Australia

The Joy of moving program in Australia is a classroom-based program that empowers children to understand and experience the benefits of movement for their own wellbeing. Teachers are provided with a suite of educational resources including storybooks, animations and movement activities that are delivered within an activity break. By using psychoeducation, the program promotes children’s ability to regulate their emotions through movement.

The first stage of the program included a series of evaluations with over 240 teachers and 3,500 primary school aged children. The research showed that the program is feasible and acceptable for Australian primary schools. Improvements in children’s social-emotional and behavioural functioning showed that the program has a real potential to improve children’s physical and emotional health.

The Joy of moving – Australian Living Lab at the Monash University School of Psychological Sciences brings together key stakeholders (families, health, education, industry, philanthropy, government, academia and communication) through a series of activities that can adequately support the success and sustainability of the national rollout of the program.

In 2024, the program was embedded into a Monash University online platform so that teachers and allied health professionals can access free professional learning and resources that enable the implementation of the program in their classrooms and clinics.