Background: Australia has limited supports to help families where Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) impacts children and young people. National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Australia (NOFASD), in conjunction with the University of Otago, New Zealand, piloted and established a 7-week online program to assist caregivers to…

Holistic and ecological approaches to mental health support have been identified by many as best-practice approaches for creating and sustaining well-being. Those who experience mental health challenges including, for example, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), often struggle to find adequate, sustainable and ongoing care from clinical…

Striking a balance between being a parent and being a student can place heavy demands on time and energy. Many students who are parents have employment obligations and financial concerns which create additional barriers to success. Despite these difficulties, institutional support for students who are parents is often limited. Common challenges…

Collaborative working with families has positive impacts on outcomes for families and children. However, implementing a collaborative approach requires allied health professionals to have knowledge, skills, experience, and confidence in working with families. This scoping review aimed to explore teaching practices used in order to prepare allied…

In 2023, the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) investigated student attendance in Australian schools at the request of Education Ministers. Two literature reviews were commissioned as part of this project. This rapid literature review is the result of a systematic review of 332 peer-reviewed journal articles that describe studies…

Including parents of children with developmental delays in early intervention programs has been widely endorsed as best practice across the multiple disciplines that work in that context. Parents have echoed that sentiment, commenting on the benefits of being able to apply skills in broader family and community contexts. Despite a 20-plus year…

Person-centred planning (PCP) has underpinned disability service provision in many Western countries for the past 30 years. For many people with an intellectual disability, family members are central to this process and are important allies in facilitating positive change. This article presents findings from an evaluation of a family resourcing…

This paper presents findings from mixed-method research exploring 3-5-year-old children's social interaction experiences while attending one of three different early childhood settings: a therapeutic family support program; a supported playgroup; or a preschool. Thematic analysis of child interviews revealed differences in how children experienced…

Tasmania's Child and Family Centres (Centres) provide a single entry point to early childhood services (ECS) and aim to improve the health and well-being, education and care of Tasmania's children through supporting families and carers. This mixed methods study investigated the impact of Centres on parents' confidence and competence. Centre users…

This review coincides with the Department for Education's Hungry Little Minds national behaviour change campaign, which aims to increase awareness of the ways in which parents and carers can improve outcomes for their children through conversations, books and play. Research shows that the quality of the home learning environment (i.e. the physical…

The Australian Council for Educational Research's submission to the Australian Government Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training's Public Enquiry into Adult literacy and its importance highlights the importance of these skills to Australia's well-being and economy, and calls on the government to continue participation in an…

Early childhood intervention (ECI) services for children on the autism spectrum commonly espouse a family-centered approach but outcomes studies often focus solely upon the child. Mothers of 96 children on the spectrum (aged 4-5 years) completed a measure of access to ECI and the Family Outcomes Survey--Revised. Family outcomes after ECI were…

Background: Research into parents' experiences of living with a family member with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour does not specifically address what parents say about themselves and their lives. This paper explores "I-statements" parents made about their day-to-day actions in life with their family member. Methods:…

This book explores pedagogical practices for early childhood education around the world in a collective of practices. The motivation for this book was to collect pedagogical practices from around the world to showcase the important work of early childhood teachers. Each country in this book shares unique features of their pedagogical work to show…

Embracing and embedding the rich cultural knowledge, languages, concepts and skills that Aboriginal families and children bring to playgroup is key to empowering families as their children's first teachers and strengthening young children's self-esteem, pride, confidence and identities. In this article, we share our story of how we have explored…