levels was spent in group interactions led by the teacher. However, the trend across the data showed that the opportunities provided for peer-to-peer interactions increased for the students in the older year levels. The DHH students demonstrated a range of effective pragmatic skills in peer-to-peer interactions including turn-taking, contingency, and showing sensitivity to their partners during collaborative learning. However, the use and sophistication of these pragmatic skills varied according to the nature of the task set by the teachers, and the age and language abilities of the students. The findings suggest that further opportunities for spontaneous interactions between peers would support the development of pragmatic skills in DHH students. In addition, teachers would benefit from professional learning to highlight the advantages of providing opportunities for spontaneous peer-to-peer interactions to support social communication in DHH students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The role of parental expectations in determining children's higher education participation is important in understanding both participation and potential policy responses. Using a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Australian households, providing repeat observations on expectations for individual children, this study extends the literature in several respects. First, it examines the adaptation of parental expectations over a 4‐year time frame. Second, it looks at how parental expectations for school children are associated with actual higher education outcomes in the future. Third, the longitudinal aspect of the dataset permits more robust analyses of factors that shape parental expectations. The findings indicate that parental expectations of their children's attendance at university are generally stable across time. Perceptions of children's academic achievement at school are shown to be the key influence in shaping parents' expectations, and behavioural issues at school adversely affect expectations. Australian parents from non‐English‐speaking backgrounds were more likely to form positive expectations of university participation by their children, consistent with studies from other countries. A more nuanced picture of the formation of expectations for sole‐parent mothers is also presented. Positive effects of parental education and children's enrolment in a private school on parents' expectations, over and above any effect on school achievement, highlight these socioeconomic factors as potential causal channels for the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined concurrent changes in all components of 24-h movement behaviours (24-h MB) (sleep, sedentary behaviour [SB] and physical activity [PA]) and compliance with the Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines over the primary to the secondary school transition period. The analytical sample included 83 children (60.2% girls) who provided valid accelerometer-measured 24-h MB data during their final year of primary school (T1) and first year of secondary school (T2). Self-reported participation in domain-specific SB and PA, socio-demographic characteristics and weight status were also assessed. Change in 24-h MB composition from T1 to T2 was analysed using a compositional multivariate linear model for repeated measures. The difference in the proportion of meeting the 24-hour integrated movement guidelines was assessed using a McNemar–Bowker test. An unfavourable change was observed in the 24-h MB composition (p <.0001), with increased time spent in SB (+58 min/day) and decreased time in sleep (−13 min/day), Iight-intensity PA (−13 min/day) and moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA (−14 min/day). Domain-specific SB results indicated an increase in recreational screen time (+45 min/day) and out-of-school educational activities (+25 min/day). No significant changes were observed for domain-specific PA. The proportion of children meeting the 24-hour integrated movement guidelines also declined (20.5% vs. 3.6%; p <.0001). Change in 24-h MB was larger on weekdays than weekends (p <.0001); but this was not moderated by socio-demographic characteristics or weight status. These findings suggest that an integrated intervention approach targeting weekdays may be beneficial to promote adherence to healthy 24-h MB during the primary to the secondary school transition period. Highlights This study investigated how the 24-hour movement behaviour composition (i.e., time spent in sleep, sedentary behaviour and physical activity) changes and its impact on children's compliance with the 24-hour integrated movement guidelines during the primary to secondary school transition period. There was an unfavourable change in the accelerometer-measured 24-hour movement behaviour composition, with increased time spent in sedentary behaviour and decreased time in sleep, light-intensity physical activity and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity. The change in weekday composition was significantly more prominent than change on weekends. The observed increase in sedentary behaviour may be attributed in part to an increase in recreational screen time and out-of-school educational activities in secondary schools. These behavioural changes were reflected in decreased compliance rates with the individual and integrated 24-hour movement guidelines, with the largest decline observed in the sleep guideline. Our findings highlight the need for an integrated intervention approach to support children to develop and/or maintain healthy movement behaviour habits throughout the school transition period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fairy tales are ubiquitous in Australian primary schools. Drawing on a review of key literature, this paper aims to determine the implications of teaching fairy tales in the twenty-first-century primary classroom. Research points to the benefits of including fairy tales as a tool to improve all subject areas of the curriculum. Fairy tales present opportunities to positively engage students through the teaching of social justice and the development of emotional intelligence. The review of literature found that teachers need to be cautious and critical when teaching traditional fairy tales which often perpetrate an outdated, gender-ignorant representation of society, and allow students an opportunity to confront these ideas. The book form of Disney fairy tales can be problematic, particularly the earlier versions, which are criticised for being domesticated, sentimental and overly simplistic. The review has also found that multicultural fairy tales have enormous potential to increase cultural equity in the contemporary classroom, but unfortunately, they do not appear to be easily accessible in Australia. The fairy tale is constantly being reinvented and reimagined to fit into modern society, which has led to the emergence of the fractured fairy tale genre, where a traditional fairy tale is subverted. This review found that when used in a critical and inclusive manner, fairy tales have the potential to be an effective resource to teach primary school students in the contemporary classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low participation rates of students studying science at the secondary level are of international concern. One of the under-researched factors influencing low participation rates in the sciences in Australia is primary school student stereotypes concerning science and scientists. We explore how Year 4 (9–10-year-olds) students perceive science, scientists, and a career in science. Data sources included 45 students (m = 29; f = 16) attending six primary schools in diverse contexts in Queensland, Australia. Analysis indicated that when prompted to consider a career in the sciences 13 students aspired to a career in science, 6 students were unsure, and 25 students indicated no aspirations toward an occupation in the sciences. Findings indicated there were no significant differences regarding aspirations towards a science career based on the location of schools with socio-economic status not a salient influence. Categories and sub-categories identified included (i) Stereotypical views of scientists (non-gendered; paraphernalia), and, (ii) Non-Aspirations (difficulties and pressure; science work as physically dangerous). Outcomes provocate research into tensions between the non-gendered language used by students to describe who can be a scientist, on the one hand, and their reluctance to become a scientist due to the masculine nature and dangers of such work, on the other hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing respect, gender equity and gender-based violence in schools has a long history. Renewed government efforts to address gender-based violence in schools through a whole school approach have commenced under the umbrella 'respectful relationships education'. The research presented in this paper is nestled within a larger project aimed to evaluate the implementation and impact of a whole school approach to respectful relationships education across two Australian states (Our Watch, forthcoming). The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of a six-month respectful relationships education program on the gender awareness and bias of early primary school students. Using a single group pre-post test research design, students from two primary schools in Australia completed a survey before (n = 202) and after (n = 217) completion of a respectful relationships education pilot program. A modified version of the Children's Occupation, Activities, and Traits-Attitudes Measure (COAT-AM; Liben and Bigler, 2002) and the Children's Occupation, Activities, and Traits-Personal Measure (COAT-PM; Liben and Bigler, 2002) were used to assess students' views about gender. After the pilot, boys and girls were significantly less likely to consider stereotypically masculine occupations and activities as only for boys and stereotypically feminine occupations and activities as only for girls. Results indicate that ongoing respectful relationships education could be an effective way to disrupt gender stereotyping in early primary school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the views of Australian primary school parents regarding the food and nutrition education (FNE) curriculum. Associations with personal values (Universalism and Hedonism) and demographic measures were also explored. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was conducted among 787 parents in March 2021. Parents rated the importance of 17 FNE topics. They were also asked about their support for six curriculum improvements and to state their own improvement suggestions. Findings: Parents viewed the "Effect of food on health" and "Food hygiene" as the most important topics. Three FNE components were derived: (1) food safety and preparation, (2) health and nutrition information, (3) food origins and environmental sustainability. The "Food safety and preparation" component score was associated with both universalism-nature and hedonism values but negatively associated with parental education. The "Health and nutrition information" component score was associated with universalism-nature value and main language spoken at home. Lastly, the "Food origins and environmental sustainability" component score was associated with universalism-nature value. The two personal values, universalism-nature and hedonism, were more strongly associated with parents' views of curriculum topics than parental demographic characteristics. Parents had several criticisms of current FNE, including school food environments not resonating with FNE taught in the classroom and that FNE might increase the risk of eating disorders. They also suggested that the FNE curriculum should support both parents and teachers by providing relevant resources and training. Originality/value: Australian parents' views of the importance of FNE topics and how to improve FNE in primary schools have been under-examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention skills are strong cross-sectional predictors of reading comprehension from childhood through to adolescence. However, less is known about the developmental relations between these two domains across this period. This study examined the codevelopment of reading and attention in a community sample of 614 Australian school students (50% female). Reading and attention were assessed at ages 8, 10, 12, and 14. Results of univariate latent growth models demonstrated, on average, curvilinear trajectories for reading in which rapid growth across younger age spans decelerates as children reach adolescence. By contrast, attention skills remained relatively stable on average. Significant negative correlations were observed between the intercept and slope factors in separate reading (r = -.62) and attention models (r = -.39) suggesting compensatory growth patterns in which poorer performing students in both domains at age 8 have steeper trajectories than their higher performing peers. A comparison of a multivariate latent growth model and an autoregressive latent trajectory model with structured residuals (ALT-SR) examined the interrelatedness of development in reading and attention. Both between-individual and within-individual cross-domain parameters showed reading and attention to be positively related at Grade 3. indicating an association between better attention and higher reading achievement at age 8. However, there was little evidence for interrelated growth across domains in this sample. The results contribute to theories which explain whether and how multiple cognitive domains codevelop over a substantial period of childhood and early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the creation and use of a literacy practices questionnaire [LPQ] for exploring the home, school, and community literacy practices of primary-aged students in Victoria, Australia. This tool was designed to gather data at intervals, to learn about the literacies students engaged in, and the extent to which these changed over time. The article outlines the process of developing an LPQ and utilises data from five primary school students to illustrate the types of information and insights it can provide. This article also makes suggestions for the future development and application of literacy practices questionnaires to explore learners' literacies growth, including those of differing ages and in different learning settings. The tool is included as an appendix for readers who wish to adapt it for their own learning context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been limited research on identifying and understanding co-occurring challenges associated with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). This is an exploratory study to examine the sensory profile of school-age children with DLD, and to investigate possible relationships between sensory profiles and language skills. Chart information was extracted for 28 children (Mage = 6 years 11 months) who attended a language specialist school in Australia. The children's sensory profile was compared with normed data, and associations between sensory and language skills were investigated. Probable or definite difference to sensory stimuli was reported on 60% of the children. There was no correlation between sensory responses and language skills. Identifying and understanding the relationship of co-occurring features associated with DLD aids in future development of interventions to better support children with DLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents and teachers have a major influence in the formation of primary school children's eating behaviours. Although the cooperation of parents and teachers has frequently been recommended in the promotion of healthy eating habits among primary school children, little is known about the communication between these two groups regarding food- and nutrition-related issues. This paper reports findings from semi-structured interviews with primary school parents (n = 19) and primary teachers (n = 17), as well as findings from a survey of 787 parents in Australia. Audio-recorded interviews were analysed using NVivo and descriptive statistics were calculated for the survey questions. The results indicated that their communications involved various topics, including allergies, lunchbox content, and supervision requests, through diverse communication channels. The risk of offending each other and time scarcity were reported as communication barriers. Parents mainly expected teachers to ensure that their children were given enough time to eat their lunch, teach healthy eating, and be good role models of healthy eating. This study highlights the need to overcome communication barriers between parents and teachers and support teachers in their multifaceted professional roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, government policies have placed significance on the development of school students' digital literacy as essential to their future participation in society. Yet, assessments of digital literacy continue to indicate that most young people use ICT in a relatively limited way, with varying patterns of digital literacy associated with family background. Drawing on the theory of practice, this qualitative study sought to examine the school-based digital literacy of four Australian primary school students from their own perspectives. Data were collected from home technology experience questionnaires, school-based digital literacy tasks and semi-structured interviews. The results of the study illuminated factors that worked to enable and constrain school-based digital literacy including students' home and school experiences with digital technologies and the different ways that students were able to leverage such experiences. The authors consider the implications for curriculum and pedagogy and provide suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of Australia's legal provisions and policies regarding truancy. We examine how low frequency truants feature in Australia's truancy law and policy and highlight similarities and differences in the cultural–legal context between Australian states and territories. Similarities include requirements to attend school from about six to 17 years of age and the legal culpability of (predominantly) the parents for children's non-attendance. Differences include little consistency in the threshold at which schools in different Australian states and territories are required to intervene once truancy has been identified and disparities in prosecutions and fines. We conclude that harmonising truancy laws in Australia is likely to increase parental understanding and thereby compliance with school attendance laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science education is essential for sustainability and prosperity. However, students from rural communities, arguably the future custodians of our environment and significant drivers of our economies, underperform in science education. In Australia, rural students generally lag behind metropolitan students in science achievement and engagement. However, this is not the case for all rural schools. This paper reports on one case study of a rural school performing much better than expected in senior science subjects. Counter to trends of lower expectations, limited resourcing and restricted pathways afflicting rural science education, this school maintained high expectations backed by proactive support, used local resources to offer rich science learning and creatively maintained a broad array of science learning pathways. Further, the school actively raised the profile of science, and built the capacity of their science teaching team. This case study demonstrates that rural schools, by capitalising on their local resources, relatively small size and strong community relationships, can succeed in science education. This case, along with similar cases, has implications for school leaders, teachers and policy makers seeking to improve rural science education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]