The study had two main aims: (i) to develop a model incorporating research self-efficacy and research disposition as predictors of publication output; and (ii) to assess the fit and robustness of this model to dichotomous groups based on gender, academic qualifications and rank. Data were drawn from a survey of lecturers (n = 331) working in two…

Survey-based research was conducted with preservice teachers, from a large regional Australian university, to explore their views about inclusion and their readiness to teach in inclusive classrooms. Open-ended questions were included in the survey to glean information on the respondents' feelings and concerns about inclusion and inclusive…

Survey data were collected from pre-service teachers studying at a large regional Australian university. These data were examined with the purpose of determining whether pre-service teachers' views (and concerns) about inclusion and their confidence to teach in inclusive classrooms had changed as a result of studying an inclusive education subject…

Teachers bring a complex array of beliefs and attitudes to the teaching of literacy. The purpose of the study reported in this article was to investigate the nature of teacher attitudes towards the learning and teaching of writing in the first year of school and to identify any broad underlying attitudinal dimensions. The secondary aim was to…

Hughes (1999) categorised non-work demands such as domestic responsibilities and health of family members (including self) as social contingencies. A literature review on social contingencies, examined from a medical, nursing, and allied health standpoint, revealed that certain factors, especially related to financial matters, impact directly on…

Journal ranking systems are becoming more commonplace and receiving increased attention from academics and their senior managers. The study reported below was designed to examine the relationship between particular background factors (e.g., gender and qualifications) of academics and the rankings of what they perceived as their most significant…

The study reported here focuses on the factors that contribute to the production or non-production of refereed publications by academics. A literature review revealed that factors associated with an academic's personal characteristics, attitude to work, and workplace circumstances could influence publication output. Academics from a large…

Surveys of 43 student teachers taking a 9 week practicum in rural Australian primary schools and case studies of four of them found that student teacher stress diminished over time. Five coping strategies were identified: communicating with others, self help, relaxation/recreation, teaching and managing, and organization. (Contains 32 references.)…

To collect data about the first-year university experiences of rural students, 15 students were drawn from a pool of 125 Riverina (Australia) students who had participated in an earlier study on factors that influence academic persistence. The sample consisted of approximately equal numbers of males and females, about equal proportions of students…

A two-phase study assessed the extent to which a set of variables predicted rural secondary students' likelihood of continuing to college and sought to determine predictors of rural students' academic success at the completion of first-year university study. Participants were drawn from seven state coeducational secondary schools in the Riverina…

A survey of 281 rural Australian high school students in grades 10-12 found that academic achievement was the most important predictor of continuation to university. A survey of 125 of these students who attended college found that high school academic achievement and college course satisfaction predicted success in first-year courses. Contains 15…

A study examined sources of stress and coping mechanisms associated with student teaching. Questionnaires were completed by 43 students taking a rural-based internship program in New South Wales (Australia), and four of them participated in case studies involving interviews and diary accounts. Factor analysis of the data yielded four categories of…