Faculty of Education - Research Publications
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ItemA theoretical framework and therapeutic songwriting protocol to promote integration of self-concept in people with acquired neurological injuries(The Grieg Academy Music Therapy Research Centre, 2016)A positive self-concept after neurological injury is associated with enhanced quality of life and good mental health. Therefore, effective reconstruction of identity is heralded as an important goal of rehabilitation. We have developed and tested a songwriting protocol for people with acquired brain injury and/or spinal cord injury (SCI) that focuses on six domains of self-concept (physical, personal, social, family, academic/work, and moral). Over 12 music therapy sessions, people create three songs that reflect their perception of their past, present, and future selves. The therapeutic process of creating these songs aims to integrate residual components of the past self with that of the present injured self. This article outlines the theoretical foundations for the use of songwriting as a medium for change and describes the protocol in detail. We then present a case study of a man with SCI to illustrate the application of the protocol and the ensuing changes in self-concept.
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ItemEffect of Growth Mindset on School Engagement and Psychological Well-Being of Chinese Primary and Middle School Students: The Mediating Role of Resilience(FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2016-11-29)The objective of positive education is not only to improve students' well-being but also their academic performance. As an important concept in positive education, growth mindset refers to core assumptions about the malleability of a person's intellectual abilities. The present study investigates the relation of growth mindsets to psychological well-being and school engagement. The study also explores the mediating function of resilience in this relation. We recruited a total of 1260 (658 males and 602 females) Chinese students from five diversified primary and middle schools. Results from the structural equation model show that the development of high levels of growth mindsets in students predicts higher psychological well-being and school engagement through the enhancement of resilience. The current study contributes to our understanding of the potential mechanisms by which positive education (e.g., altering the mindset of students) can impact psychological well-being and school engagement.
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ItemManagement options for pediatric patients who stutter: current challenges and future directions(DOVE MEDICAL PRESS LTD, 2016)Stuttering is a speech disorder, with onset often occurring in the preschool years. The prevalence of stuttering in young children is much higher than that in the general population, suggesting a high rate of recovery. However, we are unable to predict which children will recover without treatment, and it is widely acknowledged that stuttering therapy during childhood provides the best safeguard against chronic stuttering. This review reports on current evidence-based stuttering treatment options for preschoolers through to adolescents. We discuss the clinical challenges associated with treating pediatric clients who stutter at different stages of development and explore potential areas of treatment research that might serve to advance current clinical practice in the future.
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ItemNew York Harbor: Resilience in the face of four centuries of development(ELSEVIER, 2016-11)New York Harbor is a large, iconic and complex body of water that has been extensively modified to support the development of a megacity. These modifications have affected the shorelines, water flow, water quality, habitats and living resources of the harbor. Changes in topography and bathymetry have altered the landscapes and seascapes of the region, largely to support an active shipping port and intense human settlement. New York Harbor has been transformed from a region dominated by marshy shorelines, extensive submersed oyster beds and obstructed entrances to the present-day harbor with hardened shorelines, dredged shipping channels and remnant oysters that are unsafe to consume. However, improvements in water quality, largely due to sewage treatment upgrades, combined with the natural flushing ability of the harbor, have served to help restore or improve the ecological resilience of New York Harbor. Social resilience of the region has been tested with both terrorist attacks and the widespread inundation associated with Superstorm Sandy. Both ecological and social resilience will need to be enhanced to sustain the future development of New York Harbor.
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ItemReading Recovery or not?(Australian Literacy Educators Association, 2016)
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ItemFemale Teacher Identities and Leadership Aspirations in Neoliberal Times(Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration & Management, 2016)In a neoliberal economic environment, people are seen as and required to be self-managing and entrepreneurial in regard to their career and work advancement. Where neoliberalism prioritises individual freedom, institutions aid the career advancement of individuals by providing a framework that creates and preserves such practices. What happens, then, when women are placed in a hierarchical and patriarchal schooling system that consistently privileges men over women in their careers and in positions of power? This paper analyses the leadership experiences and observations of women in boys' secondary schools as they negotiate leadership aspirations in male-centred environments while often faced with the reality that their inability to progress their careers has more to do with gender bias than ability. This work draws on interviews with 36 female teachers and leaders in six boys' secondary schools in an Australian city. Analysis of the interviews suggest that the women found the 'niche' of being 'caring' to position themselves differently to male counterparts. This identification did not give them access to leadership roles or change the attitude of the male leaders to include them in leadership. It did though allow them to see themselves as relevant and essential to the organisation to which they belonged and self- managing within the few options open to them in the workplace.
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ItemFemale Teacher Identities and Leadership Aspirations in Neoliberal Times(CCEAM, 2016)In a neoliberal economic environment, people are seen as and required to be self-managing and entrepreneurial in regard to their career and work advancement. Where neoliberalism prioritises individual freedom, institutions aid the career advancement of individuals by providing a framework that creates and preserves such practices. What happens, then, when women are placed in a hierarchical and patriarchal schooling system that consistently privileges men over women in their careers and in positions of power? This paper analyses the leadership experiences and observations of women in boys’ secondary schools as they negotiate leadership aspirations in male-centred environments while often faced with the reality that their inability to progress their careers has more to do with gender bias than ability. This work draws on interviews with 36 female teachers and leaders in six boys’ secondary schools in an Australian city. Analysis of the interviews suggest that the women found the ‘niche’ of being ‘caring’ to position themselves differently to male counterparts. This identification did not give them access to leadership roles or change the attitude of the male leaders to include them in leadership. It did though allow them to see themselves as relevant and essential to the organisation to which they belonged and self- managing within the few options open to them in the workplace.
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ItemFrom Deficiency to Strength: Shifting the Mindset about Education Inequality(Wiley, 2016-12-01)The “achievement gap” as a symptom of persistent social inequity has plagued American education and society for decades. The vast chasm in academic achievement has long existed along racial and poverty lines. Children of color and from low‐income families have, on average, performed worse on virtually all indicators of academic success: standardized test scores, high school graduation rates, and college matriculation rates. This gap perpetuates the existing inequalities in society. Efforts to close the achievement gap have had little effect. The gap remains and has actually widened. This article argues the gap is symptomatic of the deficit‐driven education paradigm. Fixing the traditional paradigm is unlikely to close the gap because the paradigm reinforce and reproduces educational and social inequity by design. To work toward more educational and social equity, we need to adopt a different paradigm of education. The new paradigm should work on cultivating strengths of individual students instead of fixing their deficits.
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ItemTrauma-Informed Positive Education: Using Positive Psychology to Strengthen Vulnerable Students(Springer, 2016)This paper explores the role of a positive education paradigm in mainstream and specialist classrooms for students who have experienced complex trauma resulting from abuse, neglect, violence, or being witness to violence. Existing trauma-informed education focuses on repairing regulatory abilities and repairing disrupted attachment in students. However, a dual-continua model of mental health suggests that repairing deficits is only part of the education response needed to nurture well-being in trauma-affected students. Trauma informed education can be conceived from both a deficit perspective (e.g., what deficiencies or developmental struggles does this student face?) and a strengths perspective (e.g., what psychological resources does this student have to build upon for future success?). This paper develops the strengths-based trauma-informed positive education (TIPE) approach which proposes three domains of learning needed for trauma affected students: repairing regulatory abilities, repairing disrupted attachment, and increasing psychological resources. It is argued that the three domains support each other via synergistic interactions which create upward spirals to increase psychological growth. The TIPE model will make a contribution to research in positive education, positive psychology, and traumatology, with the applied context of assisting classroom teachers and school-based practitioners to meet the complex behavioral, cognitive, and relational needs of students struggling in schools.
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ItemTrauma-informed flexible learning: classrooms that strengthen regulatory abilities.(University of Victoria, 2016-05-18)This study explores the implementation of the first of three domains, increasing regulatory abilities, within a trauma-informed positive education (TIPE) approach with flexible learning teachers as they incorporated trauma-informed principles into their daily teaching practice. Trauma-informed teaching approaches have particular relevance for flexible learning settings, and can help meet the complex needs of students who have experienced violence, abuse, or neglect. This paper proposes that redressing a trauma-affected student’s regulatory abilities should be the first aim in this developmentally-informed TIPE pedagogy. Drawing from research with nine teachers working in trauma-affected flexible learning settings in a large metropolitan region, this study employs a qualitative appreciative inquiry action research methodology to explore the use of TIPE perspectives with their students. Under the domain of increasing regulatory abilities, four arising subthemes hold particular application for teacher practice and planning: rhythm; self regulation; mindfulness; and de-escalation. These four subthemes are positioned as promising pathways to increasing regulatory abilities in students as they strive toward successful learning outcomes.