A sense of belonging is well-established within the empirical literature as a fundamental human need. Enhancing belongingness in schools has become a focus for researchers and policy makers in such contexts. This paper outlines a range of research findings that have demonstrated the impact of a sense of belonging on wellbeing as well as other…

In this article, we draw on phenomenon from an experiential learning project that invited university students in Australia and Hong Kong to share their conceptions of wellbeing. Inspired by feminist and new materialist perspectives, our analysis highlights a string of mundane moments of ecological entanglements, nutritionally-nourishing forces and…

International students are underrepresented in Australian health literature, and this population is especially vulnerable to the well-documented negative impacts associated with racial microaggressions in their adjustment to settling in the new society, as well as to the many challenges they already face as international students. This study…

Within psychology education, there is a growing focus on undergraduate students' psychological literacy; enabling students earlier in their psychological training to directly apply their learning to their lives and in addressing contemporary societal challenges. This growing focus was a key driver for the creation of the course "Connecting…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of a peer-supported writing and wellbeing pilot program for higher degree by research (HDR) students in Australia. It proposes a six-month program is a beneficial service to HDR students that improves not only their productivity and writing confidence but assists with their perceived mental wellbeing…

In this article, we examined the impact of COVID-19 on international students' experience and highlighted the importance of supporting this student group. We drew on findings from a mixed methods study in North Queensland, Australia. First, we discussed mental well-being and analysed how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted individuals' mental…

Empirical research on international student migrants has sometimes homogenised this group, framing it as predominantly made up of privileged members of the global middle-class. This has led to calls to acknowledge and address the precarity faced by international students in their respective host countries more comprehensively. This study aims to…

This paper reports on a pilot implementation of the FL2 approach and resources, developed to support tertiary students' wellbeing as well as their second language learning (L2). The FL2 approach and learning activities were piloted in two Spanish language courses at Australian universities. Evaluation data were collected through an online survey…

Purpose: The Higher Degree Research (HDR) journey is known for its difficulties, complexities and challenges (Lees-Deutsch, 2020), with many students experiencing multi-faceted issues and concerns (Skopek "et al.", 2020). Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the relationships that exist between variables,…

Although 'child safety' is now a national policy priority in Australia, there is little research exploring the "practices" in schools that contribute to children and young people's felt sense of safety and wellbeing. Drawing on a mixed-method Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery project, this article presents findings from…

This article discusses findings from a recent survey (n = 297) of teachers' views of both their own and their students' experiences during the 2021 enforced emergency remote schooling period occurring in New South Wales Australia, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The quantitative analysis reported here explores teachers' views regarding teaching and…

Student sense of belonging is a current challenge to higher education providers, with consistently declining ratings in national surveys. For universities globally, this is a concern linked to student attrition, student satisfaction, and student success. Importantly, low sense of belonging is typically associated with non-traditional learners, and…

This article presents a retrospective autoethnopoetic study exploring a queer student's journey in Australian tertiary STEM education, employing queer research methodologies to illuminate the challenges encountered. Through personal narrative and poetic expression, we identify critical themes: microaggressions, discrimination, identity formation,…

The first year at university is always challenging, but particularly in 2020 when COVID-19 triggered lockdowns and a rapid shift to online learning. This mixed methods study tracked the wellbeing and engagement of 60 new students in an undergraduate teacher education program at an Australian university throughout the first trimester of 2020.…

University students are known to be at heightened risk among their peers for experiencing psychological distress and mental health difficulties. To date, there have been few interventions designed to reduce stressors in the educational environment. This may be due to limited research investigating course-related correlates of students' distress.…