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Research
School-based mental health promotion: A global policy reviewSchools are increasingly recognized as important settings for mental health promotion, but it is unclear what actions schools should prioritize to promote student mental health and wellbeing. We undertook a policy review of global school-based mental health promotion policy documents from United Nations agencies to understand the frameworks they use and the actions they recommend for schools.
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Creating Equitable Opportunities for Language and Literacy Development in Childhood and AdolescenceThe majority of children acquire language effortlessly but approximately 10% of all children find it difficult especially in the early or preschool years with consequences for many aspects of their subsequent development and experience: literacy, social skills, educational qualifications, mental health and employment.
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Public Health Approach to Child Abuse and Neglect: Antecedents and Outcomes (Apr 2012 to Jun 2019)This project uses longitudinal population data provided through the Developmental Pathways in WA Children Project (Developmental Pathways Project).
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Empowering quality education through sustainable and equitable electricity access in African schoolsAlthough most people born this century will be educated in African schools, these schools often lack basic infrastructure, such as electricity and/or lighting. In the face of a rapidly growing school-age population in Africa, the electrification of educational facilities is not just an infrastructural challenge but also a pivotal investment in the continent’s future workforce.
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Strengthening student social and emotional wellbeing and preventing bullying behaviours: Insights from 20 years of Friendly Schools research in Australian schools.Strong evidence supports our current understandings of student bullying behaviours and ways schools can prevent and respond effectively to bullying behaviour. In the late 1990’s, however, little was understood about the most effective ways to reduce bullying in Australian schools. In response to schools’ need for evidence-informed action, a pipeline of research called Friendly Schools was initiated in 1999 which for the past twenty years, has provided robust whole-school evidence-based knowledge and skills to support policy makers, school staff and other practitioners working in schools and families across Australia.
Research
School readiness is more than the child: a latent class analysis of child, family, school and community aspects of school readinessIn this paper, we aim to contribute to the understanding of the multidimensional nature of school readiness. In a sample of over 4,000 Australian children in their first year of school, we used latent class analysis to examine patterns of school readiness based on child, family, school and community characteristics, and examine the relationship between these patterns of school readiness and subsequent outcomes (reading comprehension, school absence and emotional and behavioural difficulties).
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Associations Among Early Stimulation, Stunting, and Child Development in Four Countries in the East Asia–PacificThis study examined associations among preschool attendance, home learning activities, stunting status, and early child development using data from the validation study of the East Asia–Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDS).

News & Events
The Kids researcher awarded prestigious EU Horizon 2020 grantProfessor Cate Taylor, is part of an International cohort of researchers to secure over €1.45million in grant funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.
Research
Wellbeing and Engagement Collection (WEC) in the South Australian school systemThe aim of the WEC is to help teachers, school leaders and policy makers better understand and support the wellbeing and engagement of their students.
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Participation in the Wellbeing and Engagement collection in South Australian schoolsIn South Australian schools, students in Grade 4 to 12 are invited to participate in an annual survey about their wellbeing and engagement in school, referred to as the Wellbeing and Engagement Collection.