Families Under Pressure podcast series
‘Families Under Pressure’ is a podcast series from the Life Course Centre (LCC) that examines the pressures facing families and what can be done to better support children and families over their life course journey. Professor Matthew Sanders, Director of the Parenting and Family Support Centre interviews LCC Chief Investigators who are sociologists, economists, developmental researchers, criminologists/psychologists and parenting experts. The podcast series discuss their expertise area of research that has been supported through the LCC.
Families Under Pressure - Introduction
Join Professor Matt Sanders from The University of Queensland for this new podcast series from the Live Course Centre.
Over this series, we examine the pressures facing families today and the practical steps that can be taken to better support our children and families over their life course journey.
You can find Families Under Pressure wherever you get your podcasts and more details at the Life Course Centre website.
Episode 1: The Life Course Approach
These are unprecedented times for families. COVID-19 represents a severe life course shock with long-term impacts in areas such as employment, household finances, education, welfare, poverty, well-being and mental health. When there is a large-scale shock like this, the risk is that social, economic and health disadvantage can become further entrenched for those families already struggling, and those facing new unexpected pressures.
The Life Course Centre is well placed to identify the risks of deep and persistent disadvantage for Australian children and families, and to develop innovative solutions to address its intergenerational impact. The Centre’s life course approach observes people’s life trajectories, not just a single point in time, and examines the influence of key life events and transitions such as childhood, adolescence and parenthood. This framework brings together a diversity of researchers, with a shared collaborative focus on tackling disadvantage and better equipping children and families to overcome it.
In this episode of ‘Families Under Pressure’, Life Course Centre Chief Investigator Professor Matt Sanders speaks with Centre Director Professor Janeen Baxter, a leading sociologist at the forefront of research on family dynamics. They discuss the unique pressures facing families today, the important role of family structures, parenting, relationships and other supports, and what can be done to best support those experiencing, or at high risk of, the negative effects of disadvantage in these uncertain times.
Episode 2: Professor Stephen Zubrick
In this episode of Families Under Pressure, Professor Matt Sanders speaks to Professor Steve Zubrick.
Prof Zubrick is a Senior Principal Research Fellow based at the Telethon Kids Institute, and Deputy Director (Research) for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course.
More details at the Life Course Centre website.
Prior to joining the University of Western Australia, he spent 12 years as Head of the Division of Population Science at the Telethon Kids Institute. His qualifications are in the fields of psychology, and speech and hearing science.
Episode 3: Professor Lorraine Mazerolle
In this episode of Families Under Pressure, Professor Matt Sanders speaks to Professor Lorraine Mazerolle.
Prof. Mazerolle is Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Queensland, and leads the Social Transformations program at the Life Course Centre, and the Social Interventions Portfolio in the Life Course Centre. She is an experimental criminologist with more than 20 years’ experience in Australia and the US running large, randomised field trials evaluating the effectiveness of various crime prevention and crime control interventions.
Her research appears in the world’s top criminological journals, and has been instrumental in changing police practice. Recognised as an international leader in policing and crime control, she was the Foundation Director and a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security and a Chief Investigator in the Drug Policy Modelling Program.
Episode 4: Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark
In this episode of Families Under Pressure, Professor Matt Sanders speaks to Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark.
Prof. Cobb-Clark is Professor of Economics at the University of Sydney. She leads the Human Capabilities Program in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course and is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.
Episode 5: Dr Jenna McWilliam
In this episode of Families Under Pressure, Professor Matt Sanders speaks to Dr Jenna McWilliam - the Head of Organisational Development at Triple P International.
Dr McWilliam is an organisational psychologist with extensive international experience, with a strong focus on enhancing social impact for children, families and communities, through the implementation and scale-up of evidenced-based programs.
Episode 6: Dr Kylie Burke
In this episode of Families Under Pressure, Professor Matt Sanders speaks to Dr Kylie Burke.
Dr Burke's work focuses on supporting parents and children experiencing adversity, including parenting adolescents, supporting parents of children with life-threatening childhood illnesses and the intergenerational effects of social disadvantage.
She is currently the Director of a population-based trial of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, a multi-level system of evidence-based parenting support.
Episode 7: Professor Guyonne Kalb
In this episode of Families Under Pressure, Professor Matt Sanders speaks to Professor Guyonne Kalb.
Professor Guyonne Kalb is a Professorial Fellow, Senior Research Manager and co-Coordinator of the Labour Markets and Employment Program in the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne. She has a PhD in Econometrics from Monash University.
Episode 8: Professor Janeen Baxter
In this episode, Professor Matt Sanders speaks to Professor Janeen Baxter and Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark - both joining the podcast for the second time.
They discuss future directions for the Life Course Centre's research, the new ways it will be investigating disadvantage, and the new research disciplines, data, and methods it will employ to better support children and families.
Episode 9: Professor Daryl Higgins
In this conversation Daryl, and Families Under Pressure host, Life Course Centre Chief Investigator, Professor Matt Sanders, discuss a topic that is so important to all of us – the safety and protection of our children.
Professor Daryl Higgins is the Director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne.
Episode 10: Toni Wren
In this conversation Toni Wren, and Families Under Pressure host, Life Course Centre Chief Investigator, Professor Matt Sanders, discuss what poverty means in Australia, who experiences it, lessons from COVID-19, and solutions to empower children and families to exit poverty and break the intergenerational cycle of disadvantage.
Toni Wren is the Executive Director of Anti-Poverty Week, which is held every October to raise awareness and understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty in Australia, and to encourage action to end it.
Episode 11: Special Webinar Recording
This is a special episode, recorded as part of a panel discussion hosted by Life Course Centre research leaders. In the midst of a global crisis that has upended almost all aspects of how we live and work, a life course approach turns attention to the long-term impacts of COVID-19.
Looking at the pandemic through a life course lens also provides a chance to reflect on opportunities from COVID-19 for examining long-standing, taken-for-granted rules and regulations about living and working.
Episode 12: Professor Mark Western
In this conversation, Professor Mark Western and Professor Matt Sanders examine ‘why the social matters’ and the priorities, challenges and opportunities for social science in Australia.
Professor Mark Western is a sociologist and the Director of the Institute for Social Science Research at The University of Queensland. He works on applied projects across social policy, is a former Chief Investigator in the Life Course Centre, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.
Episode 13: Professor Donna Cross
In this episode, Professor Matt Sanders discusses the importance of schools with fellow Life Course Centre Chief Investigator Professor Donna Cross from the Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia. Donna is Program Head, Development & Education at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, and an internationally renowned child development and health promotion expert.
Donna is committed to bringing researchers, educators, policymakers, families and communities together to improve children’s and young people’s social and emotional development and wellbeing.
Listen to the podcast
You can listen to the ‘Families Under Pressure’ podcast series across all major podcasting apps and services.
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