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BACKGROUND: Teachers' health behaviors and mental well‐being are important for their chronic disease risk and reducing burnout. This study investigates the health‐related behaviors and psychological distress of Australian teachers compared with other occupations. METHODS: Data from the nationally representative Australian National Health Survey (NHS) were analyzed. Employed adults (20‐64 years) from 2014/2015 (n = 8455), 2017/2018 (n = 9130), and 2020/2021 (n = 5753) survey waves were included. Logistic regression, adjusted for demographics, compared health‐related behaviors (eg, physical activity, diet), and psychological distress among teachers, nonteacher professionals (NTPs; eg, accountants, doctors), and other general occupations (eg, laborers, beauticians). RESULTS: After adjusting for demographics and survey wave, teachers had similar odds as NTPs for meeting physical activity (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.90‐1.41), vegetable intake (OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.52‐1.00), and alcohol consumption (OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.83‐1.22) guidelines. However, teachers exhibited higher psychological distress (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.01‐1.75). Elevated psychological distress levels were observed in all groups in 2020/2021, compared with pre‐COVID‐19. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with NTPs, teachers showed similar or better health‐related behaviors, although teachers had higher levels of psychological distress. School executives and policymakers need to implement sustainable measures to prioritise teachers' mental wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two hundred ninety-eight primary teachers (88% female) from across all Australian states and territories reported on the frequency with which they implemented instructional adaptations for struggling writers in their classrooms. They also rated their preparation and self-efficacy for teaching writing. The majority of participating teachers indicated they provided additional instruction on spelling, capitalization and punctuation, and sentence construction at least once a week or more often. Teachers further reported implementing additional minilessons and reteaching strategies and skills, as well as extra instruction on grammar, handwriting, text structure, revising, and planning on a monthly basis or more often. The majority of teachers reported never or only once a year using adaptations to support digital writing. The frequency with which teachers provided extra instruction on spelling, handwriting, text structure, revising, and computer use differed by grade. Only teachers' perceived efficacy to teach writing made a unique and statistically significant contribution to predicting the use of instructional adaptations for writing and adaptations to support digital writing after controlling for teacher and classroom variables., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

High-quality teacher-child relationships and parent-teacher communications have substantial benefits to children's well-being and school functioning. However, more research is needed to understand how parenting self-efficacy influences these relationships. This cross-sequential study investigated the direct associations of parenting self-efficacy with the teacher-child relationship and parent-teacher communication, as well as potential mediation pathways. The present study included a sample of 8152 children who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), a large study with a nationally representative sample of children from two cohorts who were 4 years apart. We used data collected in three waves when participating children were ages 6 years, 8 years, and 10 years. Structural equation modeling was used to test a panel model with parent-reported parenting self-efficacy and parent-teacher communication quality, as well as teacher-reported teacher-child relationship, child behavior difficulties, and child prosocial behaviors at school. Cross-lagged regressions demonstrated that baseline parenting self-efficacy directly and positively linked with the quality of teacher-child relationship and parent-teacher communication 2 years later. Child behavior at school was identified as a mediation pathway between parenting self-efficacy and teacher-child relationship. The same patterns were identified in two waves (Waves 6-8 and Waves 8-10). Limited child gender, parent gender, or cohort differences were observed. The current findings provide initial support that parenting self-efficacy may have spillover effects on school-related factors. The findings have implications both for parenting and school researchers and for child mental health practitioners because one important way to promote parenting self-efficacy is through evidence-based parenting programs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The Parenting and Family Support Centre is partly funded by royalties stemming from published resources of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, which is developed and owned by The University of Queensland (UQ). Royalties are also distributed to the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at UQ and contributory authors of published Triple P resources. Triple P International (TPI) Pty Ltd. is a private company licensed by Uniquest Pty Ltd. on behalf of UQ, to publish and disseminate Triple P worldwide. The authors of this report have no share or ownership of TPI. TPI had no involvement in the study design, or analysis or interpretation of data. Prof Sanders receives royalties from TPI. Dr. Tellegen and Mr. Ma are employees at UQ. Mr. Ma is also a student at UQ., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

In this article, four researchers from Australia and South Africa consider why it is important for primary schools to include both male and female teachers. The authors refute previous calls directed by public and political discourse, for male teachers to enhance boy's educational outcomes or to act as role models or father figures. Instead, the authors present a theoretical framework that justifies calls for male teachers at four levels: the child level, the classroom level, the organizational level, and the societal level. While complex barriers may continue to limit male teacher representation, the authors hope that this interdisciplinary framework might stimulate further international scholarly discussions about the interactions between teacher-gender, education, and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher's lifestyle behaviours are important because they lead to positive health outcomes for teachers themselves and because teachers model behaviour to their students. This cross-sectional study examined the lifestyle behaviours of a large sample of teachers in New South Wales (NSW), Australia and assessed the association between work-related factors and lifestyle behaviours. From February to October 2021, data were collected on the lifestyle behaviours, work-related factors and socio-demographics of primary and secondary school teachers in NSW, via an online survey. Associations between individual work-related factors and lifestyle behaviours were modelled using logistic regression and adjusted for sex, age, number of children and geographic location. Most of our survey sample (n = 1136) were women (75%) and 53% were reported as having overweight or obesity. Only 23% of teachers met the recommended physical activity guidelines, 39% met fruit intake guidelines, 9% met vegetable intake guidelines and 58% met healthy sleep guidelines. Most teachers (78%) met the recommendation of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, 89% were not current smokers, but only 46% met the recommended alcohol consumption guidelines. Hours worked, teaching load, school sector and teacher role were associated with one or more lifestyle behaviours after adjusting for the demographic variables. This study highlights the need for additional support to improve the health-related behaviours of teachers in NSW. Policymakers should recognize the negative impact of high workloads on teachers' health-related behaviours, increasing their risk of chronic disease., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Background: Identifying factors implicated in teachers' well-being and turnover intentions is important for driving research, policy, and practice to better support teachers in their work., Aims: This study examined the role of three job resources (autonomy-supportive leadership, relatedness with colleagues and students) and three job demands (autonomy-thwarting leadership, time pressure, disruptive student behaviour) in relation to teacher well-being (subjective vitality, behavioural engagement, professional growth) and turnover intentions., Sample: Participants were 426 Australian school teachers., Methods: Structural equation modelling was used to examine main associations and interactions among factors. Teachers' characteristics (gender, teaching experience and educational qualification) and personality factors served as controls in all analyses., Results: The job resources were generally positively associated with the well-being factors, whereas time pressure was negatively associated with vitality, but positively associated with behavioural engagement. In addition, relatedness with colleagues and subjective vitality were negatively associated with turnover intentions, whereas the reverse was true for autonomy-thwarting leadership and time pressure. There were no interaction terms retained in the final model., Conclusion: Taken together, findings yield understanding about the salient resources and demands in relation to teachers' well-being and turnover intentions (beyond the role of background characteristics and personality factors)., (© 2023 The Author. British Journal of Educational Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

Purpose: We report findings from a survey of elementary teachers regarding reading instruction. The purpose was to examine teachers' beliefs about how children in the first 7 years of schooling develop reading comprehension skills and to characterize the self-reported practices and strategies they use to support children to comprehend connected text., Method: A web-based survey was used to collect data from 284 Australian elementary teachers about their beliefs and practices regarding reading comprehension instruction. Selected Likert-scale items were aggregated to determine the degree to which participants held "child-centered" or "content-centered" views of reading instruction., Results: Australian elementary school teachers hold a wide range of beliefs about reading instruction, some of which are in direct opposition to each other. Our findings indicate low consensus about what elements of instructional practice are useful in classrooms or how time should be apportioned to different tasks. Commercial programs had significant penetration in schools, and many participants reported using multiple commercial programs, with varying degrees of pedagogical harmony. Participants indicated that their most common source of knowledge about reading instruction was their own personal research, with few nominating university teacher education as a primary source of knowledge or expertise., Conclusions: Little agreement exists within the Australian elementary teacher community regarding the ways that reading skills can and should be taught. There is significant room for teacher practice to have improved theoretical underpinnings and to develop a consistent repertoire of classroom practices aligned with these.

Health literacy (HL) is a critical asset for 21st century learners to possess given its positive impact on health outcomes and educational attainment. Concerningly, HL is an area that primary school teachers report having a lack of understanding, confidence, and ability to teach. The HealthLit4Kids initiative aimed to address this issue through a series of teacher professional development (PD) workshops. To evaluate how teachers experienced the PD, teacher evaluations collected at the completion of each of the workshops were analysed using a mixed methods approach. According to the teachers, the PD had improved their understanding of HL, including how to implement it into their practice. The study also found that the teachers perceived that collaborative practice was a key strength of the programme, and that at the end of the PD, teachers described valuing HL more in their practice. Teachers reported time as a major barrier to them implementing the professional learning and suggested further resources could help to mitigate this barrier. Additional research is required to help substantiate the claims made in this research. This study also highlights the critical need for additional HL resources for primary school teachers., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Health literacy is a critical asset for adolescents to develop given its positive impact on health outcomes. The few studies that have targeted teacher knowledge and attitudes show that teachers themselves find it difficult to: navigate the multi-modal nature of health information; critically evaluate the different modes and texts; and apply health-related information in a variety of contexts. This research study aimed to address this issue through developing and implementing a teacher professional development (PD) programme for three Australian secondary schools and nine Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers to improve health literacy, particularly critical health literacy, content and pedagogies embedded in current HPE programmes. Fifteen HPE programmes were analysed using Nutbeam's health literacy hierarchy and the Australian Curriculum: HPE outcomes and content, with this analysis informing a personalized PD programme. To evaluate how teachers experienced the personalized PD programme, interviews conducted at the completion of the PD programme were analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic approach. According to the teachers, the PD had improved their knowledge and understanding of the three levels of HL, including how to implement it into their practice. The personalized nature was a key strength of the PD programme as it allowed for changes to be made in a time-efficient manner, a known challenge for teachers. Teachers recommended the provision of additional resources that foster students' critical health literacy levels and an additional session to ensure sustainable changes in planning and teaching practices., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Primary schools have long been identified as appropriate settings for improving the healthy eating behaviours of children and helping them develop food skills. This qualitative study explored the views of Australian primary school parents and teachers about schools' strengths and weaknesses in promoting healthy eating and equipping children with food skills., Methods: Nineteen parents and 17 teachers from Victoria participated in semi-structured interviews. Audio recordings were transcribed and underwent thematic analysis using Nvivo., Results: This study demonstrated that parents and teachers believed that several facilitators helped promote children's healthy eating. These included food and nutrition education (FNE) programs, the community-based nature of schools, and teacher role modelling and the authority schools possess over children. Time scarcity, lack of teacher expertise, lack of leadership and funding were reported as barriers. School food environments such as canteens, lunch orders, fundraising events and school fairs were identified as both weaknesses and strengths by parents and teachers, which indicated inconsistent implementation of school nutrition policies across schools., Conclusions: Australian primary schools demonstrate some useful efforts to promote healthy eating among children. However, there are numerous facilitators and barriers which impact on the promotion of healthy eating. These factors need to be addressed in order to develop healthy eating habits further among elementary students. These results provide directions for policymakers and school managers, as they point to the areas that need to be improved to assist the design of schools that better promote healthy eating among children., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Hitherto, little work has examined the proposition that teachers may simultaneously invest varying degrees of their energetic resources in the teaching and learning environment., Aims: Drawing on a multidimensional, person-centred perspective, the study aimed to identify profiles of teacher engagement, reflecting distinct configurations of teachers' energetic investments, and their generalizability across Canadian and Australian teachers. Additionally, we examined teachers' self-efficacy beliefs as predictors of engagement profile membership and the cross-country generalizability of these relations. We also examined emotional exhaustion (EE) and job satisfaction (JS) as outcomes of profile membership in Canadian and Australian teachers, respectively., Samples: The samples comprised 586 Canadian and 595 Australian teachers., Methods: Data on teachers' multidimensional engagement and teacher self-efficacy were collected in both the Canadian and Australian samples. Additionally, data on Canadian teachers' burnout and Australian teachers' job satisfaction were collected., Results: Latent profile analyses revealed three engagement profiles, representing distinct configurations of teachers' multidimensional energetic investments, which were found to mostly generalize. Additionally, self-efficacy beliefs were found to predict the likelihood of engagement profile membership equally in Canadian and Australian teachers, and EE in Canadian teachers and JS in Australian teachers were found to differ significantly across the profiles., Conclusions: The results of the study constitute among the first evidence that teachers may be differentially engaged in the teaching environment with respect to their distinct energetic investments, and such differential profiles of engagement have differential implications for well-being-related outcomes and can be predicted by their teaching capability beliefs., (© 2021 The British Psychological Society.)

Objectives: To explore the different types of support (e.g., financial, informational) and support providers (e.g., fathers, siblings) in the development of male cricket players across different levels of skill expertise., Methods: A quantitative questionnaire (developed as a part of a broader Australian Research Council Linkage project) assessing support providers and types of support accessed by players was distributed to participants through involvement with a national sporting organisation. Descriptive trends across support types for each provider were explored for the total cohort of athletes, n=1383 (as relative percentages), and community and elite differences were explored using chi-squared analyses (p<0.05)., Results: Mothers and fathers were primary providers of financial and emotional support (>80%), mentors offered meaningful sport-specific informational and technical (or coaching related) support, and siblings and peers played an integral development role in acting as fellow participants for practice and play. Access to coaching emerged as a dominant point of difference between community and elite players consistently across all support providers (p<0.05). Mentors and siblings also featured more frequently for elite players across broader ranges of support factors (p<0.05)., Conclusion: Regardless of level of skill expertise, there were unique context-specific roles that different providers played in supporting cricket players. When differentiating between levels of expertise, elite players drew on more "contact" points to assist them in accessing the right type of coaching. Mentors and siblings also featured more frequently for elite players across a broader range of support factors. Taken together, these findings show that elite players are distinguished in their reliance on multiple components within a complex family system, bolstered by additional significant others. This work further underscores the previously limited exploration of social networks in athlete development, highlighting avenues for continued enquiry and action in sport development systems., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

No public health data exists on elementary teachers' perceptions of both their own fluid intake and of their elementary school aged children's fluid intake. A total of 271 (20 males, 251 females) teachers in developed areas of Australia, Belgium, England, Ireland, United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America completed an online questionnaire (Feb-Mar 2019) on: (i) their fluid intake, (ii) their perception and understanding of children's fluid intake and (iii) barriers in the school day that they felt prevented school children consuming fluids. Overall, the data indicated that teachers consume considerably lower amounts than recommended themselves, but have a good awareness of children's fluid intake and estimate children drink approximately half (1 litre (34% n = 93)) of what is recommended per day. The results were also similar to those reported by children previously. Yet, the data highlighted a lack of active encouragement of drinking water throughout the school day by teachers, with only 11% ( n = 29) suggesting they actively encourage children to drink and 45% ( n = 123) reporting no active encouragement at all. It is recommended as a public health measure that all school children consume an extra cup of water during lunch times in those schools where water intake was recognized as sub optimal. Furthermore, depending on weather conditions, a cup of water before, during and after Physical Education lessons should be encouraged by teachers. Water coolers or bottles may be used as a supplementary resource, provided that hygiene is maintained. From an educational perspective, more professional development needs to be provided to teachers on the importance of regular water consumption, and more time dedicated across the elementary curriculum to educational understanding of fluid consumption., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Student victims of peer bullying ( n = 223) in 25 coeducational Australian schools answered a questionnaire to provide accounts of how their school responded to their requests for help. In addition, respondents indicated how severely they were emotionally impacted by the bullying and whether the bullying was perpetrated by an individual or by a group. The reported outcomes from the intervention indicated that in 67% of cases the bullying stopped or was reduced. In cases where the emotional impact was reported as relatively severe, the school interventions were less successful. In addition, reportedly being bullied relatively often by groups, as distinct from individuals, was independently predictive of a less positive outcome. Among girls, but not boys, younger students reported more satisfactory outcomes. Implications are suggested for more effective interventions in cases of bullying.

Background: An international focus on the inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream schools and the increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has contributed to increasing numbers of students with ASD enrolling in mainstream schools. The school participation restrictions of adolescent students with ASD is widely researched, but less is known about the challenges faced by primary school students with ASD and how early in their schooling these challenges arise., Methods: Focus groups were used to explore the perspectives of parents and educators on the school participation of primary school students with ASD. Focus group data were analysed thematically., Results: Four themes were derived from the data: (1) more than just being there; (2) meeting in the middle; (3) consistency of supports; and (4) embrace difference., Conclusions: Findings from this study highlight that students aged between 6 and 11 years experience school participation restrictions due to a range of intrinsic (e.g., sense of self and school belonging) and extrinsic factors (e.g., school culture, educator knowledge and skills). It is imperative school based interventions are developed and implemented in the early primary years, that not only target students' skills, but the range of environmental enablers and barriers impacting student school participation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Children born extremely preterm (EP: <28 weeks gestation) and/or extremely low birth weight (ELBW: <1000 g) are at increased risk of motor impairment compared with children born at term. Children with motor impairment have lower rates of physical activity (PA) participation compared with their typically developing peers. PA participation is an important outcome for children with motor impairment, however, there is limited evidence available to support interventions that improve PA participation in this population. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility, including the recruitment and retention, acceptability and fidelity, of a preschool dance participation intervention for children born EP/EBLW with motor impairment called Dance PaRticipation intervention for Extremely prEterm children with Motor Impairment at prEschool age., Methods and Analysis: This feasibility case series trial will recruit EP/ELBW children with motor impairment (n=10) from the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study 2016/2017 cohort, a prospective longitudinal cohort study. Up to 10 community-based dance teachers will be recruited and provided with physiotherapy-led training and support to facilitate the participation of EP/ELBW children in community dance classes. A mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) will be used to analyse the primary aim, to determine the feasibility of the intervention from the perspectives of families and dance teachers., Ethics and Dissemination: This study is approved by the Human Research Ethics Committees of The Royal Children's Hospital and The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne. Study outcomes will be disseminated through conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications and social media., Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12619001266156., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Identifying children with developmental delays and disabilities more effectively will require the participation of others such as preschool teachers who often have extended contact with the child in their first few years. We wished to determine how preschool teachers' reports of concerns compared with norming data from the Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS)., Methods: A total of 1,357 English responses from teachers of nine preschool centres were analyzed and matched with expected rates of concerns from the U.S. norming sample., Results: The preschool teachers' reporting of rates of concerns fell within the range of scores reported in norming studies from parent reports in the United States. Teachers were most concerned about children's language and behaviours., Conclusions: The preschool teacher reports of concerns are similar to expected parents PEDS ratings in the United States. Preschool teachers can screen children's development. There may be a role for the PEDS to be used as a developmental screener by preschool teachers for monitoring of developmental status. Further studies on the PEDS are recommended in the Singapore context., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Failure to master age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS) at a young age can limit motor skill competence affecting health. Assessments often have issues with feasibility and implementation in a field setting. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and feasibility of the Athletic Skills Track (AST), in a pre-school setting. For the validation study sixty-five 3-6 year old children (25 boys and 40 girls) from five pre-schools across Adelaide, Australia participated. Correlations and linear regression analysis (adjusted for age and gender) were used to investigate the association between the time to complete the AST and the raw score of the Test of Gross Motor Development 2 (TGMD-2). For the feasibility study pre-school staff completed a semi-structured interview regarding the feasibility of the AST. The AST took less than a minute per child and the TGMD-2 around 20 minutes for two children. There was a strong negative correlation (r = -0.63, p < 0.01) between the AST scores and the TGMD-2 scores. All five staff reported strengths of the AST to be its short administration time, setup and appropriateness. These results suggest that the AST could be a feasible and valid method of FMS assessment in Australian pre-schools.

Previous work has established a significant increase in disengagement as students progress through secondary school. This work has also established that rates of disengagement appear to be higher among boys, leading to an increased focus on the underlying causes and factors associated with disengagement within this population. However, less is known about the patterns of disengagement exhibited by girls. Given that disengagement is consistently associated with negative personal and academic outcomes, it is important to more closely examine the disengagement trajectories of girls. Moreover, it critical to identify factors that buffer the effects of disengagement that are the most effective for girls. Classroom interpersonal support from teachers and peers have been identified as factors that are likely to mitigate disengagement among girls. The present investigation examined longitudinal data from Australian adolescent girls (N = 302, age range 12-16 years old). Latent growth modeling was used to examine the extent to which disengagement was increasing among secondary school girls in Australia, as well as the effects of teacher and peer social support in slowing this increase. The results showed that disengagement significantly increased across 3 years and that teacher support (but not peer support) was associated with a reduction in girls' upward disengagement trajectories. The results of the current study provide much-needed insight about the developmental trajectories of disengagement among adolescent girls and the role of teachers in buffering these problematic trajectories.

Aim: Some children's special health-care needs (SHCN) are formalised at the start of schooling (established SHCN), but a larger proportion start with difficulties that are milder or not yet diagnosed (emerging SHCN). This study explores whether: (i) the prevalence of teacher-identified SHCN (both overall and according to type of needs) and (ii) distribution across disadvantaged communities have changed over three successive population cohorts of Australian children., Methods: We draw on repeated cross-sectional data from the Australian Early Development Census, a teacher-reported checklist completed on full populations of Australian school entrants in 2009, 2012 and 2015. It includes a measure of SHCN, as well as demographic information., Results: The proportion of children with emerging and established needs was mostly stable from 2009 to 2015 (emerging needs: 17.1-18.9%; established needs: 4.4-4.9%). Change over time was observed in the prevalence of some specific types of impairment. Speech impairment rose by 14.7% for children with emerging needs, and emotional problems rose by 13.7% for children with established needs. Children living in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods had higher odds of SHCN in all years (e.g. emerging needs relative risk ratio 1.65 (99% confidence interval 1.55-1.75) in 2015; established needs relative risk ratio 1.88 (99% confidence interval 1.71-2.06) in 2015)., Conclusions: A large proportion of children starting school each year have SHCN. The types of SHCN that children present with increasingly reflect complex difficulties that require input from both the health and education sectors. Effective responses also need to consider the added impact of disadvantage., (© 2018 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).)

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global public health concern. Aerobic physical activity (PA) and resistance training (RT) play significant roles in the prevention and management of T2DM. The aim of this pilot trial is to determine the preliminary efficacy and confirm feasibility of referral to exercise physiologists, psychologists, and provision of a technology-based behavior change support package to promote aerobic PA and RT in school teachers 'at risk' of or diagnosed with T2DM., Research Design and Methods: The SMART (Support, Motivation and Physical Activity Research for Teachers') Health pilot study will be evaluated using a three-arm randomized controlled trial. The intervention will be guided by Social Cognitive Theory, Health Action Process Approach Model and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy strategies. The participants will be randomly allocated to one of three study groups: Group 1: wait-list control group; Group 2: 5 face-to-face visits with a psychologist and exercise specialist over 3 months; and Group 3: same as Group 2 plus technology-based behavior change support package for an additional 6 months. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, 3-, 9- (primary time-point) and 18-months post-baseline. The primary outcome will be PA measured with pedometers., Discussion: SMART Health is an innovative, multi-component intervention, that integrates referral to exercise specialists, psychologists and provision of a technology-based behavior support package to promote PA and RT in adults diagnosed with T2DM or 'at risk' of T2DM. The findings will be used to guide future PA interventions and to develop effective community-based diabetes prevention and treatment programs., Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry No: ACTRN12616001309471., (Crown Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study was designed to assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a teacher-facilitated high-intensity interval training intervention for older adolescents (ie, 16-18 y)., Methods: Two secondary schools from New South Wales, Australia were recruited, and participants (ie, grade 11 students; 16.2 [0.4] y) were randomized at the school level to the Burn 2 Learn intervention (n = 38), or a wait-list control group (n = 30). Teachers were trained to facilitate the delivery of the novel high-intensity interval training program, which involved 3 sessions per week (∼12-20 min) for 14 weeks. A range of process measures were used to assess intervention feasibility (ie, recruitment, retention, attendance, and program satisfaction). Primary (cardiorespiratory fitness, determined using the progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run shuttle run test) and secondary outcomes were assessed at baseline and posttest (14-wk)., Results: Sixty-eight grade 11 students were recruited at baseline (85% of target sample), 61 participants completed posttest assessments (90% retention) and on average, participants performed 1.9 sessions per week. Overall, teachers (4.0/5) and students (4.0/5) were satisfied with the Burn 2 Learn program. Group by time effects were observed for cardiorespiratory fitness (8.9 laps; 95% confidence intervals, 1.7-16.2) and a selection of secondary outcomes., Conclusion: This study provides evidence for the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a teacher-facilitated high-intensity interval training intervention for older adolescents.

Purpose: Monitoring oral language skills at the population level would provide valuable data to inform policy decisions to better support children's oral language skills in schools. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a teacher-rated population measure of early child development that includes a rating of children's oral communication in the classroom (OCC)., Method: This study evaluates the validity of the OCC indicator for population monitoring of children's oral language skills, capitalising on data from two datasets: the 2012 AEDC cohort (n = 289 973) and a subsample of children from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children for whom AEDC data were also collected (n = 720)., Result: Construct validity was demonstrated by showing significant differences in OCC ratings between subpopulations of children who would be expected to differ in terms of oral language skills at school entry (e.g. children with a diagnosed speech-language impairment compared to those with no impairment). OCC ratings were associated with externally validated measures of language, suggesting convergent validity. No relationship was found between OCC ratings and physical health scores, indicating divergent validity., Conclusion: The findings support the use and interpretation of the OCC indicator as a tool for population-level monitoring of oral language in Australian school entrants.

The high school setting has been identified as an ideal setting to teach adolescents about healthy dietary behaviours. This study explored home economics teachers' (HETs) views on the role of high schools in enhancing adolescents' food literacy and promoting healthy dietary behaviours. Semi-structured interviews with 22 HETs were conducted. The interview questions focused on the perceived strengths/opportunities and the limitations/barriers in enhancing adolescents' food literacy and healthy dietary behaviours in Australian high schools. Thematic data analysis was used to identify five key themes from the interview transcripts: (1) the standing of food-related life skills; (2) food literacy in the Australian school curriculum; (3) emphasis on resources; (4) learning through school canteens; and (5) building a school to home and community nexus. Overall, HETs reported that home economics was regarded by parents and other school staff to be less important than Maths or English for adolescents to learn in Australian high schools. Some teachers indicated that their schools offered one year compulsory teaching of food related studies which is typically delivered in the leaning areas of Technologies or Health and Physical Education (HPE). However, HETs stated that the time was insufficient to develop sustainable food-related life skills and introduce broader concepts of food literacy such as environmental sustainability. The lack of financial resources and non-supportive school food environments, including school canteens, were reportedly major factors that prevented food literacy education and healthy dietary behaviours of adolescents. Increasing the status of food literacy education in schools would support adolescents to develop food-related life skills and mobilise them as agents of dietary behaviour change in the home setting., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Research indicates belonging to a gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) support group is indirectly associated with fewer depressive symptoms, via higher levels of sense of belonging to the general community. The current study extended this research by testing a path model to determine whether school, teacher, and peer connectedness are influenced by sense of belonging to a community GLB youth group. A sample of 82 Australian GLB adolescents aged 14 to 18 years who currently attend high school completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Psychological Subscale of the Sense of Belonging Instrument, and the Social Questionnaire for Secondary Students. Results indicated very good model fit. Higher levels of belonging to a community GLB youth group were associated with higher levels of school, teacher, and peer connectedness, but only peer connectedness was directly associated with depressive symptoms. Higher levels of school and teacher connectedness were associated with higher levels of peer connectedness. Interventions aimed at increasing belonging to a community GLB youth group may have indirect benefits for the mental health of GLB adolescents, via higher levels of school, teacher, and peer connectedness.