Making prevention matter: Establishing characteristics of effective child sexual abuse prevention programs. Child sexual abuse is a significant public health problem requiring intervention and prevention. School-based child sexual abuse prevention programs aim to educate children to protect themselves and teach adults skills for protecting children. But programs vary widely in their quality and there is inadequate information available to guide program choice. This fundamental research, undertak ....Making prevention matter: Establishing characteristics of effective child sexual abuse prevention programs. Child sexual abuse is a significant public health problem requiring intervention and prevention. School-based child sexual abuse prevention programs aim to educate children to protect themselves and teach adults skills for protecting children. But programs vary widely in their quality and there is inadequate information available to guide program choice. This fundamental research, undertakes the necessary first steps towards implementing high quality, evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention programs. It will develop an overarching evidence-based conceptual framework for program design and evaluation thus advancing Australia's responses to child protection and enhancing children's healthy start to life.Read moreRead less
Understanding adolescent leadership for civic engagement in secondary schools and community groups. Using the 'research voice' of adolescents as an investigation technique, this project will develop new conceptual knowledge to inform youth-centric leadership interventions aimed at engaging young people in civic action in schools and community groups. The key benefit is the discovery of new understandings about youth leadership and its connection to enhanced civic engagement, both prerequisites f ....Understanding adolescent leadership for civic engagement in secondary schools and community groups. Using the 'research voice' of adolescents as an investigation technique, this project will develop new conceptual knowledge to inform youth-centric leadership interventions aimed at engaging young people in civic action in schools and community groups. The key benefit is the discovery of new understandings about youth leadership and its connection to enhanced civic engagement, both prerequisites for responsible citizenship in workplaces and the wider community.Read moreRead less
Re-engaging Disadvantaged Youth Through Science. 17000 youth have become disconnected from the education system across Australia. The project will provide a model to reengage these youth by providing relevant scientific content where students actively interact with peers in widely dispersed locations. The groups of students will engage in investigative projects where their performances are able to extend beyond traditional literacy-based assessment techniques. Investigations of body image will b ....Re-engaging Disadvantaged Youth Through Science. 17000 youth have become disconnected from the education system across Australia. The project will provide a model to reengage these youth by providing relevant scientific content where students actively interact with peers in widely dispersed locations. The groups of students will engage in investigative projects where their performances are able to extend beyond traditional literacy-based assessment techniques. Investigations of body image will be used as a vehicle to integrate academic teaching, promoting good health and well-being within a social values framework to develop citizenship and social awareness with scientific skills. The research will help us understand the factors required to reengage at-risk youth with their community.
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Changing the way that Australians enter the workforce: part-time working careers of young full-time school and tertiary students. As student-working is now the way in which most Australians enter the workforce it is essential to have a greater understanding of the phenomenon and assimilate it into the way that we think about jobs, careers and training. New careers theory of international significance will be developed from the findings. Moreover, as most student jobs are in the service sector, s ....Changing the way that Australians enter the workforce: part-time working careers of young full-time school and tertiary students. As student-working is now the way in which most Australians enter the workforce it is essential to have a greater understanding of the phenomenon and assimilate it into the way that we think about jobs, careers and training. New careers theory of international significance will be developed from the findings. Moreover, as most student jobs are in the service sector, student working has the potential to facilitate Australia's move to a more diverse economy and to develop a wider range of work-related skills. The project thus cuts across disciplinary boundaries to assist in strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. Read moreRead less
Identity, Belonging and Citizenship in urban and regional Australia. This project examines a sense of identity, and belonging in relation to citizenship among young people in urban and regional Australia. The project will examine what it means to be an individual, and to have a sense of belonging, and what it means to be an Australian. The project will show where understandings are common to adolescents and young adults. An additive model is proposed of the personal and social identities that a ....Identity, Belonging and Citizenship in urban and regional Australia. This project examines a sense of identity, and belonging in relation to citizenship among young people in urban and regional Australia. The project will examine what it means to be an individual, and to have a sense of belonging, and what it means to be an Australian. The project will show where understandings are common to adolescents and young adults. An additive model is proposed of the personal and social identities that are particular to urban and regional areas of Australia, that have discrete historical, gendered, social and economic foundations. Innovative methodologies integrate implicit and explicit attitudes as aspects of self knowledge. The project therefore contributes to a new contextualized understanding of Australian identity, democracy and citizenship.
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New Ways of Doing School: Mixing story and technology to generate innovative learning, social and cultural communities. This project brings together academic, social and educational expertise and strong partnership networks of UTS, the Exodus Foundation, and the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning. Indigenous and mainstream educators collaborate to develop new perceptions of school and learning through creative mixes of story arts and multimedia technologies. Too often, the imaginations of ....New Ways of Doing School: Mixing story and technology to generate innovative learning, social and cultural communities. This project brings together academic, social and educational expertise and strong partnership networks of UTS, the Exodus Foundation, and the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning. Indigenous and mainstream educators collaborate to develop new perceptions of school and learning through creative mixes of story arts and multimedia technologies. Too often, the imaginations of the disenfranchised young are recruited into antisocial causes. This project seeks to build positive learning and social communities across remote and targeted urban regions, with a specific focus on, but not limited to, Indigenous children. The broad aim is to improve the lived experience of all Australians.Read moreRead less