news
Positive connection
Teacher relationship key to liking school , survey shows .
Students who perceive they have a strong connection with their teacher are far more likely to enjoy attending school than their peers who don ’ t , a new study has shown .
Researchers surveyed over 1,000 students in Years 7-10 across three Queensland high schools , all of which had low retention rates and high rates of suspension .
They found most of the two-thirds of students who said they liked school ( 66.5 per cent ) also reported having a good relationship with their teachers .
Over 70 per cent of students who said they disliked school had received detention over the past year and were more likely to experience conflict with teaching staff .
The study , led by the Queensland University of Technology ( QUT ), identified ‘ stark differences ’ between what influenced students to like or dislike school .
A major factor included whether or not teachers made an effort to build rapport and trust and offered individualised support .
Most interestingly , the survey found students with negative attitudes toward school were more likely to form them during transition periods .
Older students , for example , most commonly said they began to dislike school between grades 7 to 8 .
For Year 7 school dislikers , negative attitudes developed during the later years of primary school .
“ Our findings suggest that school disliking increases over time and , out-ofschool suspensions and exclusions may peak in Grade 9 ,” the study said .
More targeted interventions are needed during earlier periods of change to encourage positive teacher-student relationships , the authors suggest .
They also called for wider systemic reform to reduce schools ’ reliance on suspensions and expulsions , in favour of disciplinary approaches that focus on relationships and school connectedness . ■
Safe space
Reports of image-based abuse more than double in young Australians .
Australia ’ s independent online safety regulator received more than 1000 reports of image-based abuse in the first quarter of 2022 , compared to just over 600 last year , new figures have revealed .
More than 60 per cent of the reports ( 667 ) were from people aged 13 to 24 ,
which is almost double for the same period last year ( 368 ).
Image-based abuse is when a sexual photo or video of someone is shared online without their permission .
It ’ s commonly used as a weapon against people on social media apps including Instagram , TikTok and Snapchat .
Amid increasing report of the crime , Australia ’ s independent online safety regulator has launched a campaign
“ SCROLL ”, aimed at educating youth on how to respond to online abuse .
“ SCROLL is a campaign for Gen Z , by Gen Z , that aims to make young Australians more aware of what they can do , and the support that is available when they experience strife online ,” said eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant .
“ At its heart , it ’ s about empowering teenagers to get the help they need to stay safe online , so they can keep doing all the things they love and reduce their risk of being abused , harassed or groomed for the purpose of sexual exploitation or extortion .”
A 2021 study by Western Sydney University revealed that young people ’ s key concerns included catfishing , fake accounts , sexual exploitation , privacy issues , cyber-bullying and hackers .
Other online safety concerns included false advertising , fake news and being exposed to pornography and violent content .
Patience , 20 , hopes the new campaign improves the online experience for her generation .
“ Even though we are considered socalled ‘ digital natives ’, we can still struggle navigating the online world – but we still want to learn , help , support and share ,” she said . ■ educationreview . com . au | 7