Generation Next Blog

March 2020

8 tips on what to tell your kids about coronavirus

By |2020-04-24T11:06:20+10:00March 12th, 2020|Categories: Uncategorized|

Mandie Shean, Edith Cowan University As the number of new cases of coronavirus infection continue to rise the impact is now being felt in schools in Australia. At least four closed due to students and a staff member testing positive for the virus. Most international travel by Queensland students is also banned. It’s therefore important [...]

What we don’t understand about young people’s motivations

By |2020-03-09T11:29:21+11:00March 9th, 2020|Categories: Positive Psychology, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |

Young people are demanding change. In the last few days, young Indigenous activists and their supporters blocked parliamentarians in Victoria, B.C., from accessing the provincial legislature and led waves of protest across the country. For some young people, climate change is urgent. For others, gun violence is a crisis. From truth and reconciliation to inclusion [...]

Understanding emotions is nearly as important as IQ for students’ academic success

By |2020-03-09T11:28:05+11:00March 6th, 2020|Categories: Social and Emotional Learning|Tags: , , , , , |

The ability to understand emotions contributes almost as much to students’ grades as their IQ. Past studies show two personal qualities are important for student academic success – intelligence and conscientiousness. IQ scores explain about 15% of the differences between students’ grades. Conscientiousness, such as having the diligence to do enough study, explains about 5%. [...]

February 2020

How to help young people, according to young people (and their Representative to the UN Kareem El-Ansary)

By |2020-03-09T11:28:05+11:00February 24th, 2020|Categories: Education|Tags: , , , |

Kareem El-Ansary completed a marathon listening tour last year, visiting 56 locations from around Australia and conducting 233 consultations at a diverse range of organisations, from schools to non-profits to juvenile detention centres. The issues raised were as varied as the young people themselves, but one key message remained constant; supporting us better starts with [...]

5 ways to build a confident mindset in young people

By |2020-02-24T15:58:30+11:00February 24th, 2020|Categories: Social and Emotional Learning|Tags: , , , |

How you think, effects how you feel which in turn leads how you behave. Developing a confident mindset where your thinking is constructive and hopeful, places you at an advantage in your childhood and right through to adulthood. Confident thinking and good social emotional literacy skills are crucial and provide the unwritten rules of getting [...]

Can new Snapchat features help troubled teens?

By |2021-03-03T16:21:34+11:00February 21st, 2020|Categories: Mental Illness, Social Media|Tags: , , , |

Snapchat has announced a new feature called “Here For You” that promises to “provide proactive in-app support to Snapchatters who may be experiencing a mental health or emotional crisis”. The popular youth-oriented app is the latest to join a wave of social media platforms setting out to monitor and improve the well-being of their users. [...]

How parents and schools can work together to prevent grooming

By |2020-02-21T10:49:25+11:00February 21st, 2020|Categories: Grooming|Tags: , , , |

Last week’s ABC’s Four Corners exposed an elite Melbourne school for failing to adequately respond to the grooming of a student by a former athletics coach, who is now a convicted offender. Several current and former staff, students and parents told Four Corners St Kevin’s College had a history of failing to adequately deal with [...]

Year 12 can be stressful, but setting strong and healthy goals can help you thrive

By |2020-02-10T16:05:05+11:00February 10th, 2020|Categories: Education|Tags: , , , |

Research shows anxiety levels are high for many students in year 12 as they focus on academic goals that may determine their future. The way you pursue your goals can be the difference between maintaining happiness or feeling stressed. When setting and pursuing your goals, try to keep these four things in mind. 1. It’s [...]

5 Australian books that can help young people understand their place in the world

By |2020-02-10T16:05:05+11:00February 10th, 2020|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |

Alfred Tatum, a US education professor specialising in literacy for African American boys, coined the term “bookprint”. He said it’s something we all have – a list of books that have impacted how we see ourselves and the world. What we read matters. Reading shapes the way we see the world, increases our understanding of [...]

P0rnography has deeply troubling effects on young people, but there are ways we can minimise the harm

By |2020-02-10T16:05:05+11:00February 10th, 2020|Categories: Pornography|Tags: , , , |

For many young people, pornography has become the default sex educator. Children and young people are encountering pornography in greater numbers, at younger ages, and with a wider variety of content, influencing young people’s sexual lives. Research evidence from around the world shows porn has harmful impacts on young people and adults alike. Some impacts [...]

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