Good dialogue doesn't happen by chance. Drawing on insights from a Tasmanian Leaders workshop, Frieda Moran and Logan Linkston explore some of the principles, mechanisms, and leadership attributes that make good dialogue possible.
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In the quest to improve outcomes for children, schools often bear the brunt of reform. However, the foundations of advantage and success are laid long before children enter a classroom. Informal learning experiences such as sport, arts activities, libraries, travel and participation in community life help build confidence, language, belonging and aspiration. Drawing on insights from practice and research, Sachie Yasuda argues that unequal access to these experiences creates a hidden dimension of inequality, and that policy must do more to support children and families to navigate unfamiliar spaces and opportunities.
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Evidence matters, but evidence that is inaccessible or difficult to apply will have little real-world impact. As financial education continues to gain prominence in schools and communities, questions are growing about how research can better inform practice. Tracey West argues that alongside investment in research, we need an evidence infrastructure that helps translate knowledge into effective practice.
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For several years, Australians have been talking about cost-of-living pressures. We have debated inflation, interest rates, housing costs, groceries and energy bills. But much less attention has been paid to the people least responsible for these pressures, and the least able to change their circumstances: children.
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A landmark new research report launched last week, led by Honorary Professor Roslyn Russell, has found Australia needs a more coordinated and integrated national approach to financial wellbeing. The Good Shepherd Institute were fortunate to attend the launch and have already seen the report's insights inform our evaluation of a disaster recovery program submitted to the Queensland Government, demonstrating its immediate relevance to policy and practice. This post by co-author Dr Jozica Kutin highlights the need for systems to work together especially given the overlap with climate change, technology and health. This post was originally published by Ecstra Foundation, who funded the research, and is republished here with permission.
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What if you could sit down over dinner with your mates and get a bit more prepared for the next fire or flood? Katie Moon, Sophie Yates and Elise Remling discuss their concept of ‘relational communities of place’ and how people can draw on existing social connections to improve their own disaster preparedness.
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The Iran War has sparked a global fuel crisis, so we've decided to take a look at what this might mean for our island state. In the first post of a two-part series, we provide an overview of the impact that rising fuel prices are having on Tasmanian households and our economy.
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Refugee young people are often discussed in terms of settlement, integration and vulnerability, yet their everyday experiences of belonging are far more complex. This post explores how Bhutanese refugee adolescents in Australia negotiate belonging across school, family and community life. It challenges linear ideas of “settlement” by showing belonging as an ongoing, relational process. It highlights their agency as cultural brokers navigating intergenerational expectations, hybrid identities and everyday exclusions. In this post, Dr Nabaraj Mudwari shows how refugee youth experience living between cultures as a source of resilience, creativity and strength and asks institutions, especially schools, to recognise and value this complexity.
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This post by Kylie Flament, CEO of Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT (SECNA) highlights the value of work-integrated social enterprises (WISEs) in providing genuine support for people with barriers to employment.
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Ethical review is sometimes seen as a hurdle in the path of getting a research or evaluation project completed. This post from Gerard Atkinson, Managing Director of Iris Ethics, outlines the benefits of ethical review for better evidence, and better social policy .
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