Recently in Articles Category

Everyone knows of students who have high anxiety levels in case they make a mistake and parents who 'bubble-wrap' their children and don't let them experience difficult feelings. See what this school in the UK is doing to ensure that students learn that failure is part of life: 'Failure week' at top girls' school to build resilience

Read this useful article from Yes! Magazine: "a fledgling movement to rethink what students need to thrive is proving that miracles can happen. An educational approach known as social and emotional learning (SEL), being implemented in individual schools--and now, for the first time, whole districts--has proven effective at simultaneously improving students' academic performance, behavior, and well-being."

The August edition of The Australian Community Psychologist is all about resilience - you can download this - and other articles - here

Mental Health program boosts NAPLAN: New analysis finds effective adoption of the KidsMatter program was related to higher literacy and numeracy scores. Read the article here. Naplan Nightmares: Is the high stakes testing regime having a psychological impact on young children? Some parenting experts think so, while UK educators warn Australia of the lessons they've learned. Read the article here.

"School climate matters. Positive and sustained school climate is associated with and/or predictive of positive youth development, effective risk prevention and health promotion efforts, student learning and academic achievement, increased student graduation rates, and teacher retention." National School Climate Survey 2010.pdf 

New School Climate Standards.pdf

Now published and available here. Included in this issue: - MindMatters on YouTube; - MindMatters impact; - Self Injury Guide for Schools book; - Working with Indigenous youth (Feeling Deadly not Shame); - Student Empowerment - what's happening around Australia? - School Stories - how has MindMatters helped WA's Mt Barker College; - Latest News by state and territory

The complete set of papers from Education & Child Psychology 27 (1): In-School Relationships and their Outcomes are available for download here.

Young children can be placed on a downward slippery slope by being categorised as 'naughty' in their early days at school.  Read the recent research by Maggie MacClure and Liz Jones here.

About the importance of friends, relationships with teachers and their participation in the learning environment? This recent (June 2009) report from the NSW Commission for Children and Young People shows how important schools are to children's wellbeing and ways in which they can either promote or undermine this. NSW children talk about school.pdf

Our focus is on how to build friendly and safe school communities rather than addressing the problems of individual bullies and those that are bullied. Wellbeing Australia takes the view that bullying will only be properly addressed when whole school / whole class policy and practice support students (and others in the community) supporting each other. 

The focus is on children, education and developing resilient communities.

A selection of useful articles on different aspects of wellbeing, including the recent special edition of the British Psychological Society's Journal Educational and Child Psychology.

Respect in Education: The Challenge of Emotional Literacy in Practice

The concept of emotional literacy in education is developing as schools take on board a range of initiatives which promote constructive relationships and the knowledge and skills which underpin these.

Mentoring programs to increase emotional literacy

Alison Soutter
NSW Department of Education and Training

Restorative Practices - Building Connectedness and Fostering Emotional Literacy.

Peta Blood
Circle Speak