Judgments about the quality of students' experience of school generally focus on their academic performance and indeed this is an important indicator but closer attention needs to be paid to equally important, more broadly based outcomes that include social/emotional adjustment as they also are shown to impact on students' lives at, and beyond…

This article reports on the findings of an action research enquiry examining the efficacy of group therapy as a means of facilitating cognitive-behavioural instruction for students who exhibit disruptive behaviours. A curriculum comprising the key tenets of cognitive-behaviour modification was developed and taught over a 9-week period to a group…

This paper reports on teachers' views of the effects of compulsory numeracy testing in Years 3, 5, and 7 in Queensland schools. Teachers were surveyed on (i) the validity and worth of the tests, (ii) the impact the tests had on their teaching of mathematics, and (iii) how they were using the results of the tests. Although the results reveal a…

This paper reports on one aspect of a larger study and comprises an analysis of the beliefs concerning mathematics, its teaching and its learning, and the classroom practice of one secondary mathematics teacher. It focuses on the question, "What specific teacher beliefs about students are relevant to teachers' classroom practice in various…

This paper explores the role of open-ended realistic division problem in the development of algebraic reasoning. A written test was administered to 672 students. From the results of this test students were selected for semi-structured interviews. The students were interviewed in pairs and were asked to explain to each other how they would solve…

Describes a study of seventh graders in Australia that was conducted to investigate the extent to which interactive video-based teacher ratings of social skill represented a valid measure of the actual classroom behavior of students. Correlations between the teachers' ratings and observed behavior are discussed and further research is suggested.…

This paper reports a survey of children's interests at two ages. Data was obtained from a questionnaire administered to 200 grade 1 and 180 grade 7 boys and girls in ten different primary schools in the Perth, Australia area. Children were administered a 10-question questionnaire designed to measure leisure and academic interests. First grade…

This study compared the motivational orientations and metacognitive abilities of 143 Grade 7 intellectually gifted students in an Australian selective school with 133 average-achieving age peers attending comprehensive schools. Gifted students had greater confidence in their own control over successes or failures in school tasks, demonstrated more…

Investigations of (n=782) 7th-grade students' beliefs and perceptions of classroom learning environments found that the pattern of relationships in learning environments where teacher support emerged as irrelevant was not the same for males and females. (29 references) (Author/MKR)

This paper synthesizes research on the value of writing in learning science at all grade levels. Breakthroughs and barriers to the effective use of writing to learn science are discussed. Differences between elementary and secondary teachers are considered with regard to background in language arts, understanding of the writing process, and the…

Assessment of general reasoning processes, elementary algebraic understanding, and novel problem solving of (n=147) seventh- and eighth-grade students found that abilities to generalize from patterns and tables of data and understanding variable constructs contributed significantly to application of algebraic concepts and processes. Questions…

A study investigated students' reactions to the addition of nontraditional games (played in and traditional to another country) to the physical education curriculum. Seventh grade students in Australia were introduced to game development, skills, and present status of two sports, 'Midget' Hockey, a modified version of Canadian ice hockey, and…

Discussed are the philosophy and procedures behind the introduction of algebra to students in grade 7 in Australia. Included are the importance of concrete experiences, language development, and the consequences involved in this procedure. (CW)

Although numerous cross-sectional studies have documented the coping responses of young adolescents of different ages and of both sexes, few studies have tracked the developmental stages of coping within adolescents. A longitudinal study of adolescent coping was conducted in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. During the 5-year study, 168 students…

In the last 30 years or so, science educators in the Western world have come to recognise the importance of the social and cultural context in which learning occurs (Cobern, 1993, 1994; Hodson, 1993; Leach & Scott, 2003) and have, through such movements as science, technology, society and the environment (Pedretti, 1997; Solomon, 1991; Solomon…