Dear Colleagues,
Read on to hear about the activities of the Centre for Child and Family Studies from the last few months.
Enjoy!
Our members in action
On Friday 18 October, Dr Susan Chapman was invited to participate in a Panel Discussion: Exploring the transformational impact of arts-rich experiences on children’s education. The event was held in the Cremorne Theatre as part of a Sneak Peak for teachers regarding the return of the highly acclaimed Out of the Box (OOTB) program which will be held in the QPAC precinct in June 2025.
Susan was joined on the panel by Dr John Saunders (ACU, Chair of National Advocates for Arts Education); Katrina Torenbeek (Director Engagement, QPAC); and Adrianne Jones (Education Manager, QPAC). Megan Gibson has also been involved in planning meetings based on a history of ongoing collaboration between OOTB and QUT (SECIE).
QUT Research Showcase QUT early to mid-career researchers including our very own Dr Lyra L’Estrange were recognised as making an impact in their respective field. Lyra was invited to speak at the QUT Research Showcase October 22
and she showcased her work in Trauma-Aware Education.
This event celebrated the achievements of our who are making an impact in their respective fields. Coordinated by QUT’s Women in Research Committee, latest research on co-design sign language AI technologies and enhancing workplace well-being and reducing burnout in social work and more were featured. Congratulations Lyra!
Brisbane hosted the national Early Childhood Australia conference recently and it was a spectacular success! I am proud to say that many SECIE colleagues participated, presenting their research, engaging with colleagues from across Australia and overseas (more than 2,300 delegates) and contributing to the success of the conference. A special shout out to our CfCFS members who presented including Kym Simoncini, Megan Gibson, Lyndal O’Gorman, Marie White, Sally Savage, Sue Irvine and Pip Amery.
ECA Block play master class
QUT partnered with ECA to host a Masterclass on block play on the first day of the conference. Kym delivered the class with Dr Jo Grimmond from Charles Sturt University. In addition to learning about and playing with blocks, the participants visited the Centre for the Digital Child’s lab. The class was very well received, and some great provocations were created.
Prof Beth Saggers delivered a keynote presentation, Enhancing inclusive education for diverse learners: Considerations for practice, at The Hatchery’s Differentiation and Engagement in Teaching and Learning Conference held on 30-31 October in Melbourne and online.
Dr Lyra L’Estrange , Dr Meegan Brown and Prof Judith Howard advocated for trauma-aware education at the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) CONGRESS in Uppsala, Sweden in August this year.
The Trauma-Aware Education Conference was also held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 31October to 1st November. Judith, Lyra and Meegan were busy organising this event, which had around 900 registrations! It was an exciting line up of International and local speakers, all passionate about advancing Trauma-Aware Education.
A key advocacy piece the Trauma-Aware Education team has been working on is a declaration to government that all education settings in Australia be trauma-aware. Join our campaign here!
Trauma Aware Education in Early Childhood
Lyra has also been working with C&K over the past few months to deliver a series of five Regional Forums for C&K directors across SEQ in trauma-aware early childhood.
This is part of Lyra’s ongoing partnership work with C&K.
Research Forums and Visiting Scholars
On Wednesday 28th August, we hosted Intensive Mothering which featured talks from Dr Sophie Brock, Associate Professor Rebecca Byrne, and Dr Sally Savage.
Dr Sophie Brock spoke about intensive mothering ideology for mothers of children with disabilities. Associate Professor Rebecca Byrne presented on food, nutrition, and eating in the context of intensive mothering, and Dr Sally Savage spoke about intensive mothering and music. You can watch their talks here.
On Wednesday the 2nd of October, we hosted Place-based Pedagogies. We were so grateful that Associate Professor Jeanne Marie Iorio and Associate Professor Catherine Hamm travelled from the University of Melbourne to share with us the research they have been engaged in over the last 10 years. There were approx. 50 registrations for the session, from those working in academic, private and government sectors across Australia and overseas, highlighting the significance of this topic for those working with children and young people.
Dr Iorio and Dr Hamm spoke about the ways in which they incorporate place-based pedagogies and interdisciplinary practices in their work with young people. Their insights, examples, and the impact of your work from walking and learning with place and alongside First Nations people, principles, and children, provided valuable discussion and inspiration for other researchers.
This innovative and important work is making real and lasting pathways for a more united Australia. You can watch their talk, and the “In Conversation” with Aspro Megan Gibson here. They also met with Megan and Marie White about Reggio Emilia principles infusing EC ITE programs.
CfCFS member at Oxford University!
Congratulations to Dr Meegan Brown who recently presented at the Oxford Symposium of School Based Family Counselling at Oxford University.
We all know the benefits of international conferences in terms of building our professional and research networks. Meegan has returned feeling energised and is following up international connections to further continue her work in trauma informed practices and school counselling. First project is a go – Meegan will be leading an international educator team in school-based family counselling.
Warm congratulations to Meegan also on the inclusion of a chapter based on the analysis of her PhD study in the recently published Routledge International Handbook of Constructivist Grounded Theory edited by Elaine Keane and Robert Thornberg.
New resources and publications
eSafety’s Children, Youth and Families (CYF) team launched a comprehensive set of resources designed to help create a whole of community response to online harms that impact children, particularly child sexual abuse and sexual harms. Families Capacity Building Team at eSafety worked with QUT to set an evidence base for developing these resources. This release focuses on community intermediaries as a trusted sources of support and information for families.
eSafety has identified six practical steps organisations, services and practices can take right now:
1. Learn about online risks and prevention strategies.
2. Understand policies for device use when working with children.
3. Talk with children and young people, without stigma or shame, about their online experiences.
4. If something goes wrong, support children to report to eSafety for help and content removal.
5. Support parents and carers to talk about this issue with their children using age-appropriate language.
6. Help spread awareness within their communities about child sexual abuse online and where to get support.
The resources are free and available at eSafety.gov.au/communities/child-safe-communities:
📖 Read – Guidance for professionals, including the keeping children safe online reflection and planning tool.
📥 Download – Posters to display in waiting rooms, offices and other spaces to help promote awareness and encourage conversations.
📢 Share – Guidance for families.
Dr Lyndal O’Gorman’s important work on sustainability education with young children has been published in an open access Q1 journal:
O’Gorman, L. (2024). “It’s the only world we’ve got” Children’s responses to Chris Jordan’s images about SDG 14: Life below water. Australian Journal of Environmental Education. doi:10.1017/aee.2024.27
Dr Sally Savage has been particularly busy this year – congratulations on these excellent publications.
Savage, S. (2024). Musical mothering: Intergenerational strategies amongst the middle-classes. Palgrave Macmillan. Musical Mothering: Intergenerational strategies amongst the middle-classes
This book examines how gender and class discourses shape ‘musical mothering’ by incorporating knowledges from sociology, psychology, cultural studies, and education. Chapters detail the fundamental and functional role that mothers play in children’s musical development alongside children’s agency in influencing familial experiences. 
Music plays an essential role in the lives of mothers for themselves. Through interviews with mothers and grandmothers, as well as the author’s own autobiographical reflections, the author offers a unique interdisciplinary approach to motherhood and music within Australian culture.
Savage, S., & Munro, D. (2024). Traversing engagement in higher education for student-carers. In C. Stone & S. O’Shea (Eds), Research Handbook of Student Engagement in Higher Education. Edward Elgar.
The chapter looks at the personal, structural and cultural barriers and enablers carers face when deciding to enrol in higher education, and the barriers and enablers once they embark on their study journeys. Recommendations on how student-carers can be best supported at university, informed by the participants in our respective studies are articulated.
Savage, S., Bentley, L. A., Williams, K. E., Nielson, C., & Eager, R. (2024). Developing early childhood teacher confidence to implement classroom music and movement activities: Key professional learning features. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01737-2
This paper reports the findings from a study that trained and coached five early childhood teachers, with no prior formal music training, to deliver a specific rhythm and movement program are highlighted throughout this paper.
Aspro Maryanne Theobald and HDR scholar Pip Amery, were on the author team for a paper that received an honorable mention for CHI play 2024. Computer Human Interaction (CHI) is a prestigious conference for studies in computer interaction.
Using Psychophysiological Data to Facilitate Reflective Conversations with Children about their Player Experiences
Janelle E. MacKenzie1, Madison Klarkowski1, Ella M Horton2, Maryanne Theobald1, Susan Danby1, Lisa Kervin3, Lance Barrie4, Philippa Kate Amery1, Manesha Andradi1, Simon Smith5, Regan L. Mandryk6, and Daniel Johnson1
Read and access it here: https://chiplay.acm.org/2024/awards-and-recognitions/
Congratulations to past member Dr Cynthia Hicban on her first publication success, with Aspro Maryanne Theobald and Dr Julia Mascadri A new approach for investigating children’s participation rights in early childhood education: Listening to Voices in Interaction for Participation (LViIP), is scheduled to appear in the final issue this year of the International Journal of Children’s Rights.
This article features the framework for listening to children’s voices that Cynthia developed from her recently completed PhD at QUT.
Upcoming Events
Please attend our last Research Translation Workshop for the year. This workshop is facilitated by Karyn Gonano, expert writing consultant, and will focus on Aligning your research questions – aim + objectives + outcome + significance. The workshop will be held
Thursday, 14th November 2024
3:00pm to 4:00pm
QUT Kelvin Grove Campus, E Block, Level 4, Room 470
The CfCFS Members’ Meeting & End of Year Celebration
Thursday, 14th November 2024
4:00pm to 5:00pm
QUT Kelvin Grove Campus, E Block, Level 4
Room 470 and on zoom.
Recipients of CfCFS seed funding grants will provide an update/overview of their projects. We will celebrate over cake for those who attend on campus.