Engaging children at-risk through World Vision Australia’s Kids Hope Aus. Program

This paper reports on the findings of a pilot study examining teacher perceptions of the efficacy of the Kids Hope Aus. program. Kids Hope Aus. is an early intervention and prevention program for children at risk of social and academic disengagement. The program emphasises the significance of developing a child’s social skills to build resilience and enhance the child’s social engagement and general academic achievement within the school setting. The intervention incorporates an adult/child-mentoring framework that serves to ameliorate the effects of specific risk factors that place children at greater risk of vulnerability. The evaluation involved 188 teachers drawn from rural and metropolitan districts in the State of Victoria, Australia, of children who participated in the Kids Hope Aus. program. The findings of the study provide preliminary data that identifies the Kids Hope Aus. program as a cogent intervention framework for fostering greater social inclusion and academic enhancement for young children that can be easily disseminated in regular school communities.