Student Wellbeing, Engagement and Learning across the Middle Years - Report

Oct 15, 2026

Report prepared by researchers from the Centre for Adolescent Health (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute) for the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. It examines how student wellbeing relates to school engagement and learning during the middle years, focusing on emotional and behavioural problems and their links to learning outcomes and disengagement by Year 7. The publication includes an aim and outline, key findings, points for consideration, glossary, and a conceptual overview built on the three pillars of quality education, plus school environment and peer relationships.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages91

Reading Time3 h 49 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Acknowledgements

Executive summary

Aim and outline of the report

Key Findings

Points for Consideration

Glossary

Introduction

Puberty and the Middle Years

The Middle Years and Education

Focus of the Report

Conceptual Overview

The three pillars of quality education

School environment - Peer relationships

Relationships between student wellbeing, school engagement and learning

Conceptual model in the middle years

Aims of the report

Wellbeing: Emotional problems

Wellbeing: Behaviour Problems

Wellbeing: Subjective Wellbeing

Student Wellbeing, Engagement and Learning across the Middle Years The Centre for Adolescent Health Prepared by: Dr Tracy Evans-Whipp Dr Lisa Mundy Ms Louise Canterford Professor George Patton September 2017 The Centre for Adolescent Health is a research group of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Centre for Adolescent Health The Royal Children’s Hospital 50 Flemington Road, Parkville Victoria 3052 Australia Telephone +61 9645 6732 [https://cats.mcri.edu.au/](https://cats.mcri.edu.au/) © Commonwealth of Australia 2018 With the exception of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and The Royal Children’s Hospital branding, content provided by third parties, and any material protected by a trademark, all textual material presented in this publication is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0) <[creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/](creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/) >. You may copy, distribute and build upon this work for commercial and non-commercial purposes; however, you must attribute the Commonwealth of Australia as the copyright holder of the work. Content that is copyrighted by a third party is subject to the licencing arrangements of the original owner . This report was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. The findings and views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Department of Education and Training. Suggested citation: The Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (2018) . Student Wellbeing, Engagement and Learning across the Middle Years, Canberra: Australian Government Department of Education and Training. ISBN 978-1-76051-560-7 [PDF] ISBN 978-1-76051-561-4 [DOCX] Contents Contents ................................................................................................................ i List of Figures .........................................................................................................iv List [of Tables ..........................................................................................................vi](of Tables ..........................................................................................................vi) [Acknowledgements.................................................................................................. vii](Acknowledgements.................................................................................................. vii) [Executive summary .................................................................................................](Executive summary .................................................................................................). 1 Aim and outline of the report ................................................................................... 1 Key Findings ........................................................................................................ 2 Points for Consideration.......................................................................................... 4 Glossary ................................................................................................................ 6 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 9 Puberty and the Middle Years ................................................................................... 9 The Middle Years and Education ............................................................................... 10 Focus of the Report .............................................................................................. 11 Conceptual Overview ............................................................................................... 13 Overview ..........................................................................................

FAQs

Who commissioned the report and who prepared it?

The report was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. It was prepared by Dr Tracy Evans-Whipp, Dr Lisa Mundy, Ms Louise Canterford, and Professor George Patton from the Centre for Adolescent Health.

What is the main focus regarding student wellbeing in the middle years?

It focuses on how wellbeing connects with school engagement and learning across the middle years, especially through emotional problems and behaviour problems and their relationships to learning and disengagement.

Which wellbeing areas are examined in the report?

The report includes sections on emotional problems, behaviour problems, and subjective wellbeing.

Oct 15, 2026

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