Definitions of disability are changing, shifting from a narrow medical diagnosis to a biopsychosocial model of disability, where disability is conceptualised as a series of relational conditions that can potentially disadvantage individuals within environments. Implications of this new understanding of disability will have significant effects in…

Gendered educational and occupational pathways are entrenched in many countries. The underrepresentation of women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has ramifications for individuals and for workforces. Girls' declining interest in STEM coincides with an increasing demand for STEM-skilled professionals across the…

Reading is theorised as a key aspect of one's educational and vocational adjustment. The reading scores on the "Wide-Range Achievement Test 3" of 465 adult vocational assessment clients were examined. Reading varied across a range of social factors and the overall results were consistent with earlier studies, especially the "Adult…

A career framework is used to investigate the socially constructed knowledge that students use to make decisions concerning their preferences for further schooling. The decision-making process of students reveals attempts to assess the costs and benefits of the school experience for the maintenance of desirable self conceptions. (Author/MLW)

This book proposes a new, multidisciplinary theory for explaining and predicting current and future patterns of women's choice between employment and family work. Chapters 1 and 2 present main tenets of preference theory and explain the need for the theory. Chapters 3 through 8 elaborate four principal tenets of preference theory. Chapter 3…

Attracting and retaining staff in rural and remote schools has been a perennial problem n Australia virtually since federation in 1901. In this report the author uses a mixed method approach of an on-line survey, unstructured interviews and policy analysis to develop a comprehensive overview of approaches to overcome these staffing problems…

A study examined psychological and contextual influences on the courses of Australian women's lives and careers. Data were obtained from two sources: (1) the Career Development Project (CDP), a longitudinal study of 3,000 Australian men and women who were selected from an initial sample of 17-year-olds in 1973 and whose educational and career…