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Empowered with Wings: Professional Development for Supporting Children's Social and Emotional Wellbeing in South-West Queensland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2016

Jennifer Cartmel ,
Kerry Smith  and
Debbie Miller
Jennifer Cartmel*
Affiliation:
Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Kerry Smith
Affiliation:
Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Debbie Miller
Affiliation:
Pathways to Resilience Trust, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Jennifer Cartmel, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University. E-mail: j.cartmel@griffith.edu.au
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Abstract

Wings: Social and emotional wellbeing in the early years is a professional development programme designed to assist educators in early years services to improve outcomes for children. It uses a strengths-based approach and supports educators to understand the impact of their interactions with children and to use communication strategies, such as descriptive feedback, to develop children's capacities. These strategies are used to help children recognise their strengths and build their ability to self-regulate and manage their own social and emotional wellbeing. This paper reports on the outcomes of the Wings programme introduced into early childhood services in rural and remote south-west Queensland, Australia, through the Community Wellbeing Project run by the Pathways to Resilience Trust in partnership with Anglicare Southern Queensland. Preliminary findings indicate the Wings programme successfully enhanced the confidence and knowledge of early years educators engaged in promoting children's social and emotional wellbeing.

Keywords

Professional developmentwellbeingearly childhoodsocial developmentemotional development
Type
Practice-Based Commentaries
Information
Children Australia , Volume 41 , Special Issue 4: A FOCUS ON REGIONAL AND RURAL CONTEXTS , December 2016 , pp. 292 - 296
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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