CCDE works with families and parents in diverse social settings to understand the circumstances in which children live and grow. We are committed to sensitive engagement and in-depth qualitative research including ethnographic and clinically oriented studies with parents and their children that acknowledges both the cultural context of Aboriginal parenting and the contemporary context of social change and disadvantage.
We have developed culturally appropriate, evidence-informed materials and resources for parenting interventions both in urban and remote communities in Australia and in PNG.
We also conduct formal evaluations of the impact of parenting programs for parents and families, to reduce risks of self-harm, violence and antisocial behaviour and to support children’s development and wellbeing throughout the life course.
Current projects:
- MECSH: NT Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting program evaluation.
- Closing the Gap: antenatal and early childhood sustained home visiting
Major past projects:
- Catholic Education Office NT
- Murrupurtiyanuwu Catholic School
- Commonwealth Department of Social Services
- Australian Red Cross
- UNICEF PNG
- Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development
- Northern Territory Government Department of Health
Current publications:
- Stock, C., Mares, S., & Robinson, G. (2017). Working together in a good way: Relationships between local Indigenous and fly-in workers delivering a parent–child programme in remote Aboriginal communities. International Social Work, 62(1), 48-61. doi.org/10.1177/0020872817710545
- Mares, S., & Robinson, G. (2013). Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. ACPARIAN - The e-journal of the Australian Clinical Psychology Association, (7), 26-32.
- Stock, C., Mares, S., & Robinson, G. (2012). Telling and Re-telling Stories: The use of narrative and drawing in a group intervention with parents and children in a remote Aboriginal community. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 33(2), 157-170. https://doi.org/10.1017/aft.2012.17
- Mares, S., & Robinson, G. (2012). Culture, context and therapeutic processes: delivering a parent-child intervention in a remote Aboriginal community. Australasian Psychiatry, 20(2), 102-7. doi:10.1177/1039856211432484
- Robinson, G. W., Tyler, B., Silburn, S. R., & Zubrick, S. R. (2013). Gender, Culture and Intervention: Exploring Differences between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Children's Responses to an Early Intervention Programme. Children and Society, 27(6), 459-470. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2011.00424.x
- Robinson, G., Tyler, B., Jones, Y., Silburn, S., & Zubrick, S. (2011). Context, Diversity and Engagement: Early intervention with Australian Aboriginal families in urban and remote contexts. Children and Society, 26(5), 343-355. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2010.00353.x.
Earlier publications:
- Robinson, G. (2005). Anthropology, Explanation and Intervention: Risk and Resilience in a Parent- and Child-Focused Program. Anthropological Forum, 15(1).
- Robinson, G., & Tyler, B. (2006). Ngaripirliga’ajirri: An Early Intervention Program on the Tiwi Islands, Final Evaluation Report. Charles Darwin University.
- Robinson, G., & Mares, S. (2013) Working with Aboriginal families, Chapter 6 in Scott, D and Arney F(Eds), Working with Vulnerable Families – A partnership approach (2nd edition) Cambridge University Press, Melbourne.
- McTurk, N., Carapetis, J., Lea, T., Robinson, G., & Nutton, G. (2008). The School Readiness of Australian Indigenous Children: A Review of the Literature, Menzies School of Health Research and School for Social Policy Research, Charles Darwin University.
- Silburn, S., & Walker, R., (2008). Community Learning for Parenthood. Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth.
- Arney, F., McGuinness, K., & Robinson, G. (2009). In the best interests of the child? Determining the effects of the Northern Territory Emergency Response on child safety and wellbeing. Law in Context, 27(2), 42-57.
- Robinson, G., Mares, S., & Arney, F. (2017). Continuity, engagement and integration: early intervention in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. Australian Social Work, 70(1), 116-124.
- Robinson, G., Moss, B., & Leckning, B. (2016). Prevention of unintentional injury in childhood: A selective review of the evidence on unintentional injury, parental supervision and prevention. Darwin: Menzies School of Health Research.
- Mares, S., & Woodgate, S. (2017). The clinical assessment of infants, preschoolers and their families, In Rey JM (ed), IACAPAP e-Textbook of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Geneva: International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions.
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Media Release | Study highlights pathways to school success
The study offers valuable insights into how foundational skills for life and learning contribute to successful school participation and subsequent academic achievement; and provokes a reset on prioritising social, emotional, and cognitive skills necessary for learning in the complex and dynamic environment of the Northern Territory.
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Study highlights dimensions of resilience among remote Aboriginal middle school students
More than 1000 students and teachers from remote Northern Territory (NT) schools have assisted in implementing the Skills for Life resilience program with results now published in the highly regarded multidisciplinary journal PLOS ONE.
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There are 3 new Closing the Gap education targets: here's what they miss
At Menzies and CDU we have been looking at what happens to Indigenous students in the NT as they move through school.
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Strengthening family relationships through play
Local Aboriginal implementation officers are delivering an innovative variation of the Play to Connect parenting program in Wurrumiyanga, Tiwi Islands to support families through learning and play. The Menzies Play to Connect team works with parents and...
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Nine News: Menzies awarded a $1.8m tender
To evaluate a nurse home visiting program for mothers to run right across the Territory.
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NTG Media Release | Investing in Our Children: MECSH Program Evaluation
The Menzies School of Health Research won the tender to evaluate the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-Visiting (MECSH) program.