HDR Scholarship - Healthy School thinking

Location

Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus

Research topic

The United Nations (UN) Convention of the Rights of the Child indicates that 'children have the right to the best health care possible, clean water to drink, healthy food and a clean and safe environment to live in'. Most children in Australia attend school for seven hours a day making schools an important setting for protecting these rights and helping children make healthy choices. However, in the face of increasing marketing and availability of unhealthy food, reduced opportunities for physical activity and an increasingly gloomy climate outlook, schools need support to protect children’s physical and mental health.

This project is part of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funded Systems Thinking with Active Implementation Research (STAIR) trial supported by world-leading researchers experienced in Community-based Systems Dynamics and implementation science based at the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) and service delivery partners (Victorian Departments of Education and Health, Royal Flying Doctors Service, VicHealth) in Victoria, Australia. If successful, it will be the first Australian study to test co-designed implementation strategies for helping schools sustain healthy environments.

Project aim

Informed by the Interactive Systems Framework, this PhD project explores the form and function of a prevention system for Victorian schools. Research questions the project will seek to answer are:

Can school communities co-design and sustain effective health and wellbeing interventions for students?
Can school community partners such as the Department of Education or the Department of Healthy help schools build capacity for sustaining healthy school environments?
What is the return on investment?

Answering these questions will provide school communities, partners and government with direct insight into how how best to support ongoing health promotion efforts in schools.

Important dates

Applications will remain open until a candidate has been appointed.

Benefits

This scholarship is available over 3 years.

Stipend of $34,400 per annum tax exempt (2024 rate)
Relocation allowance of $500-1500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
International students only: Tuition fees offset for the duration of 4 years. Single Overseas Student Health Cover policy for the duration of the student visa.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible you must:

be a domestic or international candidate. Domestic includes candidates with Australian Citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency or New Zealand Citizenship.
meet Deakin's PhD entry requirements
be enrolling full time and hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard master's degree with a substantial research component.

Please refer to the research degree entry pathways page for further information.

How to apply

Please email a CV, academic transcript and example of written work (such as journal article, report or student assignment) to Professor Colin Bell. The CV should highlight your skills, education, publications and relevant work experience. Suitable applicants will then be invited to submit a formal application.