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Aussie kids using strengths to overcome hurdlesThe Multiple Strength Indicator is a strength based measure that provides information on children’s developmental strengths as they commence full-time school.
News & Events
Children follow in their parent’s behaviour footstepsNew research shows that parents have an important role to play in teaching their children to understand another person's feelings and point of view.
News & Events
Breastfeeding Boosts Brain PowerChildren who are mainly breastfed for the first six months (or longer) score significantly higher academically at 10 years of age, especially boys.
Research
Infants removed by Child Protection: Nature, extent and impactThis study aims to increase knowledge about the nature, extent and impact of removals, repeat removals and entries of new babies into the care system.
Research
Learning Together and Learning Together at Home: Program Model ReviewLearning Together, developed by the South Australian Department for Education, aims to create enriched learning environments that can be transferred to the home to support positive changes for children and families.
Research
Plasma Adenosine Deaminase (ADA)-1 and -2 Demonstrate Robust Ontogeny Across the First Four Months of Human LifeHuman adenosine deaminases (ADAs) modulate the immune response: ADA1 via metabolizing adenosine, a purine metabolite that inhibits pro-inflammatory and Th1 cytokine production, and the multi-functional ADA2, by enhancing T-cell proliferation and monocyte differentiation. Newborns are relatively deficient in ADA1 resulting in elevated plasma adenosine concentrations and a Th2/anti-inflammatory bias compared to adults.
Research
Supporting Parents as their Child’s First Teacher: Aboriginal Parents’ Perceptions of KindiLinkThis paper reports on Aboriginal parents’ perceptions about their involvement in a Western Australian pilot initiative called KindiLink. The program seeks to support parents as their child’s first teacher and thereby enhance Aboriginal children’s early-years development, while strengthening relationships between families and schools. A constructivist paradigm was used to inform the methodology which placed Aboriginal voices at the centre of the research.
Research
Tasmania’s child and family centres building parenting capability: a mixed methods studyThis mixed methods study investigated the impact of Tasmania’s Child and Family Centres on parents’ confidence and competence
Research
Validity and Reliability of the Early Development Instrument in IndonesiaThis study finds that the EDI shows moderate validity and reliability in poor communities in Indonesia and highlights some of the difficulties associated with adapting western instruments for non-western cultures and contexts.
Research
Gestational age and child development at school entryStudies have reported a dose-dependent relationship between gestational age and poorer school readiness. The study objective was to quantify the risk of developmental vulnerability for children at school entry, associated with gestational age at birth and to understand the impact of sociodemographic and other modifiable risk factors on these relationships. Linkage of population-level birth registration, hospital, and perinatal datasets to the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), enabled follow-up of a cohort of 64,810 singleton children, from birth to school entry in either 2009, 2012, or 2015.