Wellbeing in educational contexts

Wellbeing has been identified as a serious issue for principals, teachers and students within educational contexts. The problem of principal health and wellbeing has also been recognised at both national and state levels in Australia for the at least a decade and has been acknowledged as an issue of concern by the state, private, and independent school sectors. The first full scale independent study into the occupational health, safety and wellbeing of Australia’s school principals paints a pretty grim picture about the current work conditions for Australia’s school leadership (Riley, 2014). The survey of 2,049 principals found that along with threats and acts of violence, school principals are also more likely to be bullied, and are dealing with ever-increasing volumes of work and health problems due to stress (Riley, 2014). Phillips and Sen (2011, cited in Riley, 2014) reported that, 'work related stress was higher in education than across all other industries…with work-related mental ill-health…almost double the rate for all industry' (p. 177-8). This trend appears to be continuing, with another report suggesting that that in Queensland over $10 million has been paid in five years to stressed teachers and that teachers are making more mental stress claims than in any other industry (Worksafe Queensland, 2013, as cited in Acton & Glasgow, 2015). Reducing these impacts of work stress in the teaching profession has been the focus of much research in education. Although historically resilience to stress has been the main focus of studies, research in the area has recently shifted towards the school wide promotion of wellbeing (Powell & Graham, 2017). Within the wellbeing literature, there is a shared view that educational contexts are best positioned to reach out to everyone and explicitly teach and promote wellbeing, potentially arresting trends of reported declining student and teacher wellbeing (Acton & Glasgow, 2015; Hogan, Thompson, Sellar, & Lingard, 2018), principal wellbeing (Riley, 2014), or of feeling of not belonging (Allen, Kern, Vella-Brodrick, Hattie, & Waters, 2018; Seligman, Ernst, Gillham, Reivch & Linkins, 2009). There is, however, a lack of consensus as to the application and delivery of wellbeing programs within educational systems and educational contexts (Powell & Graham, 2017) and it is in this space that we hope to make worthwhile contribution

Celebrating diversity: focus on inclusion

As teachers, we are privileged to have the opportunity to work in diverse contexts and with diverse groups and individuals. The richness and opportunities within today’s classrooms provide a wealth of opportunities to learn from, and with our students, parents, community and colleagues. By sharing perspectives and histories that may be unfamiliar to us and to others, opportunities are created that must be embraced in order to break down the many social injustices that still exist, and which limit the opportunities of students to fulfil their full potential

The Splicing Efficiency of Activating HRAS Mutations Can Determine Costello Syndrome Phenotype and Frequency in Cancer

Costello syndrome (CS) may be caused by activating mutations in codon 12/13 of the HRAS proto-oncogene. HRAS p.Gly12Val mutations have the highest transforming activity, are very frequent in cancers, but very rare in CS, where they are reported to cause a severe, early lethal, phenotype. We identified an unusual, new germline p.Gly12Val mutation, c.35_36GC>TG, in a 12-year-old boy with attenuated CS. Analysis of his HRAS cDNA showed high levels of exon 2 skipping. Using wild type and mutant HRAS minigenes, we confirmed that c.35_36GC>TG results in exon 2 skipping by simultaneously disrupting the function of a critical Exonic Splicing Enhancer (ESE) and creation of an Exonic Splicing Silencer (ESS). We show that this vulnerability of HRAS exon 2 is caused by a weak 3' splice site, which makes exon 2 inclusion dependent on binding of splicing stimulatory proteins, like SRSF2, to the critical ESE. Because the majority of cancer- and CS- causing mutations are located here, they affect splicing differently. Therefore, our results also demonstrate that the phenotype in CS and somatic cancers is not only determined by the different transforming potentials of mutant HRAS proteins, but also by the efficiency of exon 2 inclusion resulting from the different HRAS mutations. Finally, we show that a splice switching oligonucleotide (SSO) that blocks access to the critical ESE causes exon 2 skipping and halts proliferation of cancer cells. This unravels a potential for development of new anti-cancer therapies based on SSO-mediated HRAS exon 2 skipping

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Early-life respiratory tract infections and the risk of school-age lower lung function and asthma: A meta-analysis of 150 000 European children

BACKGROUND: Early-life respiratory tract infections might affect chronic obstructive respiratory diseases, but conclusive studies from general populations are lacking. Our objective was to examine if children with early-life respiratory tract infections had increased risks of lower lung function and asthma at school age. METHODS: We used individual participant data of 150 090 children primarily from the EU Child Cohort Network to examine the associations of upper and lower respiratory tract infections from age 6 months to 5 years with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, forced expiratory flow at 75% of FVC (FEF75%) and asthma at a median (range) age of 7 (4-15) years. RESULTS: Children with early-life lower, not upper, respiratory tract infections had a lower school-age FEV1, FEV1/FVC and FEF75% (z-score range: -0.09 (95% CI -0.14- -0.04) to -0.30 (95% CI -0.36- -0.24)). Children with early-life lower respiratory tract infections had a higher increased risk of school-age asthma than those with upper respiratory tract infections (OR range: 2.10 (95% CI 1.98-2.22) to 6.30 (95% CI 5.64-7.04) and 1.25 (95% CI 1.18-1.32) to 1.55 (95% CI 1.47-1.65), respectively). Adjustment for preceding respiratory tract infections slightly decreased the strength of the effects. Observed associations were similar for those with and without early-life wheezing as a proxy for early-life asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that early-life respiratory tract infections affect development of chronic obstructive respiratory diseases in later life, with the strongest effects for lower respiratory tract infections

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

An exploratory study: Using adapted interactive research design and contributive research method

This paper describes a nuanced methodological approach that responds to the notion that knowledge is socially positioned. Method: Four researchers sought to answer: How can Contributive Research Method be employed in a workshop with participants to build knowledge, provide trustworthy data collection, and leverage the opportunity to revise open content? Using an Adapted Interactive Model of Research Design (adapted from Maxwell, 2009) for engaging in the Contributive Research Method (Puig, et al., 2018), data was gathered from an online satellite event, involving 34 institutions from Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Of the 97 participants, 57 contributed data. The presentation utilized digital tools (Mentimeter, and Hypothes.is) with an online learning community to promote the wellbeing of librarians. Results: An Adapted Interactive Research Design (AIRD) together with a Contributive Research Method (CRM) (Puig et al., 2018) and CAST analysis (AIRD with CRM +CAST) were effective as a nuanced research design. Conclusions: Contributive Research creates an opportunity to truly blend research with the scholarship of learning and teaching where it could be used in Higher Education during lectures and potentially in classrooms. Findings contribute to the body of literature on methodology and may be applicable to similar studies

In Sync: Inclusive school communities supporting students with anxiety

This study aimed to investigate the experiences of educators (working in inclusive schools) supporting students with anxiety and anxiety-related disorders. Method: A qualitative refractive phenomenological case study was used to collect data from 44 participants (educators in various roles) in six Australian primary and secondary schools, which previous research identified as using inclusive practices to support a diverse range of students. Results: Educators shared that they supported what they saw as learning needs using intrinsic, intuitive, and inclusive (3I's) ways of working. Interestingly, all educators reported that students felt supported despite a lack of explicit strategies focused on reducing anxiety. The 3I's were a way of working educators used to support all students, even though they experienced difficulties in recognising anxiety as behaviours were often internalised. This was particularly the case where disability and anxiety disorders co-occurred. Furthermore, educators did not identify evidence to support any one type of intervention being effective in mitigating anxiety. Conclusions: The data suggests that there is a culture of inclusion reducing student anxiety, even though teachers and support staff may not have recognise the student's anxiety. Parents were mostly the first identifier of anxiety in their child. This research highlights the need for educators to engage in professional development around recognising anxiety and, secondly, in the implementation of specific strategies to support students with anxiety or anxiety-related disorders

'What about us?' Wellbeing of higher education librarians

Scant research has centred on the wellbeing of librarians. This paper seeks to answer how do librarians in the Higher Education sector describe their wellbeing, including what enables and impacts it? Method: An Adapted Interactive Model of Research Design (AIRD) (adapted from Maxwell, 2009) was used together with Contributive Research Method (Puig et al., 2018). Data was collected during an online satellite event where 97 people from 34 institutions in three countries participated, from which 57 contributed data to the study through a workshop presentation on maintaining wellbeing. During the online interactive workshop, data was gathered in a contributory a manner, using embedded digital tools Mentimeter, and Hypothes.is. Results: Higher Education librarians in the study aligned with Diener’s (1984) conceptualisation of subjective wellbeing when defining wellbeing. Data also surfaced a shared understanding of subjective wellbeing, and identification of impactors and enablers to the wellbeing of librarians in the Higher Education Sector. The study surfaced two key findings: firstly six enablers to wellbeing were identified; and secondly, the wellbeing of Higher Education sector librarians is heavily impacted by work intensification. Conclusions: The voices of librarians in the Higher Education sector have surfaced the need for inclusive wellbeing programs and strategies

Australian Indigenous Contexts and Childhood Experiences

In Australia, people from an Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander background are often collectively referred to as Australian Indigenous peoples. This can be problematic because of the vast diversity of people falling under this heading. Since colonization, markers of social disadvantage for Australian Indigenous children continue to be a concern, and government efforts to address the issues have been sporadic and largely ineffective. The 2017 Closing the Gap report showed Indigenous attendance rates in government schools were 10 percent lower than non-Indigenous rates in all grades overall, with attendance rates dropping further in remote locations. The report also showed that the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at or above the national minimum standards in reading and numeracy showed no statistically significant improvement nationally, thus maintaining the marked gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, which again is much greater in remote areas. Australian Bureau of Statistics data in the area of health showed that, based on standardized proportions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were twice as likely as non-Indigenous children to have asthma, more likely than non-Indigenous children to have diseases of the ear and/or hearing problems, more likely than non-Indigenous people to have heart or circulatory diseases, and three times as likely as non-Indigenous children to get diabetes later in life. But do statistics portray the true story of Australian Indigenous childhood experiences? This sort of deficit discourse creates a homogeneous and shallow understanding of the reality. For example, the language used within such benchmarking reports is itself problematic. Policies underpinning such reports position Indigenous people as being somehow 'deficient,' whereas it is better to assess needs according to context rather than on a comparative basis. Extending understandings of social markers, and allowing the rich milieu of Australian Indigenous families to be valued, helps to build a new discourse underpinned by positive recognition of, and pride in, Australian Indigenous cultures. In order to present a comprehensive picture of Australian Aboriginal childhood today, the texts that have been selected for this bibliography are contextualized under a number of themes. Some themes may seem only indirectly related to childhood studies, but each has been chosen because the texts within throw light onto the rich tapestry of what influences Australian Indigenous childhood experiences. The first of these themes is the 'cultural interface,' a theory underpinning the perspectives of the authors’ of this article, on the intersection between culture and society for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians