A multi-modal investigation of current and proposed structures and processes determining and sustaining quality in Australian centre-based child care. Access to good quality government-regulated child care is a national policy direction, underpinned by Australia's quality assurance and accreditation mechanisms, and based on evidence that high quality care positively affects children's developmental wellbeing. Of concern is that care of poorer quality is linked with adverse outcomes, especially f ....A multi-modal investigation of current and proposed structures and processes determining and sustaining quality in Australian centre-based child care. Access to good quality government-regulated child care is a national policy direction, underpinned by Australia's quality assurance and accreditation mechanisms, and based on evidence that high quality care positively affects children's developmental wellbeing. Of concern is that care of poorer quality is linked with adverse outcomes, especially for more vulnerable children. The effective provision of high quality care requires a thorough understanding of the structures and processes that contribute to and sustain quality outcomes. The results of this study will provide invaluable information to guide the decisions of policy makers and service providers in determining new directions in child care quality assurance.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100686
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,668.00
Summary
Unemployment in remote Australia: exploring policy reform impacts. This project aims to produce policy-relevant knowledge about the effects of the Australian Government's changing remote employment policies in four remote Indigenous communities. These policies have not yielded positive outcomes to date; more empirical evidence is needed. This project will be the first to explore the lived experiences of employment service practitioners & participants through an innovative policy analysis and eth ....Unemployment in remote Australia: exploring policy reform impacts. This project aims to produce policy-relevant knowledge about the effects of the Australian Government's changing remote employment policies in four remote Indigenous communities. These policies have not yielded positive outcomes to date; more empirical evidence is needed. This project will be the first to explore the lived experiences of employment service practitioners & participants through an innovative policy analysis and ethnography. It will deliver significant benefits, such as elevating marginalised policy subjects' voices/experiences in policy debates, contributing to efforts at improving employment/social outcomes, & speaking to debates about how the state can work effectively with remote Indigenous communities to improve outcomes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100016
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,234.00
Summary
Hidden harm: Everyday alcohol consumption in Australian homes. This project aims to investigate how family and other factors in the home environment affect alcohol consumption and associated social harms. This is important because nearly two-thirds of Australian alcohol consumption occurs in the drinker’s own home but studies of drinking contexts have mostly focused on drinking on licensed premises. The project will use four diverse datasets to analyse individual and interactional patterns of dr ....Hidden harm: Everyday alcohol consumption in Australian homes. This project aims to investigate how family and other factors in the home environment affect alcohol consumption and associated social harms. This is important because nearly two-thirds of Australian alcohol consumption occurs in the drinker’s own home but studies of drinking contexts have mostly focused on drinking on licensed premises. The project will use four diverse datasets to analyse individual and interactional patterns of drinking in the home. Potential intervention points and policy measures to reduce harms from drinking will be developed from the project’s analysis. This project has the potential to reduce social and violence-related harms from alcohol consumption.Read moreRead less
Understanding recent Australian trends in alcohol consumption and harms. This project aims to provide critical insight into recent trends in alcohol consumption and related harm in Australia. Many indicators of harm from alcohol have increased dramatically in the past decade, while drinking behaviours appear largely unchanged. This project aims to investigate two potential explanations for these trends: that apparent increases in rates of alcohol-related harm are driven by operational or adminis ....Understanding recent Australian trends in alcohol consumption and harms. This project aims to provide critical insight into recent trends in alcohol consumption and related harm in Australia. Many indicators of harm from alcohol have increased dramatically in the past decade, while drinking behaviours appear largely unchanged. This project aims to investigate two potential explanations for these trends: that apparent increases in rates of alcohol-related harm are driven by operational or administrative practices rather than by increases in actual harm; and that stable per-capita consumption data obscures divergent drinking behaviours, with increases among heavy drinkers driving increasing harm rates. The project aims to inform alcohol policy debates, which rely on robust trend data.Read moreRead less
Beyond global discourses of data: Storying learning in marginalised schools. Globally, Australian school education is seen as under-performing. Consequently, attention to data, particularly numeric and standardised test data, in schools have become pervasive. This project aims to understand how teachers and educators in schools and school systems actually engage with a broader conception of data for enhanced learning, on a truly global scale, particularly in schools serving struggling communiti ....Beyond global discourses of data: Storying learning in marginalised schools. Globally, Australian school education is seen as under-performing. Consequently, attention to data, particularly numeric and standardised test data, in schools have become pervasive. This project aims to understand how teachers and educators in schools and school systems actually engage with a broader conception of data for enhanced learning, on a truly global scale, particularly in schools serving struggling communities. This project will reveal the myriad ways educators in diverse settings - England, Australia, Singapore and Bangladesh - engage with data. The project will re-conceptualise how data are understood globally, and will provide significant benefits including informing education policy-making and improving teaching practices.Read moreRead less
How do teachers learn to enact the Australian Curriculum? A question of policy in practice. This project aims to show how teachers learn to engage with the new curriculum in the context of increasingly standardised national and international educational reforms. This is significant for determining whether the 'Australian Curriculum' will result in its projected benefits. This project aims to reveal how policy support for the new curriculum influences teacher learning in diverse schooling setting ....How do teachers learn to enact the Australian Curriculum? A question of policy in practice. This project aims to show how teachers learn to engage with the new curriculum in the context of increasingly standardised national and international educational reforms. This is significant for determining whether the 'Australian Curriculum' will result in its projected benefits. This project aims to reveal how policy support for the new curriculum influences teacher learning in diverse schooling settings in a broadly neoliberal, global context.Read moreRead less
Educating for healthy citizens: the health work of teachers in Australian schools. Teachers promote students health every day in many ways, such as performing periodic health checks, teaching health education lessons, or leading pastoral care. This project looks at what, and how much, health work teachers undertake and how prepared they are to do this work.
Improving wellbeing through student participation at school. Current evidence suggests child and youth participation in matters affecting their lives has many benefits, but little is known about how this is perceived and practiced in education. This research aims to improve knowledge about processes and outcomes of student participation at school, particularly in relation to improving wellbeing. The project is timely and significant because recent reforms in education now require a greater empha ....Improving wellbeing through student participation at school. Current evidence suggests child and youth participation in matters affecting their lives has many benefits, but little is known about how this is perceived and practiced in education. This research aims to improve knowledge about processes and outcomes of student participation at school, particularly in relation to improving wellbeing. The project is timely and significant because recent reforms in education now require a greater emphasis on engaging students more directly in decisions about their education, including those with special needs. Schools urgently require knowledge about the key elements of participation that impact on wellbeing and a tool for measuring and monitoring their performance in facilitating these elements.Read moreRead less
External provision of the school curriculum: Local needs to global networks in Health and Physical Education. This project will examine the factors that influence the appeal of and opportunities for external providers of health work (including HPE curricula) in schools at a local, national and international level. It will generate original, global data regarding: the influence of system networks on the creation of health issues; international trends for the external provision of health work prod ....External provision of the school curriculum: Local needs to global networks in Health and Physical Education. This project will examine the factors that influence the appeal of and opportunities for external providers of health work (including HPE curricula) in schools at a local, national and international level. It will generate original, global data regarding: the influence of system networks on the creation of health issues; international trends for the external provision of health work products and services to schools; and, the impact of networked health issues and providers on schooling. The findings will inform: policies related to outsourcing practices across the curriculum; expectations for teachers’ work; and, more broadly, control of young people’s health and the future of schooling. Read moreRead less
The Extent and Cost of Kinship Foster Care of Orphans in Rural China. This project will explore the extent of kinship foster care provided to orphaned children in rural China. It will also, for the first time, estimate the costs of kinship care, by modifying Australian budget standards research to suit conditions in rural China. The project will combine a strong research team with a leading international non-government agency working in China and will draw on support from government officials fr ....The Extent and Cost of Kinship Foster Care of Orphans in Rural China. This project will explore the extent of kinship foster care provided to orphaned children in rural China. It will also, for the first time, estimate the costs of kinship care, by modifying Australian budget standards research to suit conditions in rural China. The project will combine a strong research team with a leading international non-government agency working in China and will draw on support from government officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The results will be used to estimate child poverty among the target group and will provide a knowledge base for future research in the area.Read moreRead less