Children's transition to school has been widely investigated, but most studies do not clearly define its starting point. By drawing on the cultural-historical concept of the social situation of development, and selecting 'role adjustment' as the unit of analysis, this paper seeks to clearly define the starting point of children's transition to…

There is a consensus that the crises children encounter during the transition period might impact negatively on children's learning and development. However, from cultural-historical perspective, qualitative leap in development can hardly be achieved without crises. This paper, drawing upon cultural-historical theory as the framework and by using…

Social adjustment is one of the most difficult and long-lasting challenges for international students who study in a new country. This paper uses a case study of cooperative painting activity conducted in Australian setting, in which two Chinese and three other students from different countries participated, in order to assess the efficiency of…

Many scholars have described the various challenges international students face in Western developed countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Some of the challenges include differences in culture, language barriers, adjustment problems, medical concerns, pedagogical challenges, housing issues, lack of support…

During 1998 and 1999, the Starting School Project at the University of Western Sydney-Macarthur conducted a survey across New South Wales (Australia) of parent and teacher opinions about children's successful transition to school. Survey responses were received from 240 teachers and 243 parents of young children. Respondents were grouped according…

This study investigates the nature of the stresses on immigrant schoolchildren and the degree and type of maladjustments which become evident. Also considered is the relationship between ease of adjustment for the three national groups under study and their facility with the English language. (Author/EB)

This volume reports on a seminar structured around three themes: institutional policies toward the flow of foreign students in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); specific measures and programs for foreign students; and social and cultural adjustment by foreign students. The volume contains seminar…

Prior studies suggest that adjustment is a significant contributor to the academic success of international students, and cultural differences can lead to adjustment problems. However, while Australia takes many international students from Indonesia, and there are substantial cultural differences between Indonesia and Australia, there has been…

Orientation in this report refers to the various adjustment processes that students need to make to function effectively within a postsecondary institution. The major aim of the study was to obtain an outline of the range of problems encountered by respondents at Flinders University in a 1975 questionnaire survey of their adaptation to the…

Child and parent adjustment to the child's primary schooling were related to six measures of social inequality: parents' occupational status, education, marital status, and cultural background, neighborhood quality, and child's sex. Outcome variables such as parental aspirations, expectations, assistance, satisfaction, and coping strategies were…

Starting school raises concerns for children, parents and teachers. Each has a range of issues to consider. Over the past eight years, The Starting School Research Project has examined eight categories which various stakeholders see as important in children's transition to school. This paper focuses on a particular group, gifted children starting…

;This study examined the nature and prevalence of bullying/victimization by peers and teachers reported by 1,284 students (mean age = 15.2 years) drawn from a representative sample of 25 South Australian government and private schools. Students completed a self-report survey containing questions relating to teacher and peer-related bullying,…