Building on an increasing emphasis on social justice, recent writing has focused on practitioner psychologists' policy advocacy. Research indicates that school and counseling psychologists experience policy work as rewarding and challenging, and it has been suggested that initial training programs need to equip new practitioners with the skills…

For applied psychologists, the goal is to promote positive outcomes among the individuals and groups they serve. Psychological practice takes place within a real-world context, including societal conditions that both harm and support children. Within school and counseling psychology, growing recognition of the impact of society on children has led…

Economic development and environmental development have been long-lasting debates between capitalists and environmentalists. It is also seen as a debate around modernization with globalization at one end and environmental justice at the other end. Our society today is moving rapidly toward development and increased industrial revolutions and…

Background: The measurement of equality is often difficult for groups who are weakly defined or poorly represented in official datasets. Social statistics are an essential component in rights recognition and advocacy because they make protected groups of persons visible and reveal the extent of their inequalities in comparison with population…

Language proficiency testing has long played a role as both facilitator and barrier in global migration. This paper outlines how Canada and other traditional migrant destination countries use English-language proficiency testing for immigration, asylum and resettlement, and citizenship. It identifies commonalities between these three related areas…

The authors discuss their application of John W. Kingdon's multiple streams framework (MSF) and the role it plays in the analysis of a pioneering local public policy in the United Kingdom (UK). The aim of this policy, instituted in 2009 and initiated by a group of Bristol's mothers, was to reclaim children's right to play, mainly for their own…

Purpose: The article examines the ways in which professional associations representing those working in international education are able to shape national systems and thereby change the ways in which the country engages internationally. This is particularly significant for Australia, which has one of the world's most internationalised higher…

Climate change is an incredibly important issue that has horrific long-term impacts if necessary lifestyle and policy changes are not made now. Despite the presence of significant scientific evidence of climate change for years, many politicians are still unable to admit that climate change is real, let alone create policies to better combat this…

Background: Tooth extractions are the most common cause of hospital admissions for children in England. Water fluoridation has the potential to reduce this number by 60%, is backed by the scientific and public health communities, and yet is currently consumed by only 10% of the population. Aims and objectives: This 'evidence-policy gap' is…

UK social care policy has "traditionally" sought to minimise organisational and sector boundaries through cooperation and partnership. This discussion paper argues that there is a case for a social care system based openly on separation of powers to address the conflicts of interest that inevitably exist between the actors--notably local…

This paper discusses the responses of schools and teachers in England and some other developed countries to Trans children, that is, those who feel that their assigned sex at birth was not correct. These children may be defined as Trans, that is wanting to change their assigned sex, or in other ways, such as having gender distress or dysphoria, or…

This paper explores the characteristics of learning festivals and Adult Learners' Weeks and their use as tools of advocacy in seeking policy change on behalf of under-represented groups, and it considers their impact on public policy affecting adult learners. In addition, it reflects on the role of the week in celebrating a culture of adult…

International development partnerships are characterised by inherent power relations with community partners often seen as needing assistance in fixing their problems. In this paper, we discuss the limitations of this perspective on the example of gender equality in the Pacific. We explore applied theatre tools to work with a variety of…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the removal of refugee protections on refugee education and mental health, in addition to the protective roles of advocacy, community, and religion. We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven Chin refugees from Myanmar who were refugee school leaders in Malaysia (mean age = 23; 57%…

This article explores public debates about credibility in media discourse regarding a Somali refugee who was raped on Nauru. Given the pseudonym "Abyan", she was living on Nauru as a result of Australian refugee policy and was brought to Australia for medical assistance. Her treatment by the Australian authorities became the subject of…