Melissa Johnstone | The University of Queensland, Australia (original) (raw)

Papers by Melissa Johnstone

JMIR formative research, Jan 6, 2022

Australian Journal of Education, Feb 17, 2023

Australian children from regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas exhibit lower educational outcome... more Australian children from regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas exhibit lower educational outcomes than their peers in metropolitan areas. The mechanisms driving the comparatively poorer educational outcomes of children in RRR areas, however, are not well understood. This paper proposes and tests two sets of factors that may be responsible for these disparities: population socio-demographic composition and school climate. Using rich survey and linked administrative data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children ( n = 9,248 observations), we estimate the relative contribution of these sets of factors to RRR children’s disadvantage in NAPLAN numeracy test scores. Our results indicate that both socio-demographic and school climate factors account for part of the educational disparities between children in RRR and metropolitan areas. These findings suggest that hybrid policy approaches that tackle both the social determinants of educational success and use schools as an intervention site are required to close the achievement gap.

Australian Journal of Social Issues

Institute for Social Science Research (UQ), May 11, 2021

Institute for Social Science Research, Oct 9, 2020

Institute for Social Science Research, Sep 24, 2021

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

Historically, research on educator wellbeing has focused on ill health including stress, burnout ... more Historically, research on educator wellbeing has focused on ill health including stress, burnout and emotional exhaustion. There is a dearth of research examining healthy workplace wellbeing among early childhood educators, which makes developing strategies to support their wellbeing difficult. Moreover, there is a lack of clarity about the concept of educator workplace wellbeing and a lack of understanding of the complex interplay between factors supporting and thwarting wellbeing within long day-care centres. This two-phase study used a mixed-methods research design. Presented in this paper are the findings from phase one. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 22 early childhood educators in long day-care centres reflected on educator workplace wellbeing as a broad concept encompassing social, emotional, physical and economic factors. Educator ‘voices’ provided insight into the individual, relational and contextual elements impacting on their personal workplace wellbeing.

Women’s work and family choices are affected by social pressures and external constraints. Unders... more Women’s work and family choices are affected by social pressures and external constraints. Understanding young women’s aspirations for future work and family is important for understanding their future needs and for developing supportive work–family practices and policies. Despite criticism, Lifestyle Preference Theory has been argued to explain women’s life choices, and historically has been used to inform Australian policy. We address three issues: whether Lifestyle Preference Groups are consistent with young Australian women’s stated preferences; whether aspirations are consistent over time; and whether women’s later lives are consistent with their earlier stated preferences. Using four waves of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), young women’s work and family aspirations were investigated cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Most aspired to both paid work and family; most changed their preferences over time; and the fit between preferences in 2000 and lifestyle in 2009 was modest. Lifestyle Preference Theory was not an adequate fit to the data.

BACKGROUND Emerging adulthood is a distinct segment of an individual’s life course. The defining ... more BACKGROUND Emerging adulthood is a distinct segment of an individual’s life course. The defining features of this transitional period include identity exploration, instability, future possibilities, self-focus, and feeling in-between, all of which are thought to affect quality of life, health, and well-being. A longitudinal cohort study with a comprehensive set of measures would be a valuable resource for improving the understanding of the multifaceted elements and unique challenges that contribute to the health and well-being of emerging adults. OBJECTIVE The main aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of recruiting university graduates to establish a longitudinal cohort study to inform the understanding of emerging adulthood. METHODS This pilot study was conducted among graduates at a large university. It involved collecting web-based survey data at baseline (ie, graduation) and 12 months post baseline, and linking survey responses to health reco...

Journal of Family Issues, 2021

Australia has a relatively high proportion of stay-at-home mothers, despite most young women aspi... more Australia has a relatively high proportion of stay-at-home mothers, despite most young women aspiring to combine motherhood with paid work. Using two waves of quantitative data from the 1973–1978 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, and interviews with a subsample of stay-at-home mothers, we aimed to understand the role of agency in women’s work–family outcomes and the impact upon their well-being. More than four out of five stay-at-home mothers (83%) had previously aspired to combine motherhood with paid work. There were no differences in mental health scores of stay-at-home mothers according to prior work aspirations. However, stay-at-home mothers had marginally lower life satisfaction, and were more dissatisfied with the progress of their career when they had previously aspired to paid work, compared with unpaid work. Although women described their current situation as a ‘choice’, their choices were deeply embedded within gendered, social and economic co...

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 2020

Extant literature on Early Childhood educator workplace well-being focuses on the disease model o... more Extant literature on Early Childhood educator workplace well-being focuses on the disease model of well-being, with studies mainly addressing stress and burnout. There is a paucity of research conceptualising healthy workplace well-being for educators and an absence of theorising to frame, understand and enhance Early Childhood educator workplace well-being. This paper reports on Phase 2 of an exploratory sequential mixed methods study, which aimed to explore the individual, relational, and contextual factors influencing healthy workplace well-being. Using Phase 1 interview findings (Author, blind for review), a survey was developed to investigate predictors on workplace well-being in early childhood services in Australia. The survey drew on the sub-theory ‘Basic psychological needs’ of Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that autonomy, relatedness, and competence predicted workplace well-being even after controlling for dem...

Current conceptualisations of Early Childhood (EC) educator workplace well-being are problematic ... more Current conceptualisations of Early Childhood (EC) educator workplace well-being are problematic due to large gaps in the workplace well-being literature. Gaps include a dearth of research examining healthy well-being, limited qualitative studies to understand the complexity of workplace well-being and a focus on hedonic well-being (happiness at work) without the inclusion of eudaimonic well-being (meaningful work). Moreover, attention in the literature is mainly given to external conditions influencing well-being such as poor pay and working conditions. This article begins with a critique of EC workplace well-being literature and then provides an argument that asserts Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has the potential to provide a more suitable conceptualisation of EC educator well-being. Key principles of both SDT and Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) are provided to highlight the suitability of using SDT to understand and also support the healthy well-being of those workin...

Isolation, Mental Health Problems and Homelessness The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated ... more Isolation, Mental Health Problems and Homelessness The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that in the year 2011-12, three million Australians (13.6 per cent) experienced an adverse mental or behavioural condition. This subset of the population includes people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, recurrent major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorder. Due to their symptoms and often also due to the effects of medication, people with a serious and chronic mental illness tend to have fewer social contacts and supports, are likely to be receiving less income, and are at increased risk of unstable housing.

The Australian early childhood sector is grappling with high teacher turnover rates in a climate ... more The Australian early childhood sector is grappling with high teacher turnover rates in a climate where the demand for teachers is higher than ever due to regulatory increases in qualifications and an influx of centre based services. The necessity to understand what inspires those teachers who remain in the sector and the factors enhancing their job satisfaction is pertinent in the current context. This article reports on a study of teacher job satisfaction while examining the potential of Deci and Ryan's (1985) Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a mechanism for understanding this phenomenon. The study consisted of two phases. Phase one included 229 teachers completing an online survey measuring job satisfaction, intention to turnover, extrinsic factors as well as a major component of SDT (the three Basic Psychological Needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competence in the workplace) with the W-BNS. In phase two, in-depth interviews were conducted with ten teachers who reported hi...

Community, Work & Family, 2020

Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 2021

How do the demographic characteristics, mental health experiences and disclosure experiences of d... more How do the demographic characteristics, mental health experiences and disclosure experiences of donor-conceived adults shape motivations for seeking information about their sperm donors, contact with them, or both? Sixty-nine Australian adults who conceived through sperm donors completed an online survey. Uniquely, information and contact seeking were investigated as two distinct concepts. Participants reported a variety of demographic, mental health, disclosure and discovery experiences. Most had been motivated to seek information about their donor (88%), contact with them (71%), or both. The most commonly reported motivations for each act were for medical information, expanding their identity and curiosity. Logistic regression findings were significant for wanting medical information as a motivation for seeking donor information (P = 0.03). Endorsement of this motivation was associated with self-reported anxiety (P = 0.02) and less likely as participant age increased (P = 0.02). Motivation to contact donors for medical information was associated with self-reported anxiety (P = 0.02) and depression (P = 0.01), and more likely when the participant was raised in a household that included the recipient co-parent (P = 0.04). As years since disclosure or discovery increased, participants were less likely to report wanting medical information as a motivation (P = 0.02). Overall, participants were motivated to obtain information and seek contact with sperm donors. Motivations for each were similar despite participants varying in age and reporting a range of circumstances regarding disclosure, some of which were adverse.