The psychometric properties of the Parent Self-efficacy in Managing the Transition to School Scale (PSMTSS) were investigated with a sample of 763 mothers whose children were starting primary school in Australia. Exploratory factor analysis identified two factors, Efficacy and Worry, accounting for 56.6% of the total variance in parent…

Psychosocial precursors and correlates of parent-reported internalizing behavior trajectories across the age span of 3-15 years were explored using a community-based cohort of Australian children. Six internalizing trajectories had previously been identified for both girls (N = 810) and boys (N = 874) in this sample, comprising stable low, high,…

Narrating Our World (NOW) was an arts-based project that attempted to understand the educational experience of refugee young people. This article reflects on understandings generated during the course of the project. Rather than seeking a direct and explicit means of discussing young people's experience, the project made a deliberate effort to…

This Briefing charts the progress of young people through university: (1) What difficulties do they encounter in the transition from school to university study?; (2) How many persist in their studies and graduate?; and (3) What are the benefits of university study? It also examines the issue of demand for university places: How many young people…

This study explored the effect of a coping program and a teacher feedback intervention on perceived control and adaptive coping for 98 adolescent students who had specific learning disabilities. The coping program was modified to build personal control and to address the needs of students who have specific learning disabilities. The teacher…

First year university is an important transition context for students. The present study examined the relationship between adjustment and support types, sources and levels of support, and satisfaction with levels of support, for first year students in an Australian university. Comparisons were made between young (17-21 year olds) and mature-aged…

Researchers have made convincing arguments for the benefits of a smooth transition to school. The passage through this significant social change may have a lasting influence on children's progress. For example, social, emotional and academic difficulties in the early years of schooling have been shown to persist through school and into…

For most students assessment guides their study and learning practice. Yet in the literature associated with the first year of study at university, few have mobilised the power of assessment to develop and engage first year undergraduate students. This paper presents a model of assessment for first year students which separates the semester into…

The study adopted a person-centered approach to examine whether clusters of children could be identified on the basis of temperament profiles assessed on four occasions from infancy to early childhood, and if so whether differing temperament clusters were associated with subsequent differences in behavior problems, social skills, and school…

This qualitative study explored the experience of rural students who had undergone transitions between schools to continue their studies in Years 11 and 12. A thematic content analysis identified two main themes: social relationships and school issues. Social relationships, concerned with peer interactions and student-teacher relationships, had…

Examined the academic adjustment and learning processes of 21 local and international first-year students at an Australian university, and identified critical incidents that helped or hindered learning. Students described their behaviors and thoughts related to these incidents. Discusses the impact of particular teaching processes and implications…

This paper reports the findings of qualitative case studies aimed at exploring student experiences of offshore programmes delivered in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia by Australian universities. The paper draws on a cross-case analysis of the studies to develop propositions about student experience and identity formation in the context of…

A number of international students, predominately from Asian countries, are present in universities in the UK, United States, and Australia. There is little research exploring their experiences as they negotiate the disciplinary requirements of their courses. This paper investigates students' agency as they write their first assignment for their…

The psychodynamics of learning and teaching at a time of changing funding arrangements and priorities are explored and discussed through students' accounts of their experience of university. The contextual, organizational and socio-political characteristics implicated in these psychodynamic processes are considered. Among the psychodynamic issues…

This guide is designed to help women undertake and enjoy working for a doctorate as they recognize the rules of the academic game. The situation in the United Kingdom is compared with that of North America and Australia, and the pros and cons of acquiring a Ph.D. and the new professional doctorates are discussed. The chapters are: (1)…