bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Accounting for School-Sector Differences in University Entrance Performance
Authors: Marks Gary
Published: March 2013

School-sector differences in student performance are often viewed as largely reflecting the intake characteristics of students and having little to do with differences in the provision of teaching and learning between school sectors. The contrary view is that school-sector differences show that non-government schools ‘add value’ to student performance through their delivery of the curriculum. This paper analyses tertiary performance (ENTER scores) among students who participated in the 2003 PISA study. It examines the extent to which school-sector differences are accounted for by students' socio-economic background, prior achievement, and various aspects of student learning. It concludes that sector gaps in students' tertiary entrance performance can be only partially attributed to socio-economic background and there are moderate value-added effects for school sector when taking into account students' prior achievement. Although aspects of student learning had important effects on ENTER scores, they generally did not further account for school-sector differences. Further analyses suggest that nongovernment schools promote a more academic environment that lifts student performance. This finding has policy implications for all sectors.
Hard Lines and Soft Scenes: Constituting Masculinities in the Prospectuses of all-Boys Elite Private Schools
Authors: Gottschall Kristina , Wardman Natasha , Edgeworth Kathryn , Hutchesson Rachael , Saltmarsh Sue
Published: March 2013

Over the last decade, education researchers have been concerned with the ‘impression management’ activities of schools in the current climate of school corporatisation. Among these activities is the dissemination of school prospectuses that, far from being merely arbitrary sources of information, are seen as strategic texts that communicate the ethos of educational providers to potential clientele. Through sociocultural, feminist and post-structuralist frames, we consider how the positioning of masculinities is utilised as a marketing technique in such texts and, in turn, how such texts are implicated in the discursive construction of idealised schooling subjectivities. We undertake a semiotic analysis of the prospectuses of six private boys schools in the Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia, considering how masculinities are represented within binaries that position older boys as hard, strong and capable, and younger boys as small, weak and vulnerable. We argue that schooling is depicted in these texts as providing the necessary training ground for boys making the transition from boyhood to manhood. We argue that these images of masculinity continue to be associated, either directly or indirectly, with narrow notions of social privilege.
Recognising Accomplished Teachers in Australia: Where have We been? Where are We Heading?
Authors: Ingvarson Lawrence
Published: March 2013

In 2008, the Council of Australian governments (COAG) agreed to a set of reforms focused on teacher quality. These reforms aim to make teaching a more attractive career, lift the quality of teacher training, retain and reward quality teachers, promote effective professional learning and support workforce mobility. Australia has made several attempts to develop a system for identifying and rewarding accomplished teachers, as a means of furthering such reforms. This paper traces efforts from the 1970s to strengthen the role of the profession in developing a system of professional certification and outlines some issues that will need to be dealt with if such a system is to gain professional support and meet the aims of the COAG reforms.
The Relationship between Choice of Major and Career, Experience of University and Attrition
Authors: Willcoxson Lesley , Wynder Monte
Published: March 2013

This study builds on earlier findings that clear choice of major and clarity of career direction is associated with university student retention. Data on business students' experience of university were correlated with data on intention to leave for two distinct major or career groupings—students who had committed themselves to a career-related major, either accounting or marketing, and those who were enrolled in the generic Bachelor of Business. Findings indicate differences in the attrition risk factors associated with each of the three majors.
The Status of Education and its Consequences for Educational Research: An Anthropological Exploration
Authors: Scott Catherine
Published: March 2013

Education as an institution fulfils the key social functions of promulgation of knowledge and the development of future citizens. Rather than these key functions earning it respect, education and its practitioners are the targets of criticism and what Labaree calls ‘scorn’. This article seeks to progress the work done by Labaree on the origins of education's low status. It uses Douglas's grid-group theory to explore how the low status of education both opens it to criticism and inclines it to the thought styles that further entrench its position on the margins.
Small Schools, Big Future
Authors: Halsey R. John
Published: March 2013

Historically, small schools have played a very important role in the provision of schooling in Australia. Numerically, using an enrolment of 200 or less, small schools represent approximately 45% of the schools in Australia. Population growth and the consequences of this, in particular for food production, water and energy, mean that the significance of small schools is likely to increase into the future, because many small schools are in rural areas where the ‘basics for life’ are produced, managed or extracted. This in turn has implications for how small schools are valued and resourced by governments and policy-makers. Research undertaken in 2010 is used to identify potential major improvement in the preparation and support of leaders for small schools, given the importance of leadership to the effectiveness and impact of schooling.
The New National Curriculum in Norway: A Change in the Role of the Principals?
Authors: Germeten Sidsel
Published: March 2013

This article presents perspectives on how principals in schools in northern Norway value the school reform ‘The Knowledge Promotion’ and the new National Curriculum (LK06). It is based on a survey of all primary schools in the region of Finnmark and interviews with five of these principals one year later. The region of Finnmark in Norway is in the Arctic zone, with small towns and rural districts. The schools in Finnmark are relatively small, and are both multilingual and multicultural. The new school reform puts a strong emphasis on the quality of the owners of the schools, often the mayor on behalf of the municipality. In spite of this, the principals of the schools, both in the survey and in the interviews, are adamant that they alone make all the decisions in implementing the new curriculum.
Women Principals in Small Schools in South Africa
Authors: Lumby Jacky , Azaola Cristina
Published: March 2013

South Africa presents a distinctive and varied context in which to explore the experience of women principals. The article draws on a larger data set to explore the interplay of gender and school size in seven schools with 200 students or fewer. From this study, we conclude that gender remains a potent influence on the career and experience of women, but that it is influenced by other factors such as poverty, race, language and the size of the school. Small schools offer women a less competitive path to the principalship, but may also maroon them in a low-paid, low-status and extremely challenging role. In this context some women attempt to neutralise gender by denying its impact; others try to unsettle it by creating social capital from female attributes stereotypically viewed as limiting, such as a maternal approach to leadership. They may thereby only embed further the negative view of women's leadership capacity.
The Big Fish down under: Examining Moderators of the ‘Big-Fish-Little-Pond’ Effect for Australia's High Achievers
Authors: Seaton Marjorie , Marsh Herbert W. , Yeung Alexander Seeshing , Craven Rhonda
Published: March 2013

Big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) research has demonstrated that academic self-concept is negatively affected by attending high-ability schools. This article examines data from large, representative samples of 15-year-olds from each Australian state, based on the three Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) databases that focus on different subject domains: reading (2000), mathematics (2003) and science (2006). The overarching research question is whether the size or direction of the BFLPE is moderated by any of a total of 67 moderators (for example ability, study methods, motive, social constructs and Australian states) that were considered. The data showed consistent support for the BFLPE across all Australian states for all three databases. None of the constructs examined moderated the BFLPE and this finding was consistent across states. In conclusion, the BFLPE is remarkably robust in Australia and the study findings generalised well across Australian states and across all moderators investigated.
‘Good for Kids’: Children Who have been Homeless Talk about School
Authors: Moore Tim , McArthur Morag
Published: March 2013

Children who experience homelessness are at risk of poor health and well-being, and negative social outcomes. They are often exposed to stressful life events, such as domestic violence, parental mental health difficulties and family breakdown. Although many experience difficulties in remaining engaged in school, children report that schools can provide them with a sense of belonging and can help them and their families to link with supports to assist them through their homeless experience. This article reports on a study with children who had experienced homelessness with their families and discusses their thoughts on homelessness and school. It highlights some of their difficulties and worries, but identifies some opportunities for support.
The Shades of Grey of Cyberbullying in Australian Schools
Authors: Goff Wendy
Published: March 2013

This article explores the effects of cyberbullying in relation to a school's duty of care. By examining the impact of cyberbullying through an increasingly common scenario, it becomes apparent that the strategies for Australian schools in maintaining their duty of care may be unclear and uncommunicated. Findings suggest that Australian law in its current form has failed to keep up with the advances in technology and does not effectively deal with the problems surrounding cyberbullying, both within society and within our schools. Such findings suggest that this lack of direction within Australia could be potentially detrimental to the perceptions of the value and use of the internet both within Australian schools and within Australian households, and support the need for global unity in the development of risk management strategies to deal with this growing phenomenon.
What Informs Primary School Principals' Decision-Making in Relation to Teacher Placement in Class Levels?
Authors: Carlyon Tracey , Fisher Anthony
Published: March 2013

One of the most challenging decisions for primary school principals is to decide what class level each of their teachers will teach. It seems there is very little research on the way principals go about making these decisions. Government reforms have had significant impact on the role of the primary school principal in New Zealand, and a trend has emerged that some teachers are choosing to remain in the same school and class level. This study focused on eight primary school principals, and how they made decisions in relation to teacher class placement. A review of literature around leadership styles highlights the importance of relationships when implementing change such as teacher placement in different class levels. This study reveals that these principals practised an authentic style of leadership and highlights some important factors to be considered in determining teacher placement.
Moral Development and Student Motivation in Moral Education: A Singapore Study
Authors: Koh Caroline
Published: March 2013

Recent world events such as the threat of terrorism and the global economic crises have rekindled an interest in ethics and values education. This study, conducted in Singapore, combines a Kohlbergian approach to the assessment of moral judgement with a framework based on the self-determination theory to assess the motivational regulations of adolescent students towards civics and moral education (CME). The findings show that the Singaporean students' development of moral reasoning follows the trend prescribed for their age groups in Kohlberg's theory. With regard to their motivation in CME, students showed a moderate degree of autonomous motivation, although the correlations between moral development stage and motivation in CME were low.
Measurement of Schools, Colleges and Universities—Progress, Problems, Prospects
Authors: Genn J. M.
Published: March 2013

The paper presents an analysis of some features of measurement, i.e. the technical processes of quantifying and analysing (Bassett, 1969, p. 9) as related to schools, colleges and universities. After noting some of the forces behind the demand for measurement, consideration is given to several major aspects of the general topic, viz. (i) measuring the components of educational institutions, (ii) measuring the dynamics of educational institutions, and (iii) measuring the press (broadly, the atmosphere, ethos or climate) of educational institutions.
Analysis of Context, Structure, and Process in Relation to Reformist Demands on Education
Authors: Fitzgerald R. T.
Published: March 2013

So far the educational bureaucracies have managed to adjust their procedures to continuing change without having to transform their basic structures. They easily met the post-war challenge by reformists because the theories put forward did not clearly match the cultural pattern. The stimulus to change originated from outside the social system.

More recently, however, the challenge has come from within. Assertive tactics by teachers' bodies seeking more power and influence, the evolution of the local culture and radical change in the learning process threaten the traditional order of things. Viable ways of limiting the consequent tensions and creating a new equilibrium have yet to be worked out.
Manual Training Teachers and other Teachers—A Comparison of Their Perceptions and Satisfactions and a Commentary
Authors: Grassie McCrae C.
Published: March 2013

This paper reports on an investigation into fourteen Queensland high schools with instruments measuring perceptions of school climate, bureaucratization, satisfaction and professionalism. The factor scores of manual training teachers and those of teachers of general subjects are compared and five significant differences found.

Manual training teachers believe less in the importance of autonomy and more in the importance of service. They perceive in their schools more evidence of leadership and more opportunities for participation in decision-making and they are more satisfied with their colleagues than are other teachers in the schools.

The relative lack of supervision they experience appears to be “a healthy neglect”.
A Conceptualization of Academic Motivation and its Implications for Classroom Teachers
Authors: Campbell Elizabeth M.
Published: March 2013

Academic motivation is conceived here as an amalgam of personality dispositions, goals, and varying states of arousal. Some attention is given to the nature and development of each of these components, and their implications for classroom teachers are discussed. It is claimed that, when pupil motivation is low, intervention might take the form of strategies aimed at: ( a) increasing the strength of motivational dispositions; ( b) raising the value ascribed to academic achievement; and ( c) maximum arousal of intrinsic motivation and elimination of suppressor variables. Although classroom teachers may be able to effect some improvement in the strength of motivational dispositions and values, their main contribution to promoting motivation in their pupils probably lies in their ability to arouse the dispositions and values.
Measures of Achievement Motivation
Authors: Keats Daphne M. , Rowe R. S.
Published: March 2013

Five techniques of assessing achievement motivation were compared using fifth grade children. The methods examined were the McClelland-Atkinson measure and its associated Resultant Achievement Motivation technique, the shorter forms of Veroff and Campbell and the self-report scale by Weiner, the Children's Achievement Scale. A high degree of similarity was found between measures obtained from the projective methods but the self-report scale appeared to be unrelated. It is suggested that the Veroff approach is an attractive method in terms of its correlation with the well-established McClelland-Atkinson measure, the consistent scorer ratings it produced, and the speed and convenience of its use.
Relationship of Print Size to Visual Distance in Silent Reading of Infants School Children
Authors: Parker James L.
Published: March 2013

Interrelationships of size of print, visual distance (ViD) and speed of reading of young children were investigated. Silent reading of 5–8 year olds was focussed upon, yielding results which supplemented and replicated those of an earlier investigation by the author dealing with the oral reading of 9–13 year olds.

A central hypothesis that ViD varies inversely with size of print was advanced to account for the finding that speed of reading bears no relation to size of print being read. The hypothesis was supported and implications were discussed.
Teacher Professional Role Orientation and its Relationship to Teacher Attitudes and Reported Classroom Practices
Authors: Johnson Lesley
Published: March 2013

This paper reports a study carried out amongst Brisbane secondary school teachers in 1972. In this study it was found that there was no relationship between teachers' scores on a measure of professional role orientation and their attitudes about students and a number of classroom activities. These attitudes were selected on the basis of research which had shown them to be important for teacher effectiveness. It is suggested that the importance of professionalism to teaching should be re-examined. Further research is urgently needed to ascertain what improvements professionalization might bring to teaching.
Retention of Linked and Ordered Sentences
Authors: White Richard T.
Published: March 2013

Several studies were made of the degree to which free recall of meaningful information is a function of the perceived linking and ordering of the information.

Substantive result: information in sentences that are perceived to be linked and ordered is recalled better than information in sentences that are perceived to be unrelated; this effect is greater than can be accounted for by simple cueing through associations between constituent words.

Methodological recommendation: to ensure that participants in a study process information into semantic memory, they should be required to write an answer to a question about the information; oral answers are insufficient.

Clinical observation: some secondary school students follow a marked strategy of storing information verbatim; they appear to be inferior at recalling.
Variations in the Environment of Self-Paced Classrooms: Their Nature, Determinants and Effects
Authors: Power Colin , Tisher Richard
Published: March 2013

In a series of studies where units from the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) were used to guide classroom activities, a number of pre- and posttest measures were administered to assess pupils' understandings, their attitude to science and science concepts, and their perceptions of the learning environment. The Learning Environment Inventory and Class Activities Questionnaire were used to measure pupils' perceptions, and classroom behaviours were classified using a scheme designed especially for the purpose.

The data were analysed using correlational, canonical correlational, and multiple regression techniques, and a number of interpretable findings were obtained. The introduction of the ASEP units did have a marked effect on the nature of classroom behaviours and led to changes in how pupils perceived the learning environment.

Using the canonical and regression analyses it was possible to predict the class environment more successfully than individual successes in the environment, although the environmental measures contributed little to explaining the variance in the achievements, attitudes and satisfactions of individuals studying the ASEP units. There were some interesting congruences between the results from the behaviour and perception measures, but the findings also raise some queries about the use of both sets of measures in self-paced learning environments.
Papua New Guinea: A New Paternalism
Authors: Young R. E.
Published: March 2013

Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in a mutually supporting manner to explore the attitudes of educated Papua New Guineans. Data were obtained from a sample of 529 students and 40 middle-level government employees. The results of the study indicate that educated Papua New Guineans possess generally elitist and paternalist attitudes towards the uneducated and favour some restriction of their political participation especially at the national level or in modern matters. The results of multiple regression analysis did not support the hypothesis that those with greatest contact with Europeans would possess the most elitist attitudes.

“For many people. Education is the only thing that will make us break through and be treated like human beings. Not to stand up against them, but to become equal. For many people, education is the only thing that will do this, that will make it so that they marry us people and become equal. People ask me when they hear that I work in this Department, “What I do?” and I tell them and they say, “Is that the same sort of job Europeans do?” They have the idea that if a person goes to University that he is equal to a European on educational grounds”.
Syntax in Children's Written Composition, Socioeconomic Status, and Cognitive Development
Authors: Owens Lee
Published: March 2013

This paper reports an investigation into aspects of syntax in the written compositions of school children. A total of 240 pupils was assigned to cells of equal numbers in a three-way analysis of variance design utilizing grade (4), sex (2), and socioeconomic status (2), with I.Q. as a covariate. Each pupil wrote three compositions, answered a questionnaire about home background, and completed a short Test of Cognitive Development. Contrary to hypotheses, pupils from low socioeconomic status homes showed no marked deficit on variables of complexity, length, and variety in written syntax when compared with pupils from high socioeconomic status homes. Further, stage of cognitive development, operationalized as concrete or formal thinking, did not interact with socioeconomic background in affecting maturity of written syntax. Implications for Bernstein's theories of language codes are discussed.
The Values of Australian Student Activists
Authors: Ellerman D. A. , Feather N. T.
Published: March 2013

Relevant literature on student activism was reviewed so as to discover leads for predictions about differences between activists and non-activists in the way they might be expected to rank the terminal and instrumental values from Rokeach's Value Survey. A study was reported in which Form E of the Value Survey was completed by 92 left-wing student activists from three different populations and by 119 non-activists enrolled at Flinders University in 1970. Results showed that the activists ranked the following values higher in relative importance than the non-activists: a world at peace, a world of beauty, equality, freedom, courageous, helpful, imaginative, and loving. They ranked the following values lower in relative importance than the non-activists: a comfortable life, family security, happiness, national security, salvation, ambitious, capable, cheerful, clean, obedient, polite, and responsible. Results were discussed in terms of Rokeach's law of political activism and Merton's theory of anomie and opportunity structures.
Effects of Enrichment Preschooling at Bourke: A Further Follow-up Study
Authors: De Lacey P. R. , Nurcombe B.
Published: March 2013

As a test of the persistence of the effects of enrichment preschooling, and as a further stage of the evaluation of the Bourke preschool, 96 Aboriginal and white children, preschooled and non-preschooled, were given a battery of tests in 1974 measuring verbal intelligence, language development and classificatory skills. There was a statistically significant trend for preschooled Aboriginals and whites to score better on these criteria, than unpreschooled children at primary school, Kindergarten through Third Grade although relatively few of the specific comparisons attained statistical significance. Though there was still some erosion of earlier gains in the older cohorts, this effect was mitigated by the selection procedures, which rejected (non-preschooled) children scoring highest on a selection test at age 3.
Equality and Education
Authors: Crittenden Brian
Published: March 2013

Three aspects of equality as a social ideal are examined in relation to education: equal opportunity, equality of outcome, and access to a common curriculum. On the first two aspects it is argued (1) that the principle of equal opportunity applies in a clear, but limited way, to the practice of education, and (2) that neither equality of treatment nor of outcome is a defensible educational policy. An argument for a common curriculum is proposed, based on the claim that education is the object of a human right. The discussion of equality and education is related to the Karmel Report and the first two Reports of the Australian Schools Commission. They are criticized for confusing liberal and egalitarian theories of equality and for assuming that a common curriculum of skills can be detached from cultural beliefs and values.
The Predictive Validity of the Ravens Progressive Matrices Test with Migrant Children
Authors: Johnson E. G. , Hilton S. , MacDonald I. , Sheaffe P. , Stark J. , Stone L. , Waterer B.
Published: March 2013

The attainments of ninth year migrant pupils whose sixth year assessment had been based on performance on the Ravens Progressive Matrices Test were found to be significantly lower than those of Australians of similar chronological age and intelligence level. Additionally, girls performed better than boys in both groups.

The differences, however, were able to be accounted for in terms of performance on a test of Word Knowledge. Implications for the predictive capacity of the Ravens Progressive Matrices Test as well as for the education of non-English speaking migrant children are discussed.
Teaching Creativity: A Comparison of Two Techniques
Authors: Rosenthal Doreen A. , Morrison Susan M. , Perry Loris
Published: March 2013

A comparison was made of the effects of a topic-centred lecture and a skill-centred practice session on creativity, as measured by two tests of divergent thinking. Ninety undergraduate university students were randomly allocated to one of the two treatments. No significant effects of experimenter or sex of subjects were found in the posttest. Subjects high on pretest measures of creativity were significantly higher on the posttest measures regardless of which treatment they received and, for three of the four posttest scores, those subjects receiving practice in creative skills were significantly better than those subjects hearing the lecture. Results were interpreted as supporting De Bono's claim that thinking skills are best taught by focussing on techniques which, with practice, can be deliberately applied to a number of situations.
Social Class—Sex Contrasts in Patterns of Cognitive Style
Authors: Poole Millicent E.
Published: March 2013

Ninety-six adolescents, aged between fifteen and sixteen, and drawn from contrasted social class and sex groups, were administered a battery of cognitive style tests. It was hypothesized, largely on the basis of socialization theory, that different patterns of intellectual functioning would be apparent. The results indicated that middle-class boys exhibited a cognitive style that was differentiating, analytic and flexible; middle-class girls one that was creative, inferential, high on psychological concepts but low on category estimation; working-class boys and girls displayed little differentiation, categorizing flexibility, or creativity but revealed a marked preference for inferential and physical concepts.
On Being a Minority in the Classroom: A Study of the Influence of Ethnic Mix on Cognitive Functioning and Attitudes in Working Class Children
Authors: Rosenthal Doreen , Morrison Susan
Published: March 2013

This study was an investigation of the effect on attitudinal and cognitive variables of minority or majority group membership in the classroom. Three categories of schools were selected, with high (80 per cent), medium (50 per cent) and low (20 per cent) enrolments of migrant children respectively, and the entire Grade 6 population was tested. For non-migrant children, the low group was significantly superior to the high group on reading achievement tasks, but not on non-verbal cognitive tasks. Non-migrant children in high migrant density schools had better attitudes to school and motivation to achieve. For migrant children the medium group was superior on the cognitive tasks. There were no significant differences between non-migrant and migrant children in the medium group on any variable, but for both the high and low groups the non-migrants performed significantly better on the cognitive tasks. The results were interpreted in terms of a peer-language model, i.e. the availability to children of appropriate language models at school.
The Implications of Social Modelling Research for Education
Authors: Yates Gregory C. R. , Yates Shirley M.
Published: March 2013

The topic of imitative learning, or social modelling, has stimulated a large amount of empirical research in recent years. This article reviews this research from the perspective of social learning theory which emphasizes the human capacity for higher-order rule learning to occur through modelling exposure. Variables relevant to observational learning are distinguished from the variables more directly relevant to imitative performance. Educational implications of these findings are discussed, particularly through research into vicarious reinforcement, teacher modelling and peer modelling.
Participative Decision Making for Teachers—Placebo or Panacea?
Authors: Hewitson Mal
Published: March 2013

Any reader who delves into the literature on decision making in schools soon discovers that informed opinion and the research evidence, as it is interpreted, weigh heavily in favour of teacher participation, due regard having been paid to a number of practical problems in its successful implementation. The findings reported in this paper challenge the easy assumption that feelings of satisfaction experienced as a result of decision making involvement lead to increased satisfaction with teaching as a chosen career. The challenge is mounted on two fronts. First, introduction of the concept of Professional Satisfaction (i.e., the state of satisfaction which results from gratification of the need of or want for professional autonomy) enables a number of relationships to be examined in a new light. Second, since structures alone do not guarantee satisfying levels of participation in decision making, interpersonal considerations also need to be taken into account. Hence, the variable, Rapport with the Principal, is woven into the study, the data for which were provided by a Canadian sample of 213 first and second year teachers.
A Supplantation Model for Instructional Design: Investigation of a Behavioural Science Approach
Authors: Ausburn Lynna J. , Ausburn Floyd B.
Published: March 2013

Drawing on concepts from such areas as information processing and cognitive processes in learning, learning task analysis, and interactive research techniques, this paper discusses a model for instructional design which is intended to improve the reliability and predictability of the design process. The model stresses interactions among specific combinations of learning task requirements, learner characteristics, and instructional treatment properties, in a manner analogous to the well-known aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) model. The process underlying the model is “supplantation”, which is the provision of overt assistance to learners in performing a specific process required by a task. The supplantation model for instructional design is presented as an instrument for helping to produce predictable performance outcomes through the analysis of learners and learning tasks, and the joining of learners and tasks through the use of instructional treatments which assist learners in performing task requirements.
Who Goes to Preschool?
Authors: De Lacey P. R. , Barlow A. R.
Published: March 2013

In a survey of preschools in the Illawarra district of New South Wales, extensions and other changes in both preschool facilities and preschool clientèle are revealed, by comparison with a similar survey seven years earlier. The families of the clientèle are identified in terms of measures of socioeconomic and educational status and country of origin. Changes in patterns of clientèle are reported, and recommendations concerning the appropriateness of early childhood educational programs are offered, with reference to a pragmatic-deficit hypothesis.
The Number of Life Science Graduates from Australian Tertiary Institutions
Authors: Stern W. , Burchett M.
Published: March 2013

An attempt has been made to quantify the number of people graduating annually over the past decade from Australian tertiary institutions, at professional level, in the life sciences. During this period there has been a great increase in the number of students taking biology in senior secondary school studies, whilst total tertiary undergraduate enrolments have more than doubled. The number of physical science graduates each year during the period has remained static. The data show that in agriculture the growth corresponds to the general increase in tertiary studies. In the biological sciences there has been a big increase in absolute numbers but this also can be largely accounted for by the total enrolment growth. On the other hand, in the therapies there has been a virtual three-fold increase over the decade, in an almost exclusively female preserve. The total number of life science graduates throughout Australia has risen from 1700 in 1968 to over 3200 in 1977.
Responsibility for Curriculum Evaluation in Centralized Systems
Authors: Deschamp Phil , McGaw Barry
Published: March 2013

The tradition in Australia of strong system control over the curriculum has been changed significantly by the devolution of responsibility for curriculum development to the school level. The State systems, however, have not devolved the responsibility for curriculum evaluation to the same extent as they have the responsibility for curriculum development. If the system's evaluation procedures substantially influence the nature of a school's curriculum, the school cannot be said to be really responsible for that curriculum. Despite this, system authorities appear reluctant to devolve all responsibility for curriculum evaluation to schools. Indeed, there appears to be a common agreement that systems must monitor their schools for accountability purposes. If this difference in responsibility remains unresolved it could lead to overlap of effort or conflict between schools and system-level authorities. Alternatively, it could lead to schools failing to take up the curriculum freedom offered. Examples of inconsistent policies and practices in curriculum development and curriculum evaluation are presented. Explanations for these inconsistencies are sought and strategies for their removal or reduction are considered.
MACOS/SEMP Debate in Queensland, 1978: Some Central Issues
Authors: Duhs L. A.
Published: March 2013

Following earlier controversies concerning the administration of the police force, the electoral act, and the right to demonstrate, the Queensland Government has recently thrown the education establishment into turmoil by its decision to ban the much-discussed SEMP and MACOS programs. Core features of the anti-SEMP/MACOS arguments are shown to be the presumed supremacy of faith and instinct over reason, and a doctrine of inequality.

It is contended that the arguments of both the anti-SEMP/MACOS forces (Section III) and the pro-SEMP/MACOS forces (Section IV) are gravely deficient, the former because of their inclination to unreasoned dogmatism, and the latter because they typically remain on a superficial level at the expense of clear appreciation of underlying metaphysical issues. The context for a consideration of the general relationship between society and the school system is set by offering some comparative points regarding Dewey and Plato.
General Self-Concept, Self-Concept of Academic Ability and School Achievement: Implications for “Causes” of Self-Concept
Authors: West Charles K. , Fish James A. , Stevens Robert J.
Published: March 2013

The research on relationships between general self-concept and school achievement and between self-concept of academic ability and school achievement was reviewed. Findings are now sufficient to indicate that school achievement is “causally predominant” over self-concept of academic ability.

Demographic research in regard to differences relating to sex, socio-economic status, ethnicity, race, birth order, and age was also examined. Few demographically based conclusions were found to be warranted.

The primary contributing factors to self-concept of academic ability are hypothesized to be the child's actual achievement or ability; the social feedback from significant others about that achievement, dissonances between that feedback and the actual ability, and the child's comparison group.
An Analysis of Formative Diffusion Strategies Used by Project Teams Associated with the Social Education Materials Project (SEMP)
Authors: Marsh C. J. , Carter D.
Published: March 2013

The literature is replete with studies which document curriculum development projects, especially those occurring in North America and the United Kingdom. Few of these accounts of curriculum projects provide an analysis of the diffusion and dissemination strategies incorporated into the respective project designs.

The subject of this paper, the Social Education Materials Project (SEMP), is studied in terms of the formative diffusion strategies used by the project teams operating in all states during 1975–76. By comparing uses made of specific strategies with those proposed in diffusion models, an attempt is made to assess their overall influence upon teachers who have adopted (or intend to adopt) and implement SEMP materials.
A Consideration of the Role of People's Conceptions in the Australian Educational System by Reference to the Williams Report
Authors: King Roger B.
Published: March 2013

It is sometimes claimed that policy makers in the Australian educational system do not give adequate attention to the conceptions and interests underlying and involved with the numbers used in decision making. Can we find an account that maintains the bureaucratic approach while enabling people's conceptions and interests an adequate role? By outlining the theoretical framework of the Williams Report and by considering the roles of people's conceptions in the relationships between the educational system and economic growth, in changes in the educational system and in accounts for understanding and planning the educational system, it is argued that one can find such an account in the form of a peg-board model of rational social action.
Student and Parent Attitudes to Music
Authors: Lepherd Laurence
Published: March 2013

This study demonstrates the wide divergence of attitudes to various aspects of music between students of different levels of education, localities and sex, and also between students and their parents, and between parents of different sex. Differences in attitude between parents of a number of occupational groups, however, are seen to be less marked.

The author concludes that recognition of these differences between students must be considered when designing curricula. Because parents have such a low regard for the importance of music in their children's education, it is necessary for music educators to carry out a ‘parent education program’, helping parents to become more aware of the new and more vital approach to music education taking place in many of today's schools.
Girls, School and Work: Technological Change and Female Entry into Non-traditional Work Areas
Authors: Earley Peter D.
Published: March 2013

With reference to data derived from a sample of young unemployed girls, the paper examines a number of themes related to the education and (un)employment of early school leavers. Of particular interest is the relationship between ‘women's work’ as traditionally defined and technological change. As traditional feminine forms of employment become more scarce, through for example technological innovation and the general economic recession, an attempt is made to consider the adequacy of existing career education and vocational guidance. Related to this, there is a consideration of the extent to which females have entered non-traditional forms of work, such as the skilled trades, and some of the problems encountered are discussed. In conclusion some policy considerations are suggested.
Aspects of the Transition from Education Student to Beginning Teacher
Authors: Power Paul G.
Published: March 2013

Many writers have referred to the ‘reality shock’ experienced by beginning teachers. In the belief that this phenomenon would be reflected in the neophytes' perceptions of themselves in the teaching role, their commitment to teaching, and work satisfaction, this study examined the nature and extent of change in these characteristics during the transition from education student to beginning teacher. Contrary to expectations, the data produced evidence of overwhelming stability. The paper examines the implications of these findings for theory and practice, making particular reference to recent ideas on teacher induction.
The Effects of Training on Field Dependence/Independence and the Educational Implications for the Pre-school
Authors: Barnes G. M.
Published: March 2013

In this paper attention has been called to the debate on whether field dependence/independence displays two distinctive cognitive styles on different levels of spatial-visual ability. The effectiveness of testing instruments for young children is questioned for they may not measure the same dimensions as the instruments used for older children and adults. The field dependence/independence dimension has generated widespread interest and stimulated much research into the effects of training on the construct. A condensed review of the literature is presented. From this basis, the gaps in the literature are discussed. The educational implications are discussed with a warning that all training programs should be monitored carefully.
Reading and Arithmetic Achievement in Primary Years for Students from Non-English-Speaking Families: A Seven-Year Longitudinal Comparison
Authors: Butler Susan R. , Marsh Herbert W.
Published: March 2013

Students from seven schools, some from English-speaking ( N = 226) and some from non-English-speaking ( N = 60) families, were tested for reading achievement in Years 1, 2, 3 and 6, and for mathematics achievement in Year 6. Students from non-English-speaking families achieved significantly poorer reading results than those from English-speaking families, and these differences were consistent and stable across Years 1–6. Longitudinal analyses suggested that the effect occurred primarily in Year 1; students from non-English-speaking families achieved lower reading scores in subsequent school years but their lower scores could be explained by their poor reading skills in earlier school years. The language group differences were quite specific to reading skills, and the two groups did not differ in mathematics achievement in Year 6. The specificity of the group achievement differences to language and reading skills suggests that home language may be an important determinant of early reading, and that early reading is in turn the primary determinant of subsequent reading performance. All students in the present investigation who performed poorly on reading tests in Year 1, no matter what the cause and no matter what the home language, were very likely to perform poorly on reading tests through all primary school years.
Evaluation of a Skills-based Language and Information Processing Program
Authors: Evans Glen T. , Poole Millicent E.
Published: March 2013

This study reports an eclectic evaluation of a language program. The evaluation involved a formative phase (to develop a theoretical framework of language pragmatics, to develop materials and strategies); and a summative phase (a field trial involving pre-post outcome measures, student and teacher perceptions of the program, and the application by an external evaluator of the LoU scale of the measure of adoption of an innovation). The outcomes were consistent with the expectations generated by the theory of language pragmatics and learning-in-context. Important insights were gained into aspects of classroom organization and the level of adoption of program innovations by teachers.
Some Theoretical and Methodological Issues to Consider When Using Interviews for Naturalistic Research
Authors: Hosie Peter
Published: March 2013

The potential of interviews to provide valuable information for social researchers is widely acknowledged. Theories underpinning the naturalistic research paradigm, such as phenomenology, ethnomethodology, and symbolic interactionism can influence interview research. It is argued that the following issues need to be accounted for: subject/researcher reactivity, role relations, telling the truth, reporting, and researcher profiles. These factors are considered to have great potential to affect the quality of information collected and therefore receive detailed examination. A profile of effective interviewer characteristics is posed for ongoing refinement.
Gender/Social Class, Family Environments and Adolescents' Aspirations
Authors: Marjoribanks Kevin
Published: March 2013

This study examined relationships between family environments and the aspirations of 516 South Australian adolescents from six gender/social-class groups. Family environments were assessed initially when the adolescents were 11 years old when measures were obtained of parents' aspirations for their children and of their instrumental and affective orientations to learning. When the adolescents were 16 years old, their perceptions of their parents' support for learning and of their own aspirations were assessed. Regression surfaces were constructed from models that included terms to account for possible linear, interaction and curvilinear relationships. The findings suggested the propositions that parents' aspirations have a direct impact (a) on female adolescents' educational aspirations and (b) on the educational and occupational aspirations of male working-class adolescents, after considering the effect on aspirations of the adolescents' perceptions of parents' support. The results also indicated gender/social-class differences in the relationships between family environments and adolescents' aspirations.