Associate Professor Thomas William Nielsen has extensive experience in qualitative research methodologies, and has served in several of the Australian Government funded values and wellbeing education projects in 395 schools across Australia from 2004 to 2010, personally leading 10 juvenile detention schools across eastern Australia in implementing and evaluating student wellbeing projects (see final reports at www.valueseducation.edu.au).

Named as an “academic values education expert” in the Final Values in Action Schools Project Report (p.123), Dr. Nielsen served from 2009 to 2010 on the National Values Education Project Advisory Committee, an advisory committee that was established to provide consultative advice and support in the final stages of the Australian Government’s values education projects.

As a culmination of the Australian values and wellbeing education projects, he co-authored with the Chief Investigator, Professor Terrence Lovat, and others, the book, Values Education, Quality Teaching and Service Learning (www.dbpublishing.net.au/pub09/troika.html).

He is currently working with several schools to improve student and staff wellbeing through a curriculum of giving and service learning. Dr Nielsen is a recipient of national teaching and learning awards, including the 2008 Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (http://www.olt.gov.au/list-awards?text=thomas+university+of+canberra).

Dr Nielsen advocates a ‘Curriculum of Giving’, his research showing that giving and service to others increase wellbeing and academic outcomes in students—something much needed in a western world with high youth depression and suicide rates (www.thomaswnielsen.net).