Introductions

          Schools should be safe places with a positive climate and good relationships. Research has a vital role to play in helping teachers, pupils and parents. This workshop will focus on ways of improving social relationships in schools, school safety and school climate. It will not directly examine academic achievement, although safer and happier schools will also impact on this. The workshop will share expertise in these areas on a cross-disciplinary basis. In particular it will focus on new challenges as well as opportunities that face schools. These include:

• Increased diversity (in ethnicity, faith, and immigrant pupil
• Use and abuse of new communication technologies and redesigning schools for the digital age
• Dealing with problems of violence and bullying
• Harnessing the potential of pupil participation and youth voice.
  

Objectives
          The workshop will provide a forum where early career researchers (ECRs) can meet and learn from senior scholars who have outstanding publishing backgrounds. Specifically, the objectives of the workshop will be to:

• Provide an opportunity for learning about theoretical and methodological issues related to research in schools through presentations from senior scholars
• Facilitate identification of gaps and opportunities in research on school climate and school safety and stimulate further research in this area by young scholars
  
• Provide a forum for training ECRs on research methods and procedures
• Provide ECRs the opportunity to present some of their ongoing research projects and receive feedback and guidance
• Train ECRs on ways of maximising impact of their research through press releases and media interviews
• Provide an opportunity for ECRs to network
• Provide an interactive forum for ECRs via poster workshops and panel discussions
• Boost membership of the ISSBD, recruit members and promote ISSBD in the region.