Posts in Inclusive neighbourhoods
When children's worlds are small: Why access is a design issue
When children's worlds are small: Why access is a design issue

In the quest to improve outcomes for children, schools often bear the brunt of reform. However, the foundations of advantage and success are laid long before children enter a classroom. Informal learning experiences such as sport, arts activities, libraries, travel and participation in community life help build confidence, language, belonging and aspiration. Drawing on insights from practice and research, Sachie Yasuda argues that unequal access to these experiences creates a hidden dimension of inequality, and that policy must do more to support children and families to navigate unfamiliar spaces and opportunities.

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children, Education, Inclusive neighbourhoodsPower to PersuadeAccess, equallity, learning, children
Living Between Two Worlds: What Bhutanese Refugee Adolescents Teach Us About Belonging
Living Between Two Worlds: What Bhutanese Refugee Adolescents Teach Us About Belonging

Refugee young people are often discussed in terms of settlement, integration and vulnerability, yet their everyday experiences of belonging are far more complex. This post explores how Bhutanese refugee adolescents in Australia negotiate belonging across school, family and community life. It challenges linear ideas of “settlement” by showing belonging as an ongoing, relational process. It highlights their agency as cultural brokers navigating intergenerational expectations, hybrid identities and everyday exclusions. In this post, Dr Nabaraj Mudwari shows how refugee youth experience living between cultures as a source of resilience, creativity and strength and asks institutions, especially schools, to recognise and value this complexity.

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Lived experience, Inclusive neighbourhoodsPower to Persuaderefugees and asylum seekers, Belonging, Bhutan, Young people
The Untapped Potential of Neighbourhoods for Supporting Children with Disability and their Families
The Untapped Potential of Neighbourhoods for Supporting Children with Disability and their Families

Professor Hannah Badland from RMIT University explores why neighbourhoods matter for the health of children with disability, an area largely overlooked in Australian disability policy. This blog draws on an article published this week by Hannah and colleagues from RMIT University, which shows that Australian disability policy does not capture the complexity of this issue.

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Accessibility, Liveable neighbourhoods, Inclusive neighbourhoods, Policy and governancePower to PersuadeDisability, urban planning, Children