“That Sense of Belonging … That Comes from Within”: Beyond Legal Permanence: Aboriginal Understandings of Cultural Connection, Belonging and Child Wellbeing, and Cultural Adaptation in Child Welfare Reform

Role of maternal age at birth in child development among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children in their first school year: a population-based cohort study

Aboriginal mothers in prison in Australia: a study of social, emotional and physical wellbeing

Physical activity and sport participation characteristics of Indigenous children registered in the Active Kids voucher program in New South Wales

This document reports the findings from Phase 2 of an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded study (LP140100540) entitled, ‘Improving wellbeing through student participation at school’. The overall research project aimed to strengthen knowledge, policy and practice concerning student participation in New South Wales (NSW) schools by identifying whether and how such participation improves students’ social and emotional wellbeing. It was guided by the following research questions: RQ1: How is student participation currently articulated in NSW education policy in Australia? RQ2: How do students, teachers, principals and policymakers understand participation? And how is it currently experienced by students and staff in NSW schools? RQ3: To what extent is participation at school associated with student wellbeing, and which specific elements of participation are core predictors of student wellbeing? RQ4: Do Honneth’s modes of recognition mediate the relationship between participation and wellbeing? The research was undertaken over a 3 year period, covering four research phases, each of which closely aligns with one of the research questions above. Phase 1: Detailed policy analysis (RQ1) This phase involved the critical analysis of local, state and national policies (n=143) to understand how student participation is currently articulated in education related policy in NSW. Phase 2: Qualitative focus groups with students and interviews with school staff and educational policy makers (RQ2) A qualitative phase involving interviews with policymakers (n=9), and school staff (n=32) and focus groups with Year 7-10 students (n=177) from across 10 schools to understand how student participation is understood and experienced in NSW schools. The findings from Phases 1 and 2 were used to identify the key elements of participation to take forward into Phase 3. Phase 3: Quantitative online survey development (RQ3) Phase 3 involved the development of a valid and reliable scale to measure student participation, including its links to student wellbeing. This development phase involved a total of 536 students across two rounds. The development of the scale served two purposes: (a) to measure participation via a large scale online survey in Phase 4 (see below), and (b) to contribute to the development of a tool for schools to help them to measure and monitor student participation in practice. Phase 4: Quantitative online survey (RQ 4) An online survey of Year 7 -10 students in NSW (n=1435) was conducted to test the relationship between participation, wellbeing and recognition. 4 Throughout the study, the research team was guided and assisted by an advisory group comprising 15 members: 4 representatives from the partner organisations (the NSW Department of Education, Lismore Catholic Schools’ Office and the Office of the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People), 2 school principals, 2 teachers, and 7 students from Years 7-9. The involvement of students in guiding the research is ethically and methodologically significant, as it endeavours to utilise their expertise while reflexively engaging with the strengths and complexities of implementing student participation in a meaningful and authentic way. This document reports solely on Phase 2, which aimed to establish a grounded understanding of student participation in NSW schools and address RQ2. For the reports pertaining to the other phases of the research, along with short summaries of the results for schools, a Good Practice Guide for expanding participation at school and information on the tool for measuring student participation at your school, please visit: https://www.scu.edu.au/research-centres/ centre-for-children-and-young-people/our-research/our-current-research/schools/#iwtsps

Connection with Country, community, and culture lies at the heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and wellbeing. Although there is some evidence on the role of cultural identity on the mental health of Indigenous adults, this relationship is relatively unexplored in the context of Indigenous Australian children. Robust empirical evidence on the role of cultural identity for social and emotional wellbeing is necessary to design and develop effective interventions and approaches for improving the mental health outcomes for Indigenous Australian children. Drawing on data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC), we explore social and emotional wellbeing in Indigenous Australian children and assesses whether cultural identity protects against social-emotional problems in Indigenous children. The results show that Indigenous children with strong cultural identity and knowledge are less likely to experience social and emotional problems than their counterparts. Our work provides further evidence to support the change from a deficit narrative to a strengths-based discourse for improved health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australian children.

Finding Your Way – A shared decision making resource developed by and for Aboriginal people in Australia: Perceived acceptability, usability, and feasibility

BackgroundFinding Your Way is a culturally adapted shared decision making (SDM) resource for Aboriginal (First Nations) people of Australia. It integrates the Eight Ways of Aboriginal Learning (8 Ways) and...

The Wiradjuri General Practitioners and Aboriginal Health Workers Project aimed to help improve Aboriginal health in central western New South Wales (NSW) by identifying and overcoming the barriers to the Aboriginal population's access to general practitioner services. The central strategy of the project was to convene three rounds of consultative meetings in five towns: Bathurst, Orange, Cowra, Forbes and Condobolin. These meetings brought together Aboriginal community members, general practitioners and Aboriginal health workers to express and define local issues and problems, and to propose solutions. The solutions included general practitioner outreach clinics, a focus on prewinter immunisation, bulk-billing of Aboriginal patients, Aboriginal cultural awareness training for all general practice personnel, employing Aboriginal staff in general practice, and closer professional interaction between general practitioners and Aboriginal health workers. Most participants evaluated the meetings as positive and constructive. The project substantiates the perceived need for alternative models for the funding and delivery of general practitioner services to Aboriginal communities.

Partnership approach to Indigenous primary health care and diabetes: a case study from regional New South Wales

Since 2000, the New South Wales (NSW) Government in Australia has pursued major child welfare reforms. Responding to the ‘crisis in child protection’ and informed by a public health approach, key aims were to prevent child maltreatment and promote child welfare by ‘expanding and enhancing early intervention and family services’. This article critically reviews the aims, approach and main developments in NSW. The article argues that in several respects the reforms extended and enhanced early intervention and family services in cost-effective ways but suffered from implementation problems, limitations in service developments and major reform challenges which inhibited their scope and impacts. These limitations raise critical issues about the reform framework, resource constraints and ideological influences.

A lack of teacher awareness of the cultural and historical background of Aboriginal students has long been recognised as a major causative factor in the failure of Australian schools to fully engage Aboriginal students and deliver equitable educational outcomes for them. Using Wenger's communities of practice framework, this paper analyses the effectiveness of the Connecting to Country (CTC) program in addressing this issue in New South Wales (NSW) schools whereby Aboriginal community members design and deliver professional learning for teachers. Qualitative and quantitative data from 14 case studies suggest that the CTC program has had a dramatic impact on the attitudes of teachers to Aboriginal students, on their ability to establish relationships with the local Aboriginal community and on their willingness to adapt curriculum and pedagogy to better meet the needs of their students. As Aboriginal community members and teachers developed communities of practice, new approaches to Aboriginal student pedagogies were imagined through a sense of joint enterprise, mutuality and shared repertoire, empowering all participants in the CTC journey. Implications from this research highlight the importance of teacher professional learning delivered by Aboriginal people, Aboriginal community engagement in local schools and addressing deficit discourses about Aboriginal students and their families.

Health promotion in sport: An analysis of peak sporting organisations’ health policies

’Finding Your Way’ (FYW) is a culturally tailored shared decision-making (SDM) tool designed specifically for Australia’s Aboriginal communities across New South Wales (NSW). It emerged as a response to the...

PurposeThe paper addresses the question of whether Crown land managed by local authorities in the New South Wales (NSW) local government system should be recognised as assets on municipal balance sheets.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides a synoptic review of the literature on accounting for public goods assets followed by a critical analysis of the official requirements of the NSW government on the recognition of Crown land.FindingsThe NSW government holds that Crown land managed by local councils should be recognised as an asset on council books. However, following an assessment of the problem through the analytical prism of financial accounting, it is argued that councils do not possess control over Crown land and that such land should thus not be recognised by councils.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper covers the legal and accounting framework applicable to NSW local government. However, it has broader implications for other local government systems with similar institutional and legislative foundations, such as other Australian states, New Zealand and South Africa, and these implications are highlighted in the paper.Practical implicationsIt is argued that NSW government policymakers should re-consider the requirement for Crown land to be recognised on councils' books. Local authorities would then be able to save money and time on external auditing, management of land asset registers and the mandatory valuation of land.Originality/valueAlthough Crown land shares some of the characteristics of other public good assets, unique accounting challenges arise due to the existence of a market in which such land could be traded not by councils, but by its legal owner (the Crown). In financial accounting, legal ownership is not considered as the main criterion over assets. However, the authors argue that for Crown land vested with councils, it becomes a critical factor in decision making.

Cause, treatment costs and 12-month functional outcomes of children with major injury in NSW, Australia