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Education plays a pivotal role in alleviating poverty, driving economic growth, and empowering individuals, thereby significantly influencing societal and personal development. However, the persistent issue of school dropout poses a significant challenge, with its effects extending beyond the individual. While previous research has employed machine learning for dropout classification, these studies often suffer from a short-term focus, relying on data collected only a few years into the study period. This study expanded the modeling horizon by utilizing a 13-year longitudinal dataset, encompassing data from kindergarten to Grade 9. Our methodology incorporated a comprehensive range of parameters, including students' academic and cognitive skills, motivation, behavior, well-being, and officially recorded dropout data. The machine learning models developed in this study demonstrated notable classification ability, achieving a mean area under the curve (AUC) of 0.61 with data up to Grade 6 and an improved AUC of 0.65 with data up to Grade 9. Further data collection and independent correlational and causal analyses are crucial. In future iterations, such models may have the potential to proactively support educators' processes and existing protocols for identifying at-risk students, thereby potentially aiding in the reinvention of student retention and success strategies and ultimately contributing to improved educational outcomes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Major streams in mental health nursing in undergraduate nursing programs were introduced in Australia as a strategy to address current and projected workforce shortages. Of the 14 programs originally planned or implemented, only five are continuing., Design and Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted involving in-depth interviews with representatives of universities that had ceased the major streams or abandoned plans to introduce them., Findings: Significant themes from interview material on abandoned programs were efficient use of resources, expertise, and problems with registration. On the programs now terminated significant themes were viability and commitment to mental health nursing., Practice Implications: These findings suggest demonstrable and sustainable commitment to mental health nursing is a precursor to success of major streams and advancement of the mental health nursing specialty., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Aims and Objectives: To explore the perspectives of nursing directors in mental health in Queensland, Australia, regarding the skills and attributes of graduates of comprehensive nursing programme to provide an industry perspective and thus augment knowledge from theoretical and professional dimensions., Background: There is a worldwide shortage of appropriately qualified nurses with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to work effectively in mental health services. Within Australia, this has been well documented since the introduction of comprehensive nursing education. The underrepresentation of mental health content in undergraduate curricula has been identified as the primary reason for nursing graduates not being adequately prepared for practice in this field. To date, this issue has primarily been addressed from the perspective of university academics, with the voice of industry relatively silent in the published literature., Design: Qualitative exploratory., Method: In-depth telephone interviews with Director of Nursing (Mental Health) in Queensland, Australia., Results: The concerns of participants were expressed in six main themes: (1) foundational knowledge of mental health and disorders, (2) recovery-oriented skills, (3) physical as well as mental health skills, (4) therapeutic strategies, (5) resilience and self-development and (6) advanced knowledge and skills., Conclusions: The education of comprehensive nursing education needs to be reviewed as a matter of priority to ensure graduates with the attributes required to provide high-quality care for consumers of mental health services., Relevance to Clinical Practice: A skilled and knowledgeable workforce is an essential component of high-quality mental health services. Research highlighting the current deficits and issues is therefore of the highest priority., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)