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Our Research

Our research

Research evidence demonstrating the strong links between health and education as critical to children and young people’s longer term outcomes drives the RCH Education Institute’s research agenda.

The recently-formed Research Unit is currently focusing on the following themes and projects:

 

Education and Learning

Vibrant learning communities for young people: The 3East Project aims to increase access to and engagement in learning for adolescents in a hospital setting through the development of a vibrant learning community. Contact rachael.meade@rch.org.au

Linking children’s health and learning in a hospital setting. Contact julie.green@rch.org.au

Post-compulsory students: ‘Supporting post-compulsory students with health conditions’ (funded by Foundation for Young Australians www.fya.org.au )

 

School transitions

Understanding the primary-secondary school transition experiences of young people

Investigating supports for education and engagement of Prep children from English-as-a-Second-Language backgrounds and their families (May 2009 submission to the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development http://www.education.vic.gov.au )

 

Communication across the school-home-community spectrum

Improving communication approaches to child health and development in the early years. Contact julie.green@rch.org.au

'Keeping Connected': A multidisciplinary investigation of how Trauma & Chronic  Illness Impact on Schooling, Identity & Social Connectivity' led by Professor Lyn Yates, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne and funded by the Australia Research Council (Linkage Project). For detailed information, publications and presentations, visit www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/keepingconnected

‘Link and Learn’: An investigation into strategies for using information and communication technologies to address educational disadvantage resulting from prolonged school absence'. Led by Dr A Jones & Dr A McDougall, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne and funded by the Australia Research Council (Linkage Project). http://www.education.unimelb.edu.au/

'Invisible Voices Project: Improving information about the school experience of students with chronic health conditions'. Chronic Illness Alliance, Victoria http://www.chronicillness.org.au/invisible/

 

Health and wellbeing

Language and speech in the early years: Investigating the meaning of language for parents, early childhood educators and teachers of children in the early years.

Fun’n’healthy in Moreland: a cluster randomised trial of a sustainable school-community intervention to promote child health & prevent overweight and obesity. Led by Professor Elizabeth Waters, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne and funded by the Victorian government. For detailed information, publications and presentations, visit http://www.mccaugheycentre.unimelb.edu.au/research/current/intergenerational_health/funnhealthy

Obesity and its risk factors among African migrant adolescents: assessing the role of intergenerational acculturation gap, family functioning, and parenting. Led by Dr Andre Renzaho, Health, Medicine, Nursing & Behavioural Sciences, Deakin University and funded by VicHealth Discovery Grants Scheme 2008 & 2009.

 

Postgraduate student research projects

Our Research Unit has projects available for students that address our main research themes (education and learning, health and wellbeing) and that use different research methodologies. Contact julie.green@rch.org.au to explore possibilities.

 

Selected publications 2007-2009

Health and wellbeing / education and literacy

  1. Willenberg L, Ashbolt R, Holland D, Gibbs L, MacDougall C, Garrard J, Green J, Waters E. Increasing physical activity: a mixed methods study combining environmental measures and children's perspectives. J Science & Medicine in Sport (in press).
  2. Wilkie K & Jones A, ‘Link and Learn: Students Connecting to their Schools and Studies with ICT despite Chronic Illness’ AARE, Brisbane, 30 November – 4 December 2008 www.aare.edu.au/08pap/wil08169.pdf.
  3. Waters E., Ashbolt R., Gibbs L., Booth M., Magarey A. Gold L., Sing KL, Gibbons K., Green J., O’Connor T., Garrard J., Swinburn B. ‘Double disadvantage: the influence of ethnicity over socioeconomic position on childhood overweight and obesity: findings from an inner urban population of primary school children’ Int J Pediatr Obes 2008;3(4): 196–204.
  4. Gibbs L, O'Connor T, Waters E, Booth M, Walsh O, Green J, Bartlett J, Swinburn B. 'Addressing the potential adverse effects of school-based BMI assessments on children's wellbeing', Int J Pediatr Obes. (2008) 3(1):52-57.
  5. Green J, Lo Bianco J, Wyn J, ‘Discourses in Interaction: The intersection of literacy and health research internationally’, Literacy and Numeracy Studies 2007 15(2) 19-37.
  6. Green J. ‘Health literacy: terminology and trends in making and communicating health-related information’, Health Issues Spring 2007; 92: 11-14.
  7. Green J ‘Researching literacy and health in local neighbourhoods: a qualitative inquiry’, Australasian Epidemiologist April 2007,14(1) 10-11. (journal of the Australasian Epidemiological Association)
  8. Green J ‘Health literacy: socially situating community-based research’ Fine Print Autumn 2007, 30(1) 3-7,18.

Research methods

  1. Willis K, Green J, Daly J, Williamson L & Bandyopadhyay M, Perils and possibilities: Achieving best evidence from focus groups in public health research, Aust N Z J Public Health 2009;33:131-36.
  2. White, J., Drew, S. and Hay, T. (2009) ‘Ethnography versus Case study: Positioning Research and Researchers’, Qualitative Research Journal, (in press).
  3. Daly J, Willis K, Small R, Green J, Welch N, Kealy M, and Hughes E, A hierarchy of evidence for assessing qualitative health research, J Clinical Epidemiology 60(2007) 43-49.
  4. Green J, Willis K, Hughes E, Small R, Welch N, Gibbs L, Daly J ‘Generating best evidence from qualitative research: the role of data analysis’, Aust N Z J Public Health 2007;31:545-50.
  5. Willis K, Daly J, Kealy M,   Small R,  Koutroulis G, Green J, Thomas S, Gibbs L, ‘The essential role of social theory in qualitative public health research’, Aust N Z J Public Health. 2007, 31(5): 438-443.
  6. Gibbs L, Kealy M, Willis K, Green J, Welch N, Daly J, ‘What have sampling and data collection got to do with ‘good’ qualitative research?’ Aust N Z J Public Health 31: 540-544.
  7. Green J, Daly J, Gibbs L, Holt L, ‘Some do’s, don’ts and metaphors for the researcher interested in qualitative research methods’Australasian Epidemiologist 2007 14(2): 26-28.

 

Selected conference presentations 2007-2009

  1. Jones A & Potas T,’ Link’n’Learn: Connecting chronically ill students to their schools’, Innovation: Next Practice, Innovation Showcase, Department of Education & Early Childhood Development, 15th May 2009.
  2. Renzaho A.,Green J.,Williamson L., Otim M.‘Engaging African young people in research: Community guidance provided by the African Migrant Capacity Building and Performance Appraisal framework’, 7th Annual Australian & New Zealand Adolescent Health Conference, November 5-7th 2008, Melbourne.
  3. Potas T, Green J, St Leger P, Robertson M, Negotiating partnership to build strategy for supporting young people with chronic illness in schooling, AARE International Education Conference, Brisbane, November 30th-December 4th 2008.
  4. Meade R, Hudson L, ‘Increasing young people’s capacity for successful transition from health to school settings’, 7th Annual Australian & NZ Adolescent Health Conference, Melbourne 5th November – 7th November 2008.
  5. Morgante S, Meade R & Burns F, ‘Running twice as fast in the context of education and learning: children and young people experiencing chronic health’, Children’s Health Conference, Sydney 17th November-18th2008.
  6. Jones, A. & McDougall, A. Strategies for Enabling Teachers to Utilise ICT for Addressing Educational Disadvantage Resulting from Prolonged School Absence. AARE, Brisbane, 30 November – 4 December 2008.
  7. Green, J., Williamson, L., Otim, M. The African Migrant Capacity Building and Performance Appraisal framework- a culturally-competent tool for community engagement, Population Health Congress 2008, Brisbane, July 7-9th.
  8. Green J, A framework for working across the health-literacy interface: social practices, social networks and social roles, Population Health Congress 2008, Brisbane, July 7-9th.
  9. Willenberg L, Ashbolt R, Holland D, Gibbs L, MacDougall C, Garrard J, Green J, Waters E. Increasing physical activity: a mixed methods study combining environmental measures and children's perspectives, Population Health Congress 2008, Brisbane, July 7-9th.
  10. Rudolph S, Hiscock H, Efron D, Price A, Wake M, Green J, South M, Sewell J, What do Australian paediatricians think are important research questions? A perspective from APRN. Royal Australasian College of Physicians Congress, Adelaide, May 12-14th 2008.
  11. Jones, A. & Potas, T. (2007) Enabling teachers to use Information and Communication Technologies to address educational disadvantage resulting from prolonged absence from school. Association for Teacher Education in Europe conference, Telford, UK, August.
  12. ‘Articulating the interplay between literacy and health promotion: the utility of social capital concepts’ 38th National Conference of the Public Health Association of Australia, Alice Springs, Australia, September 24th-26th 2007.

 

From the ‘Keeping Connected’ Project

  1. Symposium: Adolescents living and learning with chronic illness: Resilience, goals and life trajectories AARE November 29- December 3rd 2009, Canberra (submitted May 2009).
  2. Symposium: Schooling, identity and social connectivity: Sustainable futures for young people with chronic health conditions, AARE, Brisbane, 30 November – 4 December 2008:
  3. Lyn Yates (2008) ‘Research design and the Keeping Connected Project’
  4. Tony Potas, Julie Green, Pam St Leger, Margaret Robertson (2008) ‘Negotiating partnership to build strategy for supporting young people with chronic illness in schooling’
  5. Peter Ferguson, Julie White, Trevor Hay, Sarah Drew (2008), ‘Voicing Identity’
  6. Julianne Moss (2008) ‘Schooling, identity and social connectivity’
  7. Moss J, Schooling, identity and social connectivity, Educational Research Association Conference, New York, 22-28th March 2008.
  8. Moss J, Education gets researched: visually-digitally-spatially, Educational Research Association Conference, New York, 22-28th March 2008.
  9. Sarah Drew, Julie White, Peter Ferguson and Trevor Hay (2008), ‘Teenagers and chronic condition self-management: Much more than medial aspects of self-care’, International Congress on Chronic Disease Self-management, Melbourne, 26-28th November 2008
  10. Guillemin, M. and Drew, S. (2008), ‘Ways of seeing, ways of knowing: Visual methodologies and questions of process’ Re-imagining Sociology: The Annual Conference of the Australian Sociological Association, Melbourne, 2-5 December 2008.

 

Major reports

  1. Green J, Williamson L, Renzaho A, Eisenbruch M, Waters E & Oberklaid F. Families, communities and culture: health promotion with newly-arrived Africans in Victoria. Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute, Deakin University & University of Melbourne. Prepared for Public Health Branch, Victorian Department of Human Services, August 2008.
  2. Green J, Renzaho A, Eisenbruch M, Williamson L, Waters E, Lo Bianco J & Oberklaid F. Parent-centred and culturally competent literacies for health promotion with newly-arrived African communities: a literature review. Centre for Community Child Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Prepared for Public Health Branch, Victorian Department of Human Services, April 2008.
  3. Iyer S, Sciberra E, Green J, Efron D, ‘The information needs of parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’, submitted to Royal Australasian College of Physicians, as part of Advanced Training for Dr. S. Iyer. August 2007.

 

Peer reviewed conference papers

  1. Meade R, Hudson L, ‘Increasing young people’s capacity for successful transition from health to school settings’, 7th Annual Australian & NZ Adolescent Health Conference, Melbourne 5th November – 7th November 2008.
  2. Meade R, Green J & Fraser E, 'Beyond the school walls: The creation of an adolescent inpatient ward as a learning common', Australian Association of Research in Education International Education Research Conference, Canberra  29th November-3rd December 2009.
  3. Morgante S, Meade R & Burns F, ‘Running twice as fast in the context of education and learning: children and young people experiencing chronic health’, Children’s Health Conference, Sydney 17th November-18th.

 

 

Last Updated 03-Jun-2009. Authorised by: Glenda Strong. Enquiries: Tony Potas.
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