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The association between playgroup participation, learning competence and social-emotional wellbeing for children aged four-five years in AustraliaThis study provides evidence that continued participation in playgroups is associated with better outcomes for children from disadvantaged families.
Research
Review of the quality of evidence for preschool and school-based programs to support social and emotional skills, perseverance and academic self-conceptThis project provides guidance to help school leaders review the evidence for different programs, as well as a review of universal, evidence-based pre-school and school-based social and emotional learning programs available in Australia.
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The ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (Life Course Centre or LCC)The Life Course Centre is a national centre funded by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence Scheme and hosted through the University of Queensland with collaborating nodes at the University of Western Australia, Sydney University and University of Melbourne.
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Randomised Controlled Trial of a Therapeutic Playgroup for Children with Developmental DelaysA single-blind randomised control trial investigated the effectiveness of the Learn, Engage and Play (LEaP) playgroup. Seventy-one children with developmental delay were randomly allocated to an 8-week LEaP playgroup or control group and followed up at 12 and 28 weeks.
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The Power of Playgroups: Key components of supported and therapeutic playgroups from the perspective of parentsPlaygroups are community-based programs for children and families aiming to improve child outcomes, enhance family and community networks and increase parenting capacity. Despite the prevalence of playgroups in Australian communities there is a lack of research clearly articulating the key components of playgroups, specifically from the perspective of parents attending these groups.
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Interventions to Improve Child Physical Activity in the Early Childhood Education and Care Setting: An Umbrella ReviewEarly childhood education and care (ECEC) services are a key setting to support improvements in the physical activity of young children. This umbrella review gathered and synthesised systematic review evidence of the effectiveness of interventions in the ECEC setting on the physical activity levels of children aged 0–6.
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Interpregnancy intervals and child development at age 5: A population data linkage studyTo investigate the associations between interpregnancy intervals (IPIs) and developmental vulnerability in children's first year of full-time school (age 5). A retrospective cohort study using logistic regression. ORs were estimated for associations with IPIs with adjustment for child, parent and community sociodemographic variables.
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Association between preschooler movement behaviours, family dog ownership, dog play and dog walking: Findings from the PLAYCE studyPhysical inactivity in childhood is a major public health issue. Dog ownership has been widely reported to lead to greater physical activity in adults and school-aged children. We examined if dog ownership and dog-facilitated physical activity were associated with higher physical activity in preschoolers. Secondary analysis of the 'Play Spaces & Environments for Children's Physical Activity' (PLAYCE, 2015-2018) study involving 1366, 2-5-year-olds from 122 long day-care centres in Perth, Australia was conducted.
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Study protocol for Healthy Conversations @ Playgroup: a multi-site cluster randomized controlled trial of an intervention to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours in young children attending community playgroupsEarly childhood is a critical window for preventing obesity and chronic disease. Yet, 1 in 4 Australian children aged 5 years and under are affected by overweight or obesity; and significant proportions of children under 5 years fail to meet guidelines for diet quality, physical activity (PA), screen time, and sleep.
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Tasmania’s child and family centres: a place-based early childhood services model for families and children from pregnancy to age fiveTasmania’s child and family centres users made more use of early childhood services than did non-users