Dale Bagshaw

Prospects of Adolescent Students Collaborating with Teachers in Addressing Issues of Bullying and Conflict in Schools

Advice to schools on countering bullying has emphasised the need for a whole school approach. This implies close collaboration between students and teachers. Little attention, however, has been paid to how students view the prospects of such collaboration. Two student surveys (n=7091 and n=632) were conducted among Australian adolescent schoolchildren, average age 14 years. The results suggest that approximately 40% of the students believed that teachers were not usually interested in taking action to stop bullying and a similar proportion were either opposed or unsure whether they should collaborate. Multiple regression analysis indicated that students who were more involved in bully/victim encounters as either as bullies or as victims were more likely than others to disparage the conflict resolution skills of teachers. In addition, bullies were particularly inclined to judge teachers as unfair in their behaviour toward students. The implications of these findings for the implementation of whole school approaches to conflict and bullying and for teacher education are discussed.

Reshaping Responses to Children When Parents are Separating: Hearing Children's Voices in the Transition

Abstract The present paper reports on the findings of a research project involving a literature review and telephone interviews with children whose parents had separated or divorced. The aim of the research was to hear childrens accounts of their experiences and needs during the transition in order to inform the development of a child-centred model of service delivery. The author recommends a number of strategies to assist service providers to enhance the wellbeing of children experiencing family separations.

The idealised post-separation family in Australian family law: a dangerous paradigm in cases of domestic violence

Abstract This article presents the findings of an in-depth discourse analysis of 20 First Instance unpublished judgments, delivered over a five-and-a-half-year period from one registry of the Family Court of Australia, in contested contact cases where the presence of domestic violence was acknowledged by the Court. A number of dominant themes from the judgments intersected to show how many judicial determinations about children’s ‘best interests’ were underpinned by conservative values that emphasised the importance of the fathers’ presence for children’s future wellbeing and development. In most of the judgments analysed, the fathers’ history of violence was readily excused or ignored, mothers were blamed for failing to support father–child contact, the voices of the children involved were often discounted and a dominant paradigm of the idealised post-separation family took precedence over the special needs of the children. There was little visible consideration of the potential or current effects of domestic violence on the children concerned.

Financial abuse of older people by a family member: a difficult terrain for service providers in Australia

Financial abuse by a family member is the most common form of abuse experienced by older Australians, and early intervention is required. National online surveys of 228 chief executive officers and 214 aged care service providers found that, while they were well placed to recognize financial abuse, it was often difficult to intervene successfully. Problems providers encountered included difficulties in detecting abuse, the need for consent before they could take action, the risk that the abusive family member would withdraw the client from the service, and a lack of resources to deal with the complexities inherent in situations of financial abuse.

The Role of Emotional Vulnerability and Abuse in the Financial Exploitation of Older People From Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities in Australia

While the literature acknowledges that older people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities are particularly susceptible to financial abuse by their family members, there is a dearth of research that explores the nature of CaLD older people’s vulnerability to this form of abuse. This case study examines unique dynamics shaping this form of abuse and demonstrates how emotional vulnerability and dependence, exacerbated by cultural and linguistic disconnection, can place older people at risk.

What adolescents say about conflict in secondary schools

During 1997 researchers at the University of South Australia conducted qualitative and quantitative research with 663 students from a diverse range of secondary schools in the Adelaide metropolitan area. The research focussed on how 13 to 15 year old adolescents view and handle conflict with their peers and conflict with adults at school, such as teachers and counsellors. This paper reports on Phase 1 of the research, and on comments gathered from adolescents in Focus Groups about their experiences of conflict. Comments about the high level of aggression and violence in some secondary schools would indicate that broader, community-centred approaches may be needed before conflict management strategies, such as peer mediation, can work.

Financial abuse of older people: A case study

This article presents a case study to illustrate the complexities of financial abuse of older people by their family members. It provides insights into why older people and social care professionals may not detect or define family member’s behaviour as abuse or feel discomfort in talking about it. The authors argue case studies can lead to new understandings about financial abuse that move beyond operational definitions to theoretical explanations that consider practices and outcomes of ageism and gender relations.