High-quality early childhood education is a vital experience for young children with and without disabilities. Social and communication experiences in the context of play represent a core curriculum that sets a foundation for later learning and participation. Using a new self-report instrument, this article describes data collected in a…

Children with early-onset conduct problems (EOCP) and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are highly resistant to treatment and cost society significantly more than their healthy counterparts. Employing a multiple baseline design, 13 males (9.0-10.2 years of age) with a history of school suspensions were sequentially introduced to KooLKIDS, a…

Many studies have highlighted the capacity of community arts programs to re-engage those young people considered at-risk of disconnection from future education and/or employment. "Evolution" is an artist-guided visual arts program established for young people challenged by mental health and social issues that aims to foster re-engagement…

To address students' poor literacy outcomes, an intervention using a computer-based literacy tool, ABRACADABRA, was implemented in 6 Northern Australia primary schools. A pretest, posttest parallel group, single blind multisite randomized controlled trial was conducted with 308 students between the ages of 4 and 8 years old (M age = 5.8 years, SD…

In the Australian context, children living in disadvantaged circumstances, whose second language is English, are one of the groups at risk of failing in mathematics. This paper explores the impact purposely developed learning activities (Representations, Oral Language and Engagement in Mathematics Learning activities) have on pupils' mathematics…

Australian students from disadvantaged contexts who speak English as a second language (ESL) are at risk of being developmentally vulnerable when compared to their peers (Gonski et al., 2011). This article presents selected findings from a large-scale longitudinal study designed specifically for young students in disadvantaged contexts. It reports…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the FRIENDS for Life program on students' and teachers' emotional outcomes in a school serving a high-poverty population. The focus of the intervention was to train/coach teachers with strategies to develop social and emotional skills for students. A single group, pre/post-test design was used…

Background: A trial parent-focused early intervention (PFEI) programme for children with delayed language development is reported in which current research evidence was translated and applied within the constraints of available of clinical resources. The programme, based at a primary school, was run by a speech-language pathologist with…

Since its introduction at the University of Western Sydney (UWS), Australia in 2007, the Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) program has proved a very effective and popular methodology for increasing retention and enhancing student engagement. PASS is based on Supplemental Instruction (SI) which is an international program that provides peer led,…

This paper presents the findings of a recent preliminary study into the effects of a wilderness therapy program on the resilience of male youth at-risk. The study focused on participants who completed a wilderness therapy program at Typo Station. The residential program involved a five-week stay at the Typo Station property in north east Victoria,…

As students who have difficulty in acquiring the basic processes in reading are significantly disadvantaged in later schooling, there is a need for effective interventions for young at-risk students. Reading Recovery is the most widely known and extensively promoted intervention for young struggling readers. However, serious reservations have been…