The power of schools and families working together Families Under Pressure

Schools alone cannot fully compensate for children’s disadvantaged circumstances, but they can make a big difference and are powerful influencers in improving life course outcomes.
In this episode, Professor Matt Sanders discusses the importance of schools with fellow Life Course Centre Chief Investigator Professor Donna Cross from the Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia. Donna is Program Head, Development & Education at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, and an internationally renowned child development and health promotion expert.
Donna is committed to bringing researchers, educators, policymakers, families and communities together to improve children’s and young people’s social and emotional development and wellbeing. She has led extensive research on the power of schools to disrupt disadvantage and improve life course outcomes, particularly for children from vulnerable families and communities.
Matt and Donna explore how schools can address children’s developmental disadvantage and positively influence life course trajectories. They highlight the critical relationship between parents and teachers, the importance of family engagement in children’s learning, and opportunities to harness the evidence base and new technologies to enhance child development and wellbeing.
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More information:
Professor Donna Cross
https://www.telethonkids.org.au/contact-us/our-people/c/donna-cross/

Telethon Kids Institute
https://www.telethonkids.org.au/

Life Course Centre
https://www.lifecoursecentre.org.au/

Professor Matt Sanders
https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/174

Parenting & Family Research Alliance (PAFRA)
https://www.pafra.org/