Stigma is a powerful force in preventing university students with mental health difficulties from gaining access to appropriate support. This paper reports on an exploratory study of university students with mental health difficulties that found most students did not disclose their mental health problems to staff at university. This was primarily…

The field of youth studies appears to have increasingly taken on a self-consciously "international" orientation, characterized by grappling with how to represent local youth identities and social practices within international, transnational, or global contexts. This challenge is repeated across many different types of study and worked…

In its late colonial history and early years as an independent nation, Australia practised a policy of ruthless exclusion of immigrants on the basis of race by means of a language test: the notorious Dictation Test. In the 50 years following World War II, Australia adopted policies encouraging immigration with bipartisan political support.…

Why would boys want to dance? Why would anyone want to dance? The argument prosecuted in this paper is that dance educators have tended to see dance as a self-evidently good thing with self-evident benefits for children who learn to dance. In other words, dance educators tend to concern themselves with why students should dance rather than why…

This paper outlines the findings of an exploratory study conducted in a small rural community in South Australia in 2006. Human service providers, experienced in working with victims and/or perpetrators of domestic violence, were asked about their experiences and perceptions of perpetrator programs in small rural communities. Specifically,…

In early childhood settings prior to school and in the early years of primary school, debate continues over the meaning of inclusion and its scope in terms of the groups under consideration. The genealogies of early childhood education and care, early primary school, special education and cultural education were examined to identify recurring and…

More than 800,000 Australians every year are affected by depression. Despite evidence that depression is manageable, that people can be successfully treated in individually appropriate ways and that earlier identification and treatment are associated with more rapid recovery, depression appears to be poorly recognised and understood. In this…

Research Findings: Despite calls to the contrary, research about teaching has tended to take a back seat to research about children's development and learning in early childhood education. After exploring why this might be the case, this essay considers the importance of teaching for early childhood education and the contexts in which it occurs in…

Developing successful schooling sites in multiracial regional town contexts can often be quite challenging. This paper examines the work done in one such pre-schooling context in a medium-sized regional town where racial and ethnic tensions are high and where many families struggle with social/emotional/economic challenges. This pre-school setting…

In Australia, Indigenous young women are more likely to become pregnant while in their teens than non-Indigenous young women. Factors such as poverty, educational outcomes and unemployment play a major role; however, there is little understanding of the attitudes of young women themselves with regards to pregnancy. This paper explores young…

The article assesses the effects of the International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP) on attitudes and integration in Australia and compares the effects of direct close contact with disabled people. Questionnaires administered before and after IYDP suggest the Year provided increased awareness but little attitude or increased integration.…

Australian research has demonstrated that students with a disability are more likely to remain out of the full-time workforce. These research findings have been the catalyst for a call for a comprehensive career development and transition planning approach for all students with disabilities in schools as well as for employers to rethink the role…

The ageing of the population in western societies has aroused great concern and interest in recent years as the so-called "baby-boomers" begin to retire, leaving a seemingly depleted workforce. Society and the individuals within it learn the "truths" of being aged or old through the normalizing of gerontological, demographic…

This paper examines the way lesbian identities are silenced in schools particularly through anti-lesbian harassment. Based on research with 30 self-identified lesbian teachers working across high schools in New South Wales, Australia, the discussion illustrates how various responses to anti-lesbian harassment silence the recognition of such…

This paper outlines early findings from the Tasmanian-based Social Norms Analysis Project (SNAP). The Social Norms model is presented as a theoretically informed, evidence-based model for reducing alcohol-related harm in youthful populations by utilising the complex and often positive contributions peer groups make to adolescent health and…