Success despite learning difficulties: The effectiveness of a coping program for adolescent students. Despite skilled teaching and average general ability, people with specific learning difficulties (SLD) will never learn to read or write with ease. As approximately 10 percent of the population has SLD, the higher than average risk of negative life outcomes for these people is of significant social and economic cost to the community. Expected outcomes of this study are theory and practice that c ....Success despite learning difficulties: The effectiveness of a coping program for adolescent students. Despite skilled teaching and average general ability, people with specific learning difficulties (SLD) will never learn to read or write with ease. As approximately 10 percent of the population has SLD, the higher than average risk of negative life outcomes for these people is of significant social and economic cost to the community. Expected outcomes of this study are theory and practice that can assist schools to implement programs that help Australian adolescent students with SLD to be empowered and successful in school and adult life. This will be of significant long-term national and community benefit. Read moreRead less
Mental Health First Aid Training for Teachers: Development, Evaluation and Dissemination. The project aims to provide teachers with training that will assist them to recognize mental health problems which are developing in students and to take appropriate action so that the student gets professional help.
Developing Coping Skills: Following young people through the transition from primary to secondary schooling. This study provides a unique opportunity to determine developmental changes in coping by tracking a group of young people through the transition from primary to secondary school. The program targets coping efficacy and perceived control over internal states and thus is designed to increase adaptive coping behaviours whilst controlling for the degree to which family is supportive. Using a ....Developing Coping Skills: Following young people through the transition from primary to secondary schooling. This study provides a unique opportunity to determine developmental changes in coping by tracking a group of young people through the transition from primary to secondary school. The program targets coping efficacy and perceived control over internal states and thus is designed to increase adaptive coping behaviours whilst controlling for the degree to which family is supportive. Using a quasi-experimental design it is possible to test theories that suggest that coping efficacy beliefs mediate the relationship between family environment and actual coping behaviours. The study extends successful and innovative work in building resilience in the upper primary school population to the secondary population.
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Adolescent Gambling: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Opportunities for Controls and Interventions. This research will contribute to both scientific knowledge and public policy in an area of considerable public concern. It will measure the prevalence of gambling among adolescents in the ACT, and identify the proportion of youth with actual or potential gambling problems. It will assess their degree of exposure to gambling advertising and their awareness of services for young problem gamblers. The p ....Adolescent Gambling: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Opportunities for Controls and Interventions. This research will contribute to both scientific knowledge and public policy in an area of considerable public concern. It will measure the prevalence of gambling among adolescents in the ACT, and identify the proportion of youth with actual or potential gambling problems. It will assess their degree of exposure to gambling advertising and their awareness of services for young problem gamblers. The project will also identify risk factors for problem gambling, and protective factors and policy opportunities for the reduction of problem gambling. It will also contribute to methodological knowledge by assessing the validity of multiple measures of problem gambling.Read moreRead less
Promoting Positive Adolescent Psychosocial Development Through Enhancing School Connectedness: Evaluation of an innovative program for teachers. This project contributes to a research priority area of preventing psychosocial problems in adolescence. School connectedness, where students feel included and valued by the school, is a vital protective factor for adolescent well-being. This project implements a program to resource year 8 and 9 teachers (in intervention and wait-list control/intervent ....Promoting Positive Adolescent Psychosocial Development Through Enhancing School Connectedness: Evaluation of an innovative program for teachers. This project contributes to a research priority area of preventing psychosocial problems in adolescence. School connectedness, where students feel included and valued by the school, is a vital protective factor for adolescent well-being. This project implements a program to resource year 8 and 9 teachers (in intervention and wait-list control/intervention schools in both Tasmania and Sydney) to reduce their own stress and promote school connectedness. Evaluation of effectiveness through pre-post and follow-up measures from adolescents, teachers, parents and schools on expected outcomes for adolescents of improved connectedness, well-being, conduct and mental health will provide information on this promising new approach.Read moreRead less
Increasing student retention rates in Victorian rural and metropolitan areas through engaging and empowering students with learning difficulties. Learning difficulties (LD), which affect a significant population, have a neurological cause and are a life-long phenomenon. Students with LD are at increased risk of negative outcomes including school dropout, unemployment and emotional difficulties. This project examines the prevalence of LD in students of average to above average ability and its r ....Increasing student retention rates in Victorian rural and metropolitan areas through engaging and empowering students with learning difficulties. Learning difficulties (LD), which affect a significant population, have a neurological cause and are a life-long phenomenon. Students with LD are at increased risk of negative outcomes including school dropout, unemployment and emotional difficulties. This project examines the prevalence of LD in students of average to above average ability and its relationship to at-risk behaviours. It also examines the impact of expanding teacher understanding of LD and use of pedagogy that engages and empowers students through the acquisition of compensatory skills. This project goes beyond traditional literacy and numeracy support by focussing on sense of belonging and personal control as key determinants for improving outcomes for students with LD.Read moreRead less
Adolescent mental health and supportive classroom environments: investigating organizational supports as mediators to a sustainable reduction in aggressive classroom management. Making classrooms safe and supportive for all students enables young Australians to lead healthier and more productive lives through social inclusion and economic participation. Finding effective ways to reduce teachers' use of non-productive, aggressive strategies in interactions with challenging students offers importa ....Adolescent mental health and supportive classroom environments: investigating organizational supports as mediators to a sustainable reduction in aggressive classroom management. Making classrooms safe and supportive for all students enables young Australians to lead healthier and more productive lives through social inclusion and economic participation. Finding effective ways to reduce teachers' use of non-productive, aggressive strategies in interactions with challenging students offers important social and economic benefits to Australia. These include reductions in adolescent anxiety and depression, greater engagement in schooling, a reduction in student withdrawals and exclusions, increasing parent, community and international confidence in Australia's schools, and a reduction in the number of young teachers leaving the profession.Read moreRead less