Learning Ground in School (LGiS): Final Report of the 2020-2022 Implementation

This report presents the findings of a 3-year pilot of the Learning Ground in School (LGiS) program. The LGiS pilot was conceived and undertaken by Learning Ground, Mt Druitt, to assist schools in working more effectively and proactively with students at risk of school disengagement and failure. It is based on the successful behavioural support and reconnection program developed and delivered to young people at Learning Ground’s Mt Druitt centre over the last 18 years. In planning its piloting of the newly developed Learning Ground in School (LGiS) program, Chain Reaction Foundation commissioned Western Sydney University to undertake an independent research evaluation of the initiative. With the pilot now complete, this report presents the concluding findings of the 2020-2022 pilot evaluation of LGiS. The purpose of this final report is to provide an analysis of collected data and information from the pilot implementation of the Learning Ground in School Program over 2020-22. It follows on from the two previous interim reports, utilising data from all schools involved over the period of the project and emphasising student experience and outcomes, as well as implementation effectiveness for staff and schools

Implementation of social and emotional learning

While social and emotional learning (SEL) can have many benefits for psychosocial development and well-being, the extent to which the benefits of SEL are realised depends to a large extent on how well it is implemented. This chapter takes up the question of what is necessary for effective implementation of SEL initiatives and why it is important to attend to implementation factors when undertaking SEL in schools and other settings. Included in the discussion is a consideration of policy settings and curriculum frameworks that provide important context and support for SEL implementation in schools. Critical research-based factors for effective implementation of SEL programmes are identified and discussed. The chapter also provides a detailed examination of the benefits and components of systemic approaches to implementation using a whole school approach

Bullying prevention and prosocial skill development in school settings

Bullying is one of the most prevalent forms of violence against young people. Whereas aggression may involve a ‘one-off’ or single event set of actions, bullying is characterised by experiencing repeated acts of aggression or intimidation, such as name calling, physical threats, social exclusion, and verbal/physical assault. These acts can occur between individuals or groups of individuals, and are in the context of an imbalance of power between the bully and their victim. A substantial body of Australian and international research indicates that bullying has significant negative implications. Despite numerous worldwide efforts, bullying in schools has either remained steady or is on the rise. School-wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) focuses on teaching and acknowledging positive behaviour and highlighting environmental conditions that reduce problem behaviours. This has included specific recommendations on its use to reduce bullying and increase prosocial behaviours. The author highlights how SWPBS systematic strategies such as whole-school expectation setting, a multi-tiered approach to intervention, and continuous, positive, and active supervision are utilised in anti-bullying intervention. A social-ecological systems lens is applied in reviewing the SWPBS approach to bullying intervention. In conjunction, these models have as their premise that students need access to preventative supports which encourage prosocial development while intervention strategies at multiple levels (e.g., students, parents, and school culture) should be simultaneously targeted. Specific examples of creating a school environment that encourages prosocial behaviour through an SWPBS approach are provided, as well as advice for evaluating intervention efforts

Assessing perceived school support, rule acceptance and attachment : evaluation of the psychometric properties of the School Belonging Scale (SBS)

Aim: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a new measure of school belonging. Rationale: The sense of belonging to the school (organisation) as opposed to individuals within a school (peers) plays a significant part in pupils’ behaviour and wellbeing. To date, few psychometrically robust, theoretically driven and brief scales exist. Consisting of only 12 items, the School Belonging Scale (SBS) was developed to assess three theoretically derived aspects of school belonging: attachment or bonding to school, acceptance of rules, and perceived school support. Method: A total of 3522 (42.9 per cent male) pupils in Years 7 to 11 from 6 metropolitan private schools in Sydney, Australia participated in the present study. Participants ranged from 11 years to 17 years of age (M=13.8, SD= 1.4). The data collected from the participants was used to assesses the SBS’s reliability and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to assess its factor structure. Additional tests of factorial invariance were also carried out to test the validity of the measure across boys and girls. Findings: Internal consistency estimates were very good to excellent. Results of the CFA indicated that all three factors were well defined. Invariance testing showed that the SBS is invariant across boys and girls. Limitations: Participants were from private schools; other limitations are discussed. Conclusions: The SBS is reliable and applicable to both males and female pupils. It can be used as a brief assessment for school belonging in research, intervention development, and evaluation

An evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument: Participant Roles (APRI:PR) across primary and secondary schools

The incidence of bullying in schools is influenced by both bullies and the responses of witnesses to bullying behaviours. Researchers have proposed that bystanders witnessing bullying incidents may respond in various ways. These include assisting the bullying by joining in or making suggestions as to whom to and how to bully; reinforcing the bullying by looking on or ‘cheering’ the bully; defending the target of the bully; or remaining outside the situation by not doing anything about it. Participant roles are likely to influence the course, development and severity of bullying behaviours at school and as such they have become the focus of study and intervention efforts. Although there are a number of suggested measurement instruments for measuring participant roles their psychometric properties are varied or have not been adequately evaluated. This paper outlines the psychometric properties of the Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument: Participant Roles (APRI:PR). This instrument was developed for the specific purpose of measuring distinct reactions (Active Reinforcer, Passive Reinforcer, Target Advocate, and Disregard/Ignore) to observing a bullying incident. The APRI: Participant Roles offers a list of 24 reactions to the witnessing of a bullying situation. Students are asked to rate how true these reactions are to what they would do on a six-point Likert scale (1= False to 6 = True). Based on a sample of more than 4000 Year 5 to 11 school students from Sydney, Australia the results indicate that: for the total sample of students, internal consistency estimates were good to excellent; results of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), testing a highly restrictive a priori four-factor structure, provided a good fit for the data; the factor loadings indicate that all four factors are well defined; and correlations among the factors provided support for the distinctive nature of each of the factors. Additional tests of factorial invariance between boys and girls provided support of a common four-factor model is present for both genders. The APRI:PR’s brevity, and strong psychometric properties across a wide age range increase the availability of options for measuring participant roles in schools. The APRI:PR can contribute to intervention, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in bullying intervention and research

Bullying and the nature of problems : implications of structured vs. ill-structured problems for the development of bullying interventions in schools

Attempts to reduce bullying in schools over the last two decades have produced, on average, modest results. Bullying has been linked to numerous ill - effects for individuals and communities as a whole, it is therefore vital that the effectiveness of future interventions are maximised. This paper critically examines recent interventions efforts from a Problem Solving perspective. Research in this area shows that how problems are perceived greatly influences our ability to develop effective interventions. Pr oblems can be defined as an unknown that is generate d in the pursuit of a need that is considered of value (e.g., reducing bullying). Problems can further be classified in at least two types. Well - structured (also known as well - defined) problems which have a known correct solution are largely domain independent, and the elements required for the solutions are known. Ill - structured (also known as ill - defined) problems are context dependent, one or more aspects of the problem situation may be unknown, and th e problem may have an infinite number of solutions. Little overt attention has been given by bullying intervention designers to the type of problem bullying represents; however, analysis undertaken for the purpose of this paper suggests that bullying is b eing approached as a well - structured problem. That is, there is a clearly known goal - to reduce bullying - with a procedure for obtaining the goal - invariably community re - education via a whole school approach. Close analysis of the available definitions of bullying and research on its probable influences or causes clearly articulate that bullying is an ill - structured problem which may explain the lack of progress and variety in bullying interventions. This paper contributes to anti - bullying efforts by ou tlining the implications of bullying being an ill - structured problem to anti - bullying intervention efforts. It highlights how the applications of existing models for solving ill - structured problems can assist intervention design by reducing the likelihood of creating unnecessary boundaries (e.g., such as beginning with the premise that only whole school approaches should be used); making it easier to recognise information relevancy (e.g., which contextual factors are most relevant); seeing bullying as embed ded in context rather than a separate discrete behaviour; promoting a variety of approaches to intervention; and contribute to evaluation design by increasing how bullying is represented and therefore identifying multi - level sources of efficacy in relatio n to intervention effectiveness

Pedagogy and adverse childhood experiences : a teacher's action-learning journey in mitigating the impact of trauma through changing teaching practice

School–university partnerships can be transformative for all involved; however, rarely are reports provided of the deep reciprocal changes that can occur as a result of this relationship. This chapter describes an Australian teacher’s action-learning journey from teacher, to teacher-scholar, and finally university-school researcher. Over this time, the author initiated a series of action-research cycles designed to alleviate the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and maximize educational and social-emotional outcomes for children by increasing the capacity of teachers to understand and effectively respond to traumatized students. These action-research cycles employed knowledge of ACEs to (a) understand the impact of student trauma on teachers and schools, (b) develop a tiered framework of trauma-informed professional development and support for staff and students impacted by ACEs, and (c) understand the impact of student trauma on teachers and schools. Early findings from a state-wide school-university research project are discussed

[In Press] A scoping review of video games and learning in secondary classrooms

Video games are an established part of popular culture, and frequently used in educational settings worldwide. There is now a substantive body of research suggesting positive outcomes of their use in classrooms. In spite of this, there is a dearth of research synthesizing the outcomes of these studies. This is particularly so in relation to the ways video games are used by teachers for educational purposes within secondary classrooms. A scoping review of recent literature focusing on video games in secondary classrooms published between 2010 and 2020 was conducted. In total, 3110 studies were identified in the initial search, 85 of which were retained after screening. The review indicated that the impact of video games in secondary classrooms is generally positive, although not conclusively so. Current research on the use of video games in secondary education is limited, primarily concerned with short-term interventions, and often does not consider wider teaching contexts. We propose several areas of further research, including methodological implications for the field of video game and educational research

[In Press] Why and how to define educational video games?

While the volume of education-based video game research has increased, the field has yet to settle on a consistent definition of educational video games (EVGs). Available definitions of video games do not account for the nuances of games used within education and have not been developed for that purpose. Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses have concluded that the lack of standardized definition is critically hampering a cohesive approach to research in this area. This article begins by reviewing the current scholarship on video game definitions and then suggests a definition for EVGs to improve research outcomes in the field. Given that the major potential of video game use in education is to improve learning, we advocate that educational research scholarship needs to develop a common foundational approach to defining EVG and associated educational technologies. We hope that this definition will advance the field by suggesting a common language and operationalization of EVGs

Each One Teach One: An Evaluation of Learning Ground Mt Druitt

This report provides the results of an evaluation conducted of Learning Ground Mt Druitt. Learning Ground provides community-based development and behaviour change programs to the most culturally diverse and disadvantaged families and youth in the Mt Druitt area of NSW. The chief purpose of this evaluation was to investigate whether Learning Ground was achieving its stated service goals and to identify implications and opportunities for improving Learning Ground’s service delivery. The evaluation approach included a critical and detailed review of the content and materials provided in Learning Ground programs. Onsite observations of the delivery of such material were also carried out. A mixed method approach was used. Statistical analysis of surveys distributed to current, previous participants and referring agencies were augmented with thematic analysis of qualitative data gathered through open ended questions in the surveys and focus groups conducted with participants and mentors. Overall, the evaluation found that Learning Ground was very highly regarded by participants and stakeholders for the quality of its programs, the outcomes they produce, and its unique community-embedded model of operation and service. Analysis of program content and delivery identified that its effectiveness is based in coherent and appropriate theories of human development, a relational pedagogy of engagement, volunteer training and community empowerment