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To determine (1) the relationship between sleep hygiene practices and parent-reported child sleep problems in students in the first year of elementary school, (2) whether the relationship differed by (a) gender and (b) SES and (3) in a multivariate explanatory model.

An overview of positive and negative potential effects of the setting of compulsory exit-level standards in literacy and numeracy for students completing their final years of schooling is presented. The overview rests on studies completed primarily outside Australia, reflecting the reality of such practices not having been implemented widely in Australia. Both negative and positive potential effects are discussed, culminating in a summary of the evidence for these. The relevance of implementation of such standards in Australia is considered, particularly in the context of the implementation of the national curriculum. Notwithstanding individual studies, which appear to demonstrate both negative and positive impacts of such standards, the weight of evidence is judged to be insufficient to justify implementation of this approach in Australia.

This study examined the interrelationships between coping styles, emotional wellbeing, and school connectedness using path analysis. A total of 536 Year 8 students (241 boys and 295 girls) responded to an in-class survey and the Adolescent Coping Scale(Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993a) as part of a larger study. Productive coping style was positively related both to student-reported sense of wellbeing and, to a lesser extent, to school connectedness. A non-productive coping style was found to be inversely related to students' sense of wellbeing and connection to school. Students' sense of emotional wellbeing was found to be positively related to school connectedness. The negative relationships between non-productive coping with emotional wellbeing and, to a lesser extent, with school connectedness highlight the importance of taking into account the influence of risk factors as well as positive factors when focusing on enhancement of wellbeing and connectedness in secondary school students.

This study explores children’s use of three language cueing systems for reading. Differences are investigated across reading ability and text difficulty. Errors (miscues) were coded in order to analyse patterns across the oral reading strategies used by 100 students from Grades Preparatory, 1 and 2 ranging in age from 5 to 8 years old. Analysis of miscues revealed that Average and Above Average readers used the visual and sound properties of text to aid their reading more frequently than did Below Average readers. Grammatical relationships in text were more likely to be maintained by students when reading easier texts while sound cues were used more frequently when reading difficult texts. The study showed that the use of the grapho-phonic cueing system plays an important role in reading.

AbstractThis report outlines the usefulness and appropriateness of three commonly used tests of ability for Preparatory level (Prep) children in Victoria, Australia, from non-English speaking backgrounds. Traditional school readiness and ability tests are dependent on knowledge of the English language, and thus may not be valid tools for assessing students with limited English proficiency. Tests that measure both verbal and nonverbal abilities were administered to 32 children, 14 from English speaking and 18 from non-English speaking backgrounds. Differences between the two groups of children are reported with a focus on interpretation in the context of effect of English language proficiency on performance. The results indicate that student performance on a variety of tests is constrained by English language knowledge, rather than by actual cognitive ability.

AbstractThis report outlines the usefulness and appropriateness of three commonly used tests of ability for Preparatory level (Prep) children in Victoria, Australia, from non-English speaking backgrounds. Traditional school readiness and ability tests are dependent on knowledge of the English language, and thus may not be valid tools for assessing students with limited English proficiency. Tests that measure both verbal and nonverbal abilities were administered to 32 children, 14 from English speaking and 18 from non-English speaking backgrounds. Differences between the two groups of children are reported with a focus on interpretation in the context of effect of English language proficiency on performance. The results indicate that student performance on a variety of tests is constrained by English language knowledge, rather than by actual cognitive ability.

Research on career development has focused primarily on adolescents and adults. However, in Gottfredson's theory of circumscription and compromise (2002) it is proposed that career aspirations originate in the preschool years and that the earliest work aspirations of children are sex typed in relation to the activities of same sex adults. This article investigates young children's career development in the context of Gottfredson's stage theory. Eighty-four children attending a kindergarten/early learning centre for four- to five-year-old children exhibited sex typing of their aspirations, with the vast majority nominating real occupational roles as opposed to fantasy ones, as aspirations for adult life. The pattern of boys' and girls' aspirations differentially support Gottfredson's proposals. Questions are raised concerning the stability of patterns of aspirations in terms of sex type in a changing society.

AbstractFew studies exist that address the relationship between the higher order factors of fluid (Go and crystallised (Gc) intelligence and Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) outcomes. In this study, for each of five cohorts, longitudinal data have been collected over a six-year span, consisting of results from standardised achievement and ability tests and ending with achievement outcomes.Two factors, interpreted as Gf and Gc, are derived from the standardised measures. In Year 7, these measures were the Progressive Achievement Test Mathematics (PAT Moths), Progressive Achievement Test Reading Comprehension (PAT Comprehension), and the jenkins Test of Nonverbal Ability. In Year 10, the measures were the subtests of the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT).These factors are investigated in order to identify whether they are differentially important in regard to VCE Performance. The standardised measures and final VCE results were collected at a Melbourne independent girls' school from 414 exiting Year 12 students, in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Both Gf and Gc accounted for a significant amount of the variance in VCE performance, with Gc being the most significant indicator.

AbstractFew studies exist that address the relationship between the higher order factors of fluid (Go and crystallised (Gc) intelligence and Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) outcomes. In this study, for each of five cohorts, longitudinal data have been collected over a six-year span, consisting of results from standardised achievement and ability tests and ending with achievement outcomes.Two factors, interpreted as Gf and Gc, are derived from the standardised measures. In Year 7, these measures were the Progressive Achievement Test Mathematics (PAT Moths), Progressive Achievement Test Reading Comprehension (PAT Comprehension), and the jenkins Test of Nonverbal Ability. In Year 10, the measures were the subtests of the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT).These factors are investigated in order to identify whether they are differentially important in regard to VCE Performance. The standardised measures and final VCE results were collected at a Melbourne independent girls' school from 414 exiting Year 12 students, in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Both Gf and Gc accounted for a significant amount of the variance in VCE performance, with Gc being the most significant indicator.

School psychology reports typically include program recommendations for teachers to implement with their students. These recommendations, however, are not always followed up. This brief review identifies and discusses some of the factors which may account for this phenomenon. Lack of research in the field is evident, particularly in the Australian context. Issues of role identification of psychologists in the school system, and the expectations of them held by teaching staff are discussed.

Students who leave school early face long-term unemployment and a future possibly dependent on social welfare. This study reports characteristics of students at risk of leaving the education system. On the basis of teacher judgment, a group of students was selected to participate in an alternative Year 10 program at a rural school. Measures of scholastic achievement were administered at the beginning of the academic year, and personality measures at mid-year. Compared with their peers, these students were low academic achievers. They adopted coping styles which were more consultative and externalised than those adopted by the mainstream group. Self-esteem indicators did not discriminate strongly between the groups. Results support research which identifies achievement as a predictor of early school leaving, but lends an optimistic view of the potential of alternative programs to offer students strategies and resources which may optimise their chances of remaining in the school system longer than would otherwise have been predicted.

This study reports the factor structure of preferences for 31 school subjects expressed by 952 females and 862 males enrolled in Year 10 in 30 Australian schools. Within each sex, six principal factors were rotated to an oblique solution. The rotated factor structure of the preferences was interpreted within the framework of Holland's (1973) typology of persons and environments (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional — RIASEC). The data were consistent with Holland's model at the level of interpretation in terms of RIASEC themes. The correlations between the factors revealed apparent sex differences in the relationships between interest themes that were not predictable from Holland's hexagonal model of the relationships. These results suggest a srong association between interests in school subjects and occupational interests. They also provide an empirical basis for classifying school subjects in terms of RIASEC interest themes.

In order to ensure that the guidance process is effective, career guidance professionals must make decisions about what techniques and interventions to implement with clients in the limited time generally available. Given the variety of interventions in the professional's repertoire, a decision to implement any one of these must be based on a strong probability that the outcome will be constructive. This study reports on the relevance of using vocational interests and aptitude data in the guidance process. The immediate and longer-term aptness of the assessment results is examined through analysis of measured interests, aspirations, scholastic aptitudes and tertiary course entry of 335 female secondary students. Results indicated excellent concurrent and predictive validity for the interest data while also indicating the role played by aptitudes.

Where students participate in guidance programs of which interest measurement is a component, careers counsellors often tend to base their initial intervention approach on the inventory results, Some students do not respond positively to this approach. It is suggested that this may occur particularly when students’ direct statements of occupational preference and their inventoried interests are at odds. Whether particular groups of students may be predisposed by virtue of their interest orientation to this condition is investigated. The extent to which a sample of Year 10 students express preference for occupations which are not congruent with their measured interests is analysed within the context of Holland personality/interest groups. Results imply that students who display interest in non-traditional areas are more likely to express incongruent occupational aspirations.

Interest measurement approaches to guidance are often used in Australian schools. These approaches assume that the measures are relevant to Australians, that the students are sufficiently mature to express interests that have some degree of stability, and that these interests will bear some relationship to the futures of the students. To investigate the truth of these assumptions, eight cohorts (i.e., groups) of female secondary school students completed the Career Assessment Inventory (CAI; Johansson, 1982). Data were collected 3 years later for each cohort, together with college course desti nations. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used to investigate the structure of interests of the students within groups identified by course destination. A three-dimensional solution indicates a strong relationship between interests and course destination using Holland's (1985) vocational theory and an empirical course cluster typology (Elsworth, Harvey-Beavis, Gilding, & Briant, 1986).

Many readers have expressed interest in reviews of computerised career guidance packages. As a first step in this process, Dr Esther Care has provided the following guidelines for evaluation. If you have any comments to make about these guidelines, please contact me. Future editions of the journal will include reviews of packages. If you are currently using a package, you can review it using the guidelines, or your own review process, and forward it to me. We would like feedback from practitioners in different sectors using a variety of packages.