Abstract
The articles in this issue of the Australian Journal of Education cover various relationships between aspects of health, wellbeing, and education.
The first article, by Michelle Locke, Michelle Trudgett, and Susan Page, presents findings from a project that focused on the experiences and perspectives of Indigenous Early Career Researchers working in universities across Australia – the Developing Indigenous Early Career Researchers project. Indigenous ECRs were interviewed annually over the 3 years of the longitudinal study, 30 in the first year, and 28 in the next 2 years – with the semi-structured interviews covering seven different areas of interest: demographic information, role responsibilities, aspirations, mentorship, challenges, support, and the higher education sector. The analysis reported in this article focuses on specific instances in which cultural safety was identified, explored, and discussed by the participants. 1 Four main themes, or attributes of safe spaces, were identified in the analysis, including spaces in which respondents were safe to be Indigenous; to seek advice and make mistakes; to speak openly; and to trust. The authors posit that ensuring universities and their staff display and develop these attributes requires commitment from the sector in the form of relevant policies and practices, as well as broader shifts in discourses from inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and Knowledges to recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ sovereignty.
Jessica Amy Sears and Rachel Wilson explore issues in staffing and outsourcing of health and physical education activities in primary and secondary schools in New South Wales in the next article. A mixed methods questionnaire was completed by 556 government schools and provided data on staffing, delivery, and outsourcing arrangements for the key learning areas of health and physical education (HPE). Findings indicated that many schools did not have a specialist HPE teacher in charge of teaching these subjects – only 17.9% of primary schools reported employing a HPE specialist teacher, compared to 95.9% of secondary schools. The majority of schools outsource at least some HPE activities, using external providers (67.0%), followed by other teachers (55.4%) and HPE specialist teachers (44.5%). Parents or caregivers were required to pay for lessons or activities run by external providers in over half of the schools (52%). The authors suggest that such practices may lead to inequity, with some students not able to participate in activities if families were unable to pay. With so few primary schools employing specialist HPE teachers, and wide-spread reliance on external providers (who may not be subject to the same qualification or registration requirements as teachers) for at least some activities, the authors raise concerns as to whether all students have access to high quality instruction in the areas of health and physical education.
The next two articles present findings from research that sits at the nexus of education and healthcare.
Neida Sechague Monroy, Mary Brushe, Alanna Sincovich, Zara Boulton, and Tess Gregory report on their research into associations between the mental health profiles of more than 3000 South Australian grade 6 students and their school outcomes in grades 7 and 9. Using latent profile analysis with various measures of mental health and wellbeing, the authors identified six mental health profiles among the students: complete mental health (high wellbeing and low distress; 30% of students), moderately mentally healthy ( average wellbeing and low distress; 18%), symptomatic but content (high wellbeing and above-average distress; 19%), vulnerable (low wellbeing and below-average distress; 6%), moderately troubled (below-average wellbeing and high distress; 19%), and troubled (low wellbeing and high distress; 8%). After adjusting for background characteristics, students categorised as having complete mental health showed significantly higher academic achievement and school engagement 1 and 3 years later compared with all other students. In contrast, those students with vulnerable and troubled profiles experienced the poorest school outcomes in grades 7 and 9. The authors suggest that the profiles can be used to better target support to students, as the profiles indicate different areas in need of attention, while the significant relationship found between initial measures of wellbeing and measures of school engagement in later years underscores the importance of early support for student wellbeing.
In the final article for this issue, Marianne Fernandes, Kevin Watson, Sandra Lennox, and Chris Forlin report on their investigation into the perceptions of school-based support for siblings of young people diagnosed with serious illnesses. Interviews were conducted with members of case units that consisted of at least one sibling and one parent of an ill child (who were all male, coincidentally) and at least one school staff member from the school of the well-sibling. Thematic analysis of the interviews identified three themes and seven subthemes – the personal aspects of coping (including identity, roles, responsibilities and expectations; and fears and anxieties); social aspects of coping (including understanding, comfort and assurance, and support); and instrumental aspects of coping (policies). For the well-siblings and parents in this study, schools played a pivotal role in supporting them (or not) during incredibly challenging times. Inconsistencies in at-school support, the authors argue, emphasise the need for policy development to better address the needs of these students.
This final issue for 2024 concludes with Jen Jackson’s review of Being, becoming, and thriving as an early years practitioner: A guide for education and early years students and tutors.
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