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This study assessed the degree of equivalence between paper and Internet administration of three measures of panic and agoraphobia-related cognition and behavior: Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ), and Mobility Inventory (MI). Participants were 110 people with panic disorder who had registered for an Internet-based treatment program in Sweden (n = 54) or Australia (n = 56). Participants were randomly assigned to complete the questionnaires via the differing administration formats in a counterbalanced order. Results showed broadly equivalent psychometric properties across administrations, with strong significant intraclass correlations between them, and comparable Cronbach's alpha coefficients. A significant mean difference between administration formats was found for the BSQ only. In contrast to previous research, Internet administration did not generate higher scores than paper administration. No effect was found for order of administration. The findings suggest that each questionnaire can be validly administered via the Internet and used with confidence.

Existing studies on language learner emotions mainly focus on Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) and Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE). They are primarily conducted in offline learning settings. This paper reports the empirical findings of an exploratory investigation conducted in a fully synchronous online learning environment for "ab initio" Korean. Through an Achievement Emotions Questionnaire administered to 117 students in an Australian university, this study measures learners' pride as well as their enjoyment and anxiety during four teaching weeks. In addition, this paper examines how learner emotions correlate with academic achievement as well as crucial learner and teacher variables. The study confirms many patterns of learner emotions in offline teaching environments, such as the association of positive emotions with positive outcomes and with some teacher characteristics, and the association of anxiety with negative outcomes. However, it also reveals patterns that appear to be new, warranting further empirical studies. The pedagogical implications of results for L2 teaching and learning are also discussed.

Background: Diabetes related foot ulcer (DFU) is a leading cause of impaired quality of life, disability, hospitalisation, amputation and mortality in people with diabetes. It is therefore critical that podiatrists across all settings, including community settings, are confident and capable of providing care for diabetes-related foot complications. This study aims to describe current practice, confidence and anxiety levels of community podiatrists in the management of patients with foot ulceration. Furthermore, current barriers to service provision and interest in future educational opportunities will also be explored., Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was distributed to Australian community podiatrists. Descriptive variables including gender, age, professional experience, practice location and practise setting were elicited. A modified competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) was utilised to measure anxiety related to managing a foot ulcer. Other questions included a combination of multiple choice and open-ended free-text responses relating to assessment, confidence and referral pathways., Results: One hundred and twenty-two Australian community-based podiatrists responded to the survey. A variety of ulcer sizes and complexity were reported to be managed in community settings. Confidence in DFU management was high in most manual skill domains including: stabilisation of the foot (85.7%, standard deviation [SD] 17.42), scalpel control (83.0%, SD 20.02), debridement with a scalpel (82.7%, SD 18.19) and aseptic technique (81.0%, SD 18.62, maintaining integrity of healthy tissue (77.3%, SD 21.11), removal of appropriate tissue (75.6%, SD 22.53), depth of ulceration (73.7%, SD 23.99) and ability to manage messy wounds (69.1%, SD 26.04). Curette debridement had substantially lower levels of reported confidence (41.0%, SD 34.24). Performance anxiety was low with somatic and cognitive anxiety of 6/24 and 3/8 on the CSAI-2, respectively., Conclusion: Community podiatrists are managing foot ulcers of varying size and complexity. Confidence and anxiety do not pose a barrier to care. Adherence to wound assessment clinical guidelines is low and confidence with the use of curette was sub-optimal. Further educational programs may overcome these barriers and support shared models of care between community and acute podiatry services., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Foot and Ankle Research published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Podiatry Association and The Royal College of Podiatry.)

Background and Aims: Alcohol use and anxiety often co-occur, causing increased severity impairment. This protocol describes a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to test the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a web-based, self-guided alcohol and anxiety-focused program, compared with a web-based brief alcohol-focused program, for young adults who drink at hazardous levels and experience anxiety. It will also test moderators and mechanisms of change underlying the intervention effects., Design: This RCT will be conducted with a 1:1 parallel group., Setting: The study will be a web-based trial in Australia., Participants: Individuals aged 17-30 years who drink alcohol at hazardous or greater levels and experience at least mild anxiety (n = 500) will be recruited through social media, media (TV, print) and community networks., Intervention and Comparator: Participants will be randomly allocated to receive a web-based, integrated alcohol-anxiety program plus technical and motivational telephone/e-mail support (intervention) or a web-based brief alcohol-feedback program (control)., Measurements: Clinical measures will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention (2 months), 6 months (primary end-point), 12 months and 18 months. Co-primary outcomes are hazardous alcohol consumption and anxiety symptom severity. Secondary outcomes are binge-drinking frequency; alcohol-related consequences; depression symptoms; clinical diagnoses of alcohol use or anxiety disorder (at 6 months post-intervention), health-care service use, educational and employment outcomes; and quality of life. Mediators and moderators will also be assessed. Efficacy will be tested using mixed models for repeated measures within an intention-to-treat framework. The economic evaluation will analyze individual-level health and societal costs and outcomes of participants between each trial arm, while mediation models will test for mechanisms of change., Comments: This will be the first trial to test whether a developmentally targeted, web-based, integrated alcohol-anxiety intervention is effective in reducing hazardous alcohol use and anxiety severity among young adults. If successful, the integrated alcohol-anxiety program will provide an accessible intervention that can be widely disseminated to improve wellbeing of young adults, at minimal cost., (© 2024 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.)

This quasi-experimental research design surveyed 688 students through a self-administered online survey to specifically explore relations between student self-assessed capabilities (Lizzio Five Senses, 2006), overall program satisfaction, withdrawal behaviours, demographics and year of study in their university courses during an emergency COVID-19 lockdown experience. Importantly, this research offers a more nuanced view of the "Five Senses" and confirms their importance as a university strategy for student success. These findings offer further granularity into the complex set of relations that impact decisions around satisfaction, persistence, and capability in higher education and support previous research by Lizzio and Wilson (2008) indicating students' perceptions of "purpose" is the strongest predictor of satisfaction, lower anxiety and lower course withdrawal. Ultimately, the paper suggests as higher education looks towards future possible disruptions due to climate, health or political realities, equipping and fostering a strong sense of purpose, connectedness, and resourcefulness as well as sense of capability and academic culture will buffer and support students to persevere. In addition, this research suggests that those students who may have weak associations with these senses merit additional attention.

This paper reports on a study that replaced marks with digital badges in an undergraduate Initial Teacher Education course. The aim was to examine the impact of badging on students, and on the quality of university provision. Data collection consisted of surveys and focus groups. The study found that while digital badges had considerable potential to improve the student experience in terms of engagement with feedback, motivation and reducing 'grade anxiety', delaying the awarding of marks caused significant student anxiety. The effect on university provision was more positive, and digital badges promoted constructive alignment between university-based assessment tasks and external professional standards frameworks. The student findings pointed to an underlying tension associated with implementing student-centred, outcomes-based assessment methods in contexts designed to accommodate traditional high-stakes assessment. Five recommendations for future practice were made: (1) Remove marks altogether where digital badges are used; (2) Do not substitute written feedback with digital badges; (3) Developing a badge framework is important for both students and staff; (4) Inform students about what to expect; (5) Develop a 'Badge Tree'.

A caring school community can enhance whole-school wellbeing including the wellbeing of school staff, which directly impacts on student academic, social and emotional wellbeing. This study firstly examines the validity and reliability of a proposed wholeschool staff wellbeing evaluation tool which uses a set of whole-school wellbeing indicators to identify strengths and areas for improvement within the school environment which may be impacting on staff wellbeing. Secondly, the association between factors found within the whole-school staff wellbeing tool with staff self-reported mental health are examined, and finally, the influence of person characteristics and role of factors on perceived whole-school staff wellbeing are determined. Cross-sectional data were collected from 801 school staff from six non-government schools in Australia as part of the School Staff Wellbeing Project. Results confirmed and validated the hypothesised structure of the whole-school staff wellbeing evaluation tool with staff relationships (leadership, staff), staff engagement (active, supported), staff emotional wellbeing (supported through policies and opportunities) and school climate (culture and values) found to be significant predictors of mental health. Prioritising resources to building supportive staff relationships, school climate, and providing opportunities to promote staff emotional wellbeing, were found to have the greatest impact on staff mental health. Characteristics such as age, gender, education, role, and length of time working in schools predicted perceptions of the whole-school's general wellbeing. The whole-school staff wellbeing evaluation tool provides a useful screening and self-evaluation measure to identify whole-school staff wellbeing strengths and areas for improvement in staff wellbeing.

Purpose: Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an integral part of hospitality curriculums in Australia. Experiencing stress during WIL is expected, as students try to balance work and other responsibilities. Previous studies have usually examined the negative impact of stress on individuals. By referring to relevant theories, this paper argues the positive impact of stress and reports on a study which aimed to investigate whether stress -- experienced by students during WIL -- leads to resilience and well-being. Design/methodology/approach: Hospitality students from different backgrounds enrolled at a tertiary institution completed an online survey. This study uses structural equation modelling (SEM), to test the proposed links between stress, resilience and well-being. Findings: The study results show that "academic pressure" (mean score = 3.57) is the most common stressor identified by hospitality students. This was followed by stress caused by "time pressure" (mean score = 3.01). Model testing reveals that experiencing "career development concerns" has a statistically significant association with resilience. Moreover, there is a strong link ([Beta] = 0.624) between resilience and well-being. Originality/value: This study makes a contribution by proposing positive outcomes related to stress during WIL. A handful of studies have looked at similar concepts. However, this paper uses statistical techniques to measure and analyse relationships between different variables. By running an SEM, the authors were able to test a linear causal relationship which identifies stressors leading to a significant impact on resilience. Similarly, the strength of relationship between resilience and well-being is also empirically tested.

Purpose: From 2018, the Schools Up North (SUN) programme worked with three remote Australian schools to enhance their capability and resilience to support the wellbeing and mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff. This paper explores the implementation of SUN during the first two years of COVID-19 (2020-2021). Method: Using grounded theory methods, school staff, other service providers and SUN facilitators were interviewed, with transcripts and programme documents coded and interrelationships between codes identified. An implementation model was developed. Results: The SUN approach was place-based, locally informed and relational, fostering school resilience through staff reflection on and response to emerging contextual challenges. Challenges were the: community lockdowns and school closures; (un)availability of other services; community uncertainty and anxiety; school staff capability and wellbeing; and risk of educational slippage. SUN strategies were: enhancing teachers' capabilities and resources, facilitating public health discussions, and advocating at regional level. Outcomes were: enhanced capability of school staff; greater school-community engagement; student belonging and engagement; a voice for advocacy; and continuity of SUN's momentum. Conclusions: The resilience approach (rather than specific strategies) was critical for building schools' capabilities for promoting students and staff wellbeing and provides an exemplar for remote schools globally.

Inclusive policies in early childhood classrooms have in recent decades become mainstream [UNESCO. 1994. "The UNESCO Salamanca statement and framework for action on special educational needs." Paris: UNESCO]. Inclusive practices however are far from ideal [Slee, R. 2013. "How do we make inclusive education happen when exclusion is a political predisposition?" "International Journal of Inclusive Education" 17 (8): 895-907; Grace, R, G. Llewellyn, N. Wedgwood, M. Fenech, and D. McConnell. 2008. "Far From Ideal: Everyday Experiences of Mothers and Early Childhood Professionals Negotiating an Inclusive Early Childhood Experience in the Australian Context." "Topics in Early Childhood Special Education" 28 (1): 18-31] and although children with disabilities are often welcomed into early childhood classrooms, the dominant discourses that circulate continue to position them as different and as Other [Watson, K. 2017. "Inside the 'inclusive' early childhood classroom: The power of the 'normal'." New York: Peter Lang]. To build on our understanding of contemporary inclusive practices, an awareness of the complexities of the knowledge that informs practice is central. Some appreciation of the contribution made by historical discourses to the contemporary construction of disability in the classroom is necessary [Barnes, C. 2014. "A brief history of discrimination and disabled people." http://repositoriocdpd.net:8080/bitstream/handle/123456789/495/CL_BarnesC_BriefHistoryDiscrimination_1991.pdf?sequence = 1]. This ethnographic research, employing observation and conversations among children, brings into focus how remnants from the past affect everyday encounters in the classroom as deeply embedded fears and anxieties continue to circulate around disability. Seldom made visible, rarely talked about or openly challenged, bygone relics permeate the way educators and children position children with a disability as a comparison to the norm, hindering inclusivity. This paper aims to bring into focus how fear affects the way disability is positioned in our early childhood classrooms, fear that leads to exclusions, separation, and Othering. Recognition of the past and scrutiny of the fear that lingers provides some promise for inclusive practice.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on poverty, schooling and research and to tease out and discuss some of the concepts that this kind of writing and research work provokes. We frame the issue, briefly introduce each paper and then discuss "keywords" in four sections: living/knowledge, justice/connection, weakness/education, and affect/anxiety.

This paper presents a compilation of personal reflections from 66 contributors on the impact of, and responses to, COVID-19 in accounting education in 45 different countries around the world. It reveals a commonality of issues, and a variability in responses, many positive outcomes, including the creation of opportunities to realign learning and teaching strategies away from the comfort of traditional formats, but many more that are negative, primarily relating to the impact on faculty and student health and well-being, and the accompanying stress. It identifies issues that need to be addressed in the recovery and redesign stages of the management of this crisis, and it sets a new research agenda for studies in accounting education.

In December 2019, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released the latest results of its triennial Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) testing. What followed was a flurry of media reports in the participant countries about the 2018 PISA results that were interpretive rather than descriptive. Whilst there is a considerable body of literature describing PISA's impact on education policies, there are fewer studies that examine how PISA data is presented to the public by the media and how this contributes to the construction of policy truths. As part of a broader study of policy landscapes in the Asia Pacific region, this paper provides a critical analysis of the mediatisation of the 2018 PISA results in Australia and Singapore. It will be demonstrated that in Australia, much of the reporting was characterised by panic, whereas in Singapore the reporting was much more measured, exhibiting a stoicism. Drawing on a corpus of articles published in Australian and Singaporean newspapers in December 2019, and informed by the work of Michel Foucault, the analysis will make visible how dominant discourses used by the media operated as regimes of truth to advance neoliberal imperatives.

Since "Courting the Blues" was published by Kelk, Luscombe, Medlow and Hickie in 2009, legal educators across Australia have been measuring psychological distress in law students, as well as implementing and evaluating strategies to support students' well-being. This paper reports on initiatives implemented at the Newcastle Law School in 2012 designed to reduce performance anxiety around a compulsory first year mooting assessment, and the implementation of a self-management curriculum underpinned by the fruits of research in self-determination theory in 2013, involving a partnership between legal academics and professional colleagues from the University Counselling Service. In particular, the paper will analyse the use of the My Journey transition resource, input on growth mindset, reflective practice, resilience training, and practical mindfulness as strategies to support well-being of law students.

There is an ever-increasing focus on the importance of addressing the mental health of students across the higher education sector. Measuring psychological distress or symptoms of common mental disorders as a proxy for mental health does however provide a limited picture of someone's mental health status. There is a need to comprehensively measure mental health via outcomes of psychological distress combined with "positive" and "adaptive" states of mental health such as mental wellbeing and resilience. This paper describes a study of 905 students in which an online mental health and wellbeing platform was used to measure the mental health of students, all the while providing realtime individual reports to each individual student. The data provides evidence of high levels of psychological distress (i.e. anxiety) and low levels of mental wellbeing and resilience in students, relative to population norms, with merely 18.6% of students demonstrating optimal scores on all outcomes. Contrary to predictions we found no evidence of poorer wellbeing amongst international students when compared to domestic students. The results indicate that complimenting measurement of distress with measurement of positive and adaptive states can more comprehensively capture the precarious mental status of our tertiary students. Providing this measurement in a scalable and targeted way provides universities and its students the opportunity to provide and use mental health interventions based on the needs of particular cohorts of students, moving beyond resource-intense but intermittent or untargeted approaches to intervention.

The language of mathematics is unique and complex. One feature of the mathematical register is the use of symbols and abbreviations. Whilst it may be possible for a student to think mathematically in the absence of symbols, the written communication of mathematical ideas cannot be achieved concisely without the use of mathematical symbols. Further, it is possible that the fear and dislike of algebra can be attributed to the failure to understand fully the symbols inherent in this area of mathematics. This paper examines some of the complexities of the symbolic aspects of mathematical language, where possible using the 2010 National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) (ACARA, 2010) numeracy test items as examples. The paper begins by clarifying the meaning of mathematical symbols and abbreviations. (Contains 1 table.)

Recruiting and retaining practitioners to rural and remote locations is a challenge for many industries including health and education. The medical, nursing and teaching professions have utilized immersion experiences for trainees and students to better prepare them and to address workforce shortages in crosscultural and underserved areas. This paper describes the steps taken to improve an immersion experience for medical students and evaluates the impact of these improvements. The University of Notre Dame's School of Medicine requires all second year medical students to undertake the Kimberley Remote Area Health Placement Program (hereinafter the "Program"). The Program provides opportunities to learn life skills required for remote area living via an immersion experience in which students live with, and do useful non-clinical work for, a host community or organization for one week in a remote area in Western Australia. A series of preparatory and post-immersion activities (including film viewing, debating and site visits) are provided to prepare students for the experience. In 2009, the "style and format" in which these activities were delivered was changed in response to student feedback. The changes comprised altering the format of the Program Handbook from an information repository to a workbook equipping students with critical thinking frameworks such as: de Bono's Six Thinking Hats (1992) and graphic organizers to facilitate reflection on preparatory and post-immersion activities. All changes were based on humanistic, cognitive and constructivist approaches to learning. These changes were followed by improvements in students' perceptions of several activities. Activities preparing students to undertake and reflect on a cultural immersion experience involve student engagement in active learning and critical thinking. Educators involved in preparing students for placements in other underserved, culturally and/or geographically diverse settings may employ these approaches to learning and adapt the activities described in this paper as suited to the needs of their particular professional group.

This paper explores existing evidence on indicators of risk to the mental health status of Chinese students studying in Australian universities prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies published from January 1999 to January 2020 were considered. Findings indicated that Chinese students routinely report increased levels of fear, stress, anxiety, depression and social problems, as well as decreased levels of general well-being, while studying in Australia. Numerous factors may exacerbate the issues confronted by Chinese university students studying in Australia, including language barriers; social, academic and financial difficulties; challenges associated with the different education systems of the two countries; and their own underuse of available mental health services. Recommendations for further practice and research are presented based on these findings.

Anonymous student evaluation of teaching (SET) is a universal practice in higher education. We conducted a mixed-methods approach to investigate the nature and impact of anonymous SET commentary in the Australian higher education sector. Respondents shared a range of detailed SET exemplars, which revealed the extent of hurtful, defamatory and abusive commentary made by students. This paper reports the self-perceived impact of these on the health and wellbeing of academics. The majority of respondents reported that anonymous narrative comments contributed to workplace stress. There were no significant differences for gender. Younger academics were more likely to report the process of SET as stressful. Four themes were identified from the narrative responses: stress, distress, disorder and coping. These themes highlight the mental distress and impacts on well-being from repeated exposure to uncivil commentary made in SET by students. This distress was exacerbated by the failure of many employing universities to take substantial action to remedy or limit exposure to uncivil behaviour. The current system of anonymous SET has little validity and instead may operate as a vehicle for unfettered incivility directed towards teaching staff. The mental health impacts are significant for some and may impact the recruitment, retention and renewal of academic teaching staff into the future.

The limited evidence regarding disaster-related environmental education programs for children indicates that these programs can increase disaster resilience and family preparedness activities, and reduce children's fear and anxiety. However, the literature lacks qualitative studies to provide insights into children's experiences of disaster education programs, the programs' influence on citizenship opportunities in disaster risk environments, and follow-ups with children impacted by actual disasters. This paper reports on a pilot study in Victoria, Australia, of the Survive and Thrive program, an environmental education program delivered by the local fire brigade and incorporated into the school curricula for upper primary school children in Anglesea, a coastal town rated as having an extreme risk of bushfires. A mix of longitudinal qualitative methods captured children's experiences and the program's impact on child agency. The results showed that the children enjoyed the Survive and Thrive program and valued the life skills they acquired. The children demonstrated knowledge and skills gained in monitoring environmental risks and bushfire behavior, as well as a more nuanced understanding of the different civic roles of adults and children in responding to a bushfire in different contexts. Faced with the reality of a nearby bushfire during the summer holidays, children demonstrated their capacity for critical thinking and application of their knowledge to support appropriate action.

The paper describes a study revealing a number of factors that influence how Bachelor of Education students perceive assessment. These factors include personal histories, student teacher relationships, opportunities for personalisation and deep learning, notions of relevance, and anxiety issues. "Personal histories", as a term used to describe students' previous experiences, provided participants with an experiential reference point for thinking and talking about aspects of the assessment process. However, the learning and assessment context together with individual motivations, rather than personal histories, seemed to determine the learning approach adopted. The paper is likely to be of interest to those involved in designing assessments for training teachers.

Like most other parts of the Australian public sector, Australian universities have been required to do more with less over the past decade. A key strategy in reducing costs has been the increased casualisation of teaching. This paper uses a hard/soft model of Human Resource Management as a framework within which to argue that increased casualisation of university teaching has increased the emotional labour associated with casual teaching. The intensification of emotional labour is usually accompanied by increased workplace stress. Furthermore, this emotional labour is neither recognised nor valued by university managers, hence it is unremunerated. This paper briefly reviews the concept of emotional labour and then identifies a range of issues that are contributing to the intensification of the emotional labour that is being performed by casual teaching staff. The paper concludes with a call for a more systematic investigation of the issues identified here.

Objective: The current study aimed to provide a preliminary evaluation of two universal school-based prevention programs, Emotion Regulation (ER) and Behavioral Activation (BA), by increasing resilience to manage excessive worry, a transdiagnostic feature across anxiety and depression., Method: Primary school children (N = 295; 52.5% female; 8-13 years) from five Australian schools were cluster randomized to an ER, BA or usual class control condition. Outcome measures included resilience, worry, anxiety, and depression symptomology; ER and BA were measured as potential mediators. Participants completed measures at pre- and postprogram, and at 6-month follow-up., Results: Children in the BA condition showed increased resilience at 6 months. Expressive suppression mediated the effects of both programs on worry., Conclusion: The current study aimed to provide a preliminary evaluation of two universal school-based prevention programs, ER and BA, by increasing resilience to manage excessive worry, a transdiagnostic feature across anxiety and depression., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

This paper stems from research in Australia examining pre-service teacher and mentor teacher experiences on the practicum. The paper focuses on findings from the research, highlighting the tendency among the pre-service teachers to either valorise or demonise their mentor teachers, reflective of what we describe, following Kristeva and Britzman, as their powerful need to believe. The paper draws on psychoanalytic theory in order gain insights into this process, viewing the pre-service teachers' accounts of their mentors as fantasies that serve a stabilising function in order to manage the intense emotional demands of schools and classrooms. The paper concludes with considerations of how teacher educators might ameliorate the ideality of novice teachers, reflecting the insistence of the imaginary, and hence enable them to benefit more from the practicum experience. We briefly suggest the use of tools that work within the symbolic register to exercise a mediating role in the context of these intense demands.

National Assessment Program for Numeracy and Literacy (NAPLAN) is the national assessment programme for literacy and numeracy in Australia administered to children in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 each year. The testing process was introduced in 2008 and is described by the developers as low stakes, however, research has highlighted that this is not the case. This paper examines the perceptions of teachers in the early years of school on the impact NAPLAN has on wellbeing of stakeholders, and the pedagogy and curriculum in early years teachers' classrooms. Through focus group interviews, the early childhood teachers in 10 independent Western Australian school sites were asked about their experiences of NAPLAN in terms of their wellbeing and that of the children and families with whom they interact. Findings highlight that early years teachers describe that the impact of NAPLAN is felt in the lower years of school by all stakeholders-parents, children and teachers. This study highlights the need for additional research in this area, particularly in diverse settings, to gain evidence of impact that could inform the practice of the NAPLAN testing programme.

Operating within a neoliberal education reform context, performativity and teaching in schools has been a focus of study for a number of years. However, less is known about the effects of performativity on teaching and curriculum in the early childhood (preschool) context. Making a case for the intensification of performativity in Australian early childhood education, this paper reports on findings from a doctoral study and draws on research literature from the past fourteen years to illustrate how performative measures have increasingly affected teaching and curriculum. The way that performativity has intensified is discussed in three chronological phases, performativity emerging, consolidating and normalised. Teacher interview transcripts and curricular related policies were analysed using critical discourse analysis and Ranson's typology of accountability regimes. Findings reveal that early childhood teachers have different ways of responding to performativity, with the teacher featured in this paper displaying three types of performative accountability: anxiety, confidence, and disregard. An implication arising from this paper's findings illustrates how the effects of performativity on teaching and curriculum can be complex, contradictory and at times, unintended.

This paper examines the impact of a series of design changes to an online mathematics education course in terms of transactional distance between learner and teachers, pre-service education students' attitudes towards mathematics, and their development of mathematical pedagogical knowledge. Transactional distance theory (TDT) was utilised to investigate and describe the interactions among course structure, course dialogue and student autonomy in an online course over a two-year period. Findings indicate that Web 2.0 technologies, when used thoughtfully by teachers, can afford high levels of structure and dialogue. Feedback from pre-service teachers indicated an improved attitude towards mathematics and an increase in their mathematical pedagogical content knowledge. These findings have implications for universities moving towards the delivery of teacher education courses entirely online.

The experience of precarious employment is growing across the occupational spectrum and some scholars have predicted that there will be a corresponding rise in anger, anomie, anxiety and alienation amongst those affected. Exploring more intimately how precarity might be differently experienced and confronted, this paper bases itself on a dialogue between "Bethan", an underemployed youth looking for full-time employment and me, a university-sponsored academic advisor in a disadvantaged suburb in Sydney approaching the end of my fixed-term contract. From our very different positions, we reflect on our respective experiences of the employment market; the promises of formal education; and against the backdrop of the present reality, our feelings about the future. Drawing on the work of Erich Fromm and Bethan's approach to life hitherto, this paper also offers a reconsideration of what it means to be "productive" in the face of unemployment and uncertainty.

This paper investigates the possible influence of attitude on seven Year 11 students' use of a Computer Algebra System (CAS) during a class activity where students could choose to use CAS or pen-and-paper in solving a range of problems. Investigation of anxiety, confidence, liking and usefulness through a survey and interview revealed that these components of attitude could influence whether or not a student chose to use CAS. One student, who had a positive attitude towards CAS, made extensive use of CAS in solving given problems. This suggested that, in this case, the student's positive attitude towards CAS may have positively influenced her use of CAS. The potential impact of attitude on CAS use has implications for students studying in a school system where CAS is expected to be used in mathematics.

Background: Anxiety and depressive disorders typically emerge in adolescence and can be chronic and disabling if not identified and treated early. School-based universal mental health screening may identify young people in need of mental health support and facilitate access to treatment. However, few studies have assessed the potential harms of this approach. This paper examines some of the potential mental health-related harms associated with the universal screening of anxiety and depression administered in Australian secondary schools. Methods: A total of 1802 adolescent students from 22 secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia, were cluster randomised (at the school level) to receive either an intensive screening procedure (intervention) or a light touch screening procedure (control). Participants in the intensive screening condition received supervised self-report web-based screening questionnaires for anxiety, depression and suicidality with the follow-up care matched to their symptom severity. Participants in the light touch condition received unsupervised web-based screening for anxiety and depression only, followed by generalised advice on help-seeking. No other care was provided in this condition. Study outcomes included the increased risk of anxiety, depression, psychological distress, decreased risk of help-seeking, increased risk of mental health stigma, determined from measures assessed at baseline, 6 weeks post-baseline, and 12 weeks post-baseline. Differences between groups were analysed using mixed effect models. Results: Participants in the intensive screening group were not adversely affected when compared to the light touch screening condition across a range of potential harms. Rather, participants in the intensive screening group were found to have a decreased risk of inhibited help-seeking behaviour compared to the light touch screening condition. Conclusions: The intensive screening procedure did not appear to adversely impact adolescents' mental health relative to the light touch procedure. Future studies should examine other school-based approaches that may be more effective and efficient than universal screening for reducing mental health burden among students. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12618001539224) https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=375821. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Emotional distress, which includes stress, anxiety and depression, is considered a substantial mental health problem among university students because of its effects on academic achievement and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to examine levels of emotional distress, self-esteem, social support and coping methods and predicted emotional distress in undergraduate students across year levels in two semesters. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a regional university with 117 and 118 students, respectively, the majority of whom were from the Faculty of Science. Announcements posted on the university website in two semesters were used to recruit convenience samples of participants who completed a battery of four self-administered questionnaires online. Findings: Findings showed significant differences across year levels for emotional distress total (F(2, 107)=3.90, p=0.02), and social support total (F(2, 107)=3.57, p=0.03), especially in semester 1. Almost all maladaptive coping approaches led to risk of heightened emotional distress in both semester cohorts, ranging from using self-distraction (adjusted OR=4.54) to denial (adjusted OR=32.05). Interestingly, the use of active coping and high self-esteem appeared as risk factors rather than protective factors for mental distress, adjusted ORs=11.27 and 8.46, respectively. Originality/value: Although adaptive coping skills did not alleviate students' mental distress, encouraging students to use adaptive coping and social support may help students face the challenges of university life.

The education of healthcare professionals is critical for the safe delivery of services to patients (Ricciardi & de Paolis, 2014). Postgraduate psychology students undertaking a professional degree encounter a steep learning curve when transitioning from theoretical knowledge to professional practice. This beginning student stage of development is fraught with anxiety and high-stress levels, and has implications for both student and client wellbeing (Skovholt & Ronnestad, 2003). Successful navigation of this phase is critical to psychology graduate competence and employability, with potentially lasting consequences for psychologists' perceptions of self-efficacy and career trajectory (De Stefano et al., 2007; Skovholt & Ronnestad, 2003). Serious games in health provide the potential for safe practice opportunities in an engaging and entertaining manner (Hawn, 2009; Knight et al., 2010). The author developed a serious game with the intention of providing postgraduate professional psychology students with increased and more convenient opportunity to practice psychological competencies. This paper synthesises game design theory into a prototype for educators to provide innovative solutions in a health context. It contributes to the body of research determining the efficacy of games in educational contexts and advances knowledge in the use of simulation pedagogies.

'Asian whiz kids' perfect test scores.' 'Selective schools and tiger parents.' These types of headlines highlight the increased visibility of academically successful students from Asian migrant backgrounds, in Australia and other Western countries. They also point to anxiety about the perceived aggressive 'tiger' parenting often associated with Asian academic success. This paper focuses on the forms of everyday multiculturalism found in and around high-performing selective schools and classes in Sydney, Australia, almost all of which are dominated by Asian-Australian students. Drawing on interviews with parents and students from Anglo- and Asian-Australian backgrounds, it documents the different positionalities adopted by participants within these culturally diverse settings, including anger, aspiration and cosmopolitanism. This potentially volatile combination of approaches to diversity reveals some of the social consequences of neoliberal migration and education policies.

Skydivers are required to interpret person-context characteristics to overcome inherent internal challenges (i.e., fear and anxiety) and external challenges (i.e., equipment malfunctions) to successfully perform. Research suggests that as skydiving experience increases, skydivers' self-confidence in their actions increases, while their perception of risk and anxiety decreases. However, there is a lack of research investigating the influence of experience and considerations of performance in extreme sports. This study examined the influence of skydiving experience on the interpretation of risk perception, anxiety and self-confidence. Participants comprised 503 experienced Australian skydivers (M age  = 40.10, SD age  = 12.40; 79.5 % male). Using a mixed methods approach, skydivers completed measures of risk perceptions, anxiety, and self-confidence related to skydiving, as well as open-ended questions on their skydiving experiences. The findings indicated that increases in jumping experience led to greater self-confidence, and self-confidence mediated the relationship between all elements of jumping experience and cognitive and somatic anxiety associated with skydiving. Thematic analysis reinforced that skydivers understood the inherent risks associated with skydiving, and that skydivers adopted positive strategies that promoted self-confidence and mastery to perform successfully, while also managing their interpretations of risk and associated anxiety that potentially exists. Further research is needed to better understand the interpretation of person-context situations in extreme sports and recognize the important affordances for performance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This paper reports on a project that investigated the first year, online experiences of vocational education and training (VET) pathway students studying at university. It was found that, although some students embraced online learning, more than twenty percent of new VET students suffered from high levels of anxiety and frustration when learning online and more than 40% of students also reported difficulties in balancing work and study. In order to address these problems, this paper presents a reusable solution by introducing these new students to an education technology preparation (ETP) program. Student feedback on the ETP program shows a significant improvement in confidence and attitudes towards learning online. We suggest that online learning offers greater flexibility to time-poor students but only if they are confident and competent users of the online systems. We argue that it is dangerous to assume that all new students have the necessary online skills to study effectively in their first year at university. This leads to two implications. Firstly, in practice, it is crucial to provide new students from the VET sector with a well-designed online learning support program. Secondly, in institutional policy, it is imperative to ensure that such support is adequately resourced.