In Australia, teachers are expected to teach a diverse range of students, including children adopted from overseas who have experienced attachment disruption and complex trauma early in life. International research identifies the potential vulnerability of this minority group at school. However, teachers' backgrounds, knowledge and experience, as…

Discourse on quality, within the context of childcare, has moved beyond the level of licensing to consider children's right to belong. Within Western Australia (WA), there has been a paradigm shift as international research literature on quality childcare has advocated the long-term benefits for individuals and the community when children…

This paper investigates the implementation and outcomes of "Growing Better Beginnings": a family literacy program for four and five year olds. The program builds on "Better Beginnings: Birth to Three" launched in 2005. Parents, teachers and librarians were surveyed and interviewed to ascertain their perceptions of the program.…

Children's early years are critical for development and many children access out-of-home care during this time. Services offering high-quality childcare afford an opportunity to impact positively on children's development, including acquisition of communication skills. A strong, responsive relationship between child and carer is important in…

Changes to social and environmental contexts impact on children's opportunities for and the nature of outdoor play in many ways. A number of studies over the past decade have noted a trend towards over-protective parenting practices that restrict children's activities and limit children's independent mobility and engagement with their…

Successful multicultural adult orphans who were not adopted pose an interesting challenge in their history, their physical, psychological, social emotional and personal identity development. One must understand their journey from orphanhood to adulthood and their current prominent status in life to build a contextualized personal story (Banks,…

This interdisciplinary cross-cultural research project surveyed teachers in elementary schools in five countries: South Africa, Australia, Jamaica, England, and the United States. This study attempted to define and identify best practices used in teaching children considered to be "at-risk" in these five countries: Three research…

Children who experience homelessness are at risk of poor health and well-being, and negative social outcomes. They are often exposed to stressful life events, such as domestic violence, parental mental health difficulties and family breakdown. Although many experience difficulties in remaining engaged in school, children report that schools can…