Student welfare

‘Being exposed to adversity is inevitable. How we manage and adapt as a response is what can make the difference between poor outcomes, or outcomes that signify growth from the experience.’ Dr Sarah Tillott explores resilience theory and the brain, and the importance of developing resilience skills from an early age.

Media coverage of the Californian wildfires has evoked reminders of Australia’s past bushfires and prompted discussion about the coming season. In today’s article Patrice O’Brien, Chief Community Officer at Beyond Blue, discusses why talking about bushfires with your students, no matter where your school is located, can help ease anxiety.

Issues of anxiety, stress and mental health can affect students at any age, so having strategies in place to support students through these challenges is important. Here, we take you through five resources related to student wellbeing.

It is important that teachers are empowered to develop strategies and resources to support the emotional, cognitive and psychological development of students experiencing trauma. In today’s article, we speak to a principal about why she participated in a trauma-informed workshop, and how it has helped her staff to better support students in their learning.

A primary school in Melbourne will be implementing a new four-week program for incoming Foundation students next year to better prepare them for learning following disruption to their kindergarten year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

What bullying policies and procedures are in place at your school? Do you have a specific anti-bullying education program? In this podcast we talk to Dr Lesley-anne Ey about her work with early childhood teachers in South Australia to identify problems with bullying in their own school context and co-design tailored activities and strategies.

Secondary school students in New South Wales will be participating in a trial of a social and emotional learning course, which includes the use of virtual reality. The immersive course aims to equip students with tangible skills to increase their emotional fitness and here, we speak to the school involved in the trial.

‘In a year that has seen a great deal of disruption to classes, the relationship between students and their teachers has become far more important.’ In her new column, Dr Sue Thomson explores the latest report from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and offers insights into how Australian students perceive their teachers.

New data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show Australian students report having high levels of self-efficacy and competence, particularly in the face of adversity. In today’s article we take a close look at the new report that explores students’ experiences at school and how they relate to student performance.

In his latest Teacher column, Andreas Schleicher explores PISA data on teacher support and enthusiasm, school climate, student satisfaction with life and parent participation. ‘[The] most interesting lesson from PISA is that a higher sense of student wellbeing does not need to come at the expense of lower academic outcomes.’