Dr Annie Gowing leads the Student Wellbeing Specialisation in the Master of Education at the University of Melbourne. With a background in both social work and education, she has been active in the area of student wellbeing within schools and in policy development for over 25 years, beginning her career as a secondary teacher before largely working in student support and counselling roles. Her PhD researched school connectedness and this, along with school climate and the concepts of helping and caring in the school context, are her key research interests.