Enhancing connectedness in Australian children and young people

This article looks at the importance of connectedness in the lives of children and young people and what this means for promoting both individual resilience and healthy communities. The focus is specifically on the role of education in helping students feel a sense of inclusive belonging in school and what teachers can do to enhance positive and healthy relationships. The article outlines the impetus for focusing on these issues in Australian education together with recent research that argues for an ecological framework in which authentic belonging is embedded across all parts of a school system. It gives specific examples of how connectedness is being developed in schools and educational jurisdictions across the country.