The growth in student numbers from the Indian subcontinent countries has increased exponentially in the Australian higher education system over the past decade. Unfortunately, this growth has not been accompanied by initiatives to address the distinctive cross-cultural challenges faced by this cohort. This paper seeks to identify academic and…

This article examines the current state of the transition process for students with developmental disabilities in New South Wales, Australia. Teachers from 75 schools were surveyed about current practices for students with developmental disabilities transitioning from primary to secondary school and from secondary school to post-school life.…

This study examined associations among children's agentic (social influence, status, power) and communal (relationship, affiliation) goals for peer interaction, cognitive and affective responses to hypothetical peer conflict, and teacher-reported achievement and behavior at school ("N" = 367; "M" age = 9.9 years). Agentic goals…

Given the receptivity of American colleges to international students, administrators and professors must recognize the diversity such registrants bring to campus in the form of achievement, age, gender, language, and national differences. The purpose of this study was to compare learning style preferences of international first year college…

One of the deadliest and most destructive tornadoes in the history of the United States ripped through the southeast Missouri town of Joplin on May 22, 2011. As it traveled along a 13-mile path it claimed 161 lives and caused more than $151 million in damages. Ten schools were damaged or destroyed and Joplin High School was a total loss. Just 48…

This paper focuses on the social effect and individual meanings new staff and student members assimilate in formal orientations. (Author/EB)

Integration of new students into the university has been widely studied from both psychological and academic perspectives. Much less, if anything, is heard from the other party in the integration process--the teachers. At the heart of this study is the voice of university teachers. Staff from 12 departments in three faculties (n = 52) in one…

A survey of 32 college students of color, faculty, and staff involved in related support groups found that the overall university climate remains unwelcoming despite programs to enhance their experience. It is concluded that there is a need to address the level of underlying belief structures of the university culture. (Author/MSE)

The "Shadow" program at a middle school in Atlanta allows fifth graders to "shadow" sixth grade middle students to ease transition from elementary school. This study used questionnaires to compare the social adjustment of program participants and non-participants, as well as teacher attitudes toward the program. Results showed…

Interviews with 66 students, faculty, and administrators in ten departments of a large public research university revealed a number of factors instrumental in integrating first-year students successfully into graduate programs: a structured departmental orientation complementing the university-wide orientation; a culture of collegiality;…

The focus on parent participation in the Australian school community has intensified over the last few years, but both parents and teachers still hold many erroneous notions with regard to their shared responsibilities. Rather than viewing parents and teachers as two separate camps with children in the middle, it must be recognized that…

The study presented in this article was conducted to determine psychometric features of scales for Turkish students by adapting the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS) developed by Midgley and others (2000) to the Turkish language in order to measure personal and classroom goal orientations. The scales were developed to test…

Questionnaires examined perceptions of Victoria parents (178); principals (36); K,1,3,4 teachers (186) about children's orientation to kindergarten and K-1 and 3-4 transitions. Results cover initial adjustment to school, orientation programs, difficulty making transitions, reasons for difficulty, K-1 transition classes, shortened kindergarten days…

Children's orientation to school and various aspects related to children's transition to first and fourth grades are examined in this study. The primary strategy for gathering information was use of questionnaires administered to teachers, principals, and a stratified random sample of parents. Results are reported in terms of seven topics: the…