Reports on a qualitative study of the learning environment of a biology class. Suggests that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation--which could lead to deep involvement in science learning--are constrained by teacher-centered methods. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

Describes a teaching resource designed to provide young Australians with a motivating science curriculum. Provides timely information and covers a variety of topics that are interesting to students. (DDR)

Examines the effect of Catholic school culture on academic achievement in the Higher School Certificate Examination. Attempts to model achievement as the outcome of a Catholic school culture that is the result of variables operating at both the individual and school levels. Develops and tests the model. Discusses the findings in detail. (CMK)

The article presents a cross-national study of social work students' interest in working with the elderly, based on a sample of 679 graduating BSW students from 7 countries: Australia, Brazil, England, Germany, Hungary, Israel, and the United States. The findings among all the national cohorts show that the motivation to work with the elderly was…

The dilemma of student motivation at regional university sites needs to be examined to expose peculiarities in regional areas that impact on the future sustainability of tertiary education programs in those areas. The focus of this phenomenographic study was the persistence and performance of 11 first year university students. Interviews with…

This paper examines the mediating role of students' goals in group work at university. Research on cooperative and collaborative learning has provided empirical support for the cognitive, motivational and social benefits of group work but the antecedents of motivation and ongoing management of emerging motivational and socio-emotional issues have…

Two key stakeholders in enhancing and building Aboriginal children's capacity to learn mathematics are teachers and the Aboriginal children themselves. In Australian schools it is often the case that the two groups come from different cultural backgrounds with very differing life experiences. This paper reports on an ethnographic study and focuses…

Emphasizes five aspects important to a primary school second-language program in Australia: a program rationale; timing of program initiation; teaching milieu; frequency and length of lessons; and locus for the lessons. The article argues that a new language program must be set up for success and a recurrent budget allowing for print materials,…

Examines concepts of learning, motivational orientations, and use of range of learning strategies focusing on high schools students (n=222) in Australia and in Malaysia (n=168). Indicates that Malaysian students obtained higher scores for more motivation strategies than Australian students. Includes references. (CMK)

A person-situation interactionist theory to explain Australian student decisions to pursue higher education is advanced and a model is tested using data from Victoria and Queensland. Results of statistical analyses are generally consistent with expectations. Certain interactive effects of variables in the model are examined. (Author/MSE)

Reports on a study of the attitudes of South Australian primary school students toward science. Finds that overall interest in studying science has decreased since a similar study was performed in 1980. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/WRM)

The Greek community in Australia attempts, with reasonable success, to maintain Greek language proficiency in succeeding generations, but attitudinal barriers within the community may be impeding the process. A study of the stakeholders (primary and secondary staff, parents, students and management) of one Greek independent school in Melbourne…

This fourth and final volume of the 31st annual proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education conference presents research reports for author surnames beginning Na- through Zod-. Reports include: (1) Mathematically Gifted Students' Problem Solving Approaches on Conditional Probability (GwiSoo Na, DaeHee Han,…

Critical questions in educational psychology research to be addressed in this paper concern the casual relationship between academic self-concept, academic motivation and its effect on academic achievement. Do changes in academic self-concept and academic motivation lead to changes in subsequent academic achievement? Various studies have attempted…

This study examined the role of the university lecturer in fostering the interplay between motivation, confidence, and cognition in students. The focus is on two theoretical frameworks: achievement goal theory for the motivational and confidence aspects and Vygotskian theory for aspects concerning educational development. Achievement goal theory…