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This monograph reports the development of a semantic differential designed to measure professional self perception in student teachers. Seven scales were identified by factor analysis of the responses of 396 student teachers to 56 adjectival pairs used to rate the concepts "Myself,""Myself as I would like to be,""Myself as a teacher," and "The teacher I would like to be." The seven scales measure self perception along the dimensions of creativity, orderliness, warmth-supportiveness, satisfaction, clarity, energy-enthusiasm and non-conformity. Selection of items for the scales involved consideration of possible concept-scale and subject-scale interactions. Reliability estimates are reported. Construct validity is examined from the viewpoint of predicted systematic differences in self perception between male and female student teachers, and primary and secondary student teachers. Examples of the uses of the scales in evaluative research in teacher education are described. Two instruments, the Original Semantic Differential and the Professional Self Perception Questionnaire, are included as appendices. (Author/RL)

The conference recorded in this document covered a wide variety of themes and consisted of keynote addresses, research presentations, and workshops. The following keynote addresses are include: "Some Recent TAFE National Centre Research and Development in Australian Vocational Education" (Hall); "Vocational Teacher Education: Principles, Practices, Problems, and Promising Directions" (Magisos); and "Educational Training, Industry, and Commerce in the Future--A Contribution Concerning the Needs of School and Teacher Training" (Dahncke). The following research presentations appear: "Getting the Right People: Selection of Tourism Students--A Case Study" (Maddocks); "The TVEI. The University of Liverpool/North West TVEI 16-18 Curriculum Enrichment Program" (Macintosh); and"Keyboarding--A Valuable Skill" (Coleman). The following workshop presentations appear: "An Experimental Study of Incorporating Creative and Inventive Concepts into Vocation High School Curricula (A Correction)" (Wu); "Recent Developments in the Training of Trainers for Vocational Education in Europe" (Peak); "Distance Education: Mid-Career Upgrading and TAFE-Higher Education Articulation" (Atkinson, McBeath); "Engineering Education--Problemsolving Is a Strategy that Appeals to Girls" (Payget); "The Development of Access Mechanisms to Vocational Training for People of Non-English Speaking Backgrounds" (Kelly, Gill); "Introduction to Microwave Cookery for Disabled/Aged Persons" (Cooper); "Equal Opportunities Panelist Training" (Frazer, Ottrey); "The Non-English-Speaking-Background Learner in TAFE" (Mitchell, Frazer, Ottrey); and "The New Entry Lecturer Methods of Instruction Course (NELMIC)" (Mitchell, Trengove, Frazer). (CML)

The conference recorded in this document covered a wide variety of themes and consisted of keynote addresses, research presentations, and workshops. The following keynote addresses are included: "Technician Training: A New Zealand Perspective" (Wood); and "The Provision of Information Services in Vocational Education: The Present and the Future" (Lee). The following research presentations are included: "Responding to Diversity: Learning Styles in Vocational Education" (Andrews); "The Future for Vocational and Technical Education" (Strong); "Alternative Approaches to Vocational Education--The Malaysian Experience" (Saleh); "Recent Initiatives in Staff Development in Vocational Education in Scotland" (Niven); and "Vocational Education: An International Perspective" (Hickey). The following workshop presentations are included: "Teaching Learning Skills as a Foundation for Technical Training" (Nelson); "Approaches to Instructional Strategies for an Information-Based Society" (Ross); "Socialization and Cognitive Process in the Appropriation of Technical-Scientific Knowledge and Practical Abilities in Vocational High School" (Hardy); "An Experimental Study of Incorporating Creative and Inventive Concepts into Vocational High School Curricula" (Wu); "Teaching and Learning in TAFE: Does TAFE Sell Its Students Short?" (Gove); "Vocational Qualification and Access to Higher Education" (Smithers); "Competency Tests: Their Role in Selection of Apprentice and Trainee Technical Officers in Australia" (Holdgate); "Development and Analysis of a Criterion-Referenced Test Item Bank" (Hinton); "Follow-up Studies of Vocational and Technical Education Graduates Using State Databases" (Strong); "Analysis of a Programme of Electromechanics of Automated Systems in Terms of Underlying Physical Concepts and Principles" (Gagnon); "Fast Track Apprenticeships and Multi-Skilling: Can We Have the Best of Both Worlds?" (Thomas); "Collecting Case Studies in TAFE Curriculum: Some Problems" (McBeath); "Teacher Motivation in Vocational Education: Causes and Consequences" (Nyberg); "Vocational Teacher Education: Research into Practice" (Prichard); "Evaluation of the In-Service Education Ordinance and Programs for Industrial Vocational Teachers in the Republic of China" (Shieh); "Apprentices Literacy Skills" (Sofo); "Regional Colleges: Resource Sharing between Vocational Education and Higher Education" (Atkinson); "Student Withdrawal from Part-Time Courses of Further Education" (Parkin); and "Improving the Quality of Vocational Education" (Jain). (CML)

Programed mastery learning materials on matrix algebra were studied by 59 eighth-grade boys. Both experimental and control groups were divided into high- and low-ability groups. The experimental group reviewed all three instructional units until students achieved mastery, but the control group reviewed only Unit 3. Test scores of the treatment group increased over the sequence, especially between Units 1 and 2 and Units 1 and 3. Scores of the control group decreased. High-ability students scored higher in both groups, but the difference between the three units was not influenced by ability or by a combination of treatment and ability; the treatment was equally effective for both levels of ability. There was no difference in time spent learning Unit 1 by treatment vs. control groups. The treatment group spent significantly longer learning Units 2 and 3, but review time decreased from Unit 2 to Unit 3. The control group required more time to learn Unit 3 to mastery than the treatment group. Treatment aided the learning efficiency of the low-ability students, as well as retention of the materials ten days later. (GDC)

The data reported were obtained from two investigations carried out by the Australian Council for Educational Research in 1964 and in 1978. Each study was conducted at two levels of the secondary school. A subset of the 1978 samples is considered, which comprises students in government-only schools, so that effective comparisons can be made. Among the findings, it is noted there have not been substantial gains in the average level of achievement in mathematics learning of girls relative to boys over the 14-year period between the tests. Nevertheless, there is a marked change noted over these same years in the degree of involvement and participation by girls in learning mathematics at the upper secondary school level. Movement towards greater equality between the sexes appears to have taken place during the period. When other things which influence achievement in mathematics are taken into account, group sex differences in achievement at the terminal secondary level disappears, in general. It is suggested that if females place more time and involvement in mathematics, to the level of males, then sex differences in achievement shall gradually disappear. (MP)

This fact book, compiled to fill the need of practicing librarians and researchers for recent data on public libraries, contains statistics concerning or relevant to the U.S. public library system. Data on all aspects of American public libraries are summarized from such sources as annual reports, journal articles, surveys, books, doctoral theses, government studies, and other unpublished reports and documents. Most of the data included were published or gathered between 1973 and 1978, and none predate 1970. Information on public libraries in countries other than the U.S. has been included whenever the public library systems in those countries were comparable with the American model. Entries in the factbook are arranged alphabetically by topical subject heading, and bibliographic citations to the sources of the statistics given in each entry are included. (JL)

A psychometric model called Saltus, which represents the qualitative aspects of hierarchical development in a form applicable to additive measurement, was applied. Both Piaget's theory of cognitive development and Gagne's theory of learning hierarchies were used to establish the common features of hierarchical development: (1) gappiness--the logical construction of the hierarchy which occurs when there is no state between adjacent stages; and (2) rigidity--learning behavior, exhibited by a fixed sequence of progression through stages. Saltus assumes a theory with gappiness expressed through items or tasks, and estimates the rigidity of data, thus testing the hypothesized gappiness. Four experiments tested the Saltus model in elementary school Australian children and with subjects aged 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, and 21 years. Three Piagetian tasks of rule assessment involving proportionality (balance scale, projection of shadows, and a probability task) gave clear evidence of rigidity in the step from the pre-operational stage to the concrete operational stage. The next step, to the formal operational stage, did not show rigidity, although gappiness was evident. The hypothesized existence of a gap to split the concrete operational stage was not supported. The Gagnean data on a subtraction task showed strong rigidity. (Author/GDC)

In four parts, this discussion describes characteristics of the thought of infants, preschool children, primary school students, and adolescents. Topics briefly addressed in part I, on the thought processes/capabilities of babies, concern sensorimotor thought without abstraction, the importance of physical exploration, the development of intentionality, learning about cause and effect and properties of objects, and the development of symbolic thought. Table 1 describes motor development in the first 3 years, and Table 2 delineates six stages in the development of object permanence. Discussion of the development of preschool children in part II focuses on combining and transferring information; reversing observations; egocentricity; animism and artificialism; intuition and sequential associations; cause and effect; classification; and applications (specifically concerning preschoolers' drawings, dreams, and concepts of death, as well as professional practice, preoperational thought in adults, and the transitional years). Table 3 illustrates conservation of liquid, number, matter, length, area, and volume. The development of the primary school student is described in part III in terms of the extension of conservation, seriation, classification, concepts of number and time, concrete thinking, verbal problems, hypothetical problems, proportions, combinatorial logic, and applications to primary school children's social concepts. Educational implications are also discussed. In part IV, adolescents are discussed with reference to the egocentric idealistic crisis; combinatorial logic; hypothetical deductive thinking; impression formation; use of symbols for symbols; and, very briefly, thought beyond formal thought. (RH)

This description of toddlers and preschool children emphasizes how young children think and describes the development of self-concept. Language development and antisocial and prosocial behavior are also discussed. The exploration of children's thought processes begins with two principles: (1) Concepts originate in activity; and (2) Motor development enhances cognitive development. Subsequent discussion focuses on concepts of physical causation and object permanence; the development and nature of symbolic thought; methods of transferring information; reversibility, associating, and classification; preconceptual and intuitive thinking; and practical applications of research into the cognitive development of young children. Language is discussed in terms of the role of action in language development, the young child's understanding of words, egocentricity, and influences of the home environment. Social behavior is discussed with regard to aggression, altruism, and empathy. Discussion of self-concept development includes consideration of origins; assertive behavior; discipline; self-individuation; the impact of adult imprecisions and taboos; reflected appraisals; influences of parental interest, security, and reference groups; and aspects of disruptions in self-concept formation. (RH)

A sequence of stages in children's emotional response to parental separation and divorce is described, some effects of continued parent hostility are pointed out, and aspects of children's adjustment to changed family circumstances are briefly discussed. Developmental differences in children's responses to divorce are considered on the basis of research findings. Specific attention is given to the responses of infants, preschool children, school-age children, and adolescents. Children's perceptions of their parents' divorces are examined with reference to custody and the sex of the custodial parent; long term effects of divorce are discussed in terms of adjustment, sex of children, parenting, and problem solving. An educational program designed to assist divorcing parents and their children to express feelings about divorce and to provide some guidelines for counselors and teachers dealing with children of divorce is also described. (RH)

Data are reported for the classroom observational portion of a cross-sectional study conducted in Tasmania, Australia to examine the acquisition and development of addition and subtraction skills in young children. During the study, a group of students in grades l, 2, and 3 who differed in cognitive processing skills were observed during mathematics instruction. Frequencies of teacher and pupil behaviors observed in each of five classrooms during a period of three months in l980 are reported, as well as a brief discussion of results. From these data, it can be concluded that variations in allocated time are due not to differences in cognitive level of children but to difference in the actions of teachers, school policy and procedures, or grade level of instruction. (MNS)

A study examined existing partnerships between Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and industry in Australia and explored possible alternatives or additional mechanisms and structures for cooperating on course development and implementation. The 9-month investigation included a study of the use of joint facilities in five states, a study of training models used in industry, and an examination of ways of integrating on- and off-the-job training within traineeships. The TAFE/industry partnership picture was found to be very patchy. Excellent examples of effective relationships in TAFE course development were found; however, these excellent relationships were not nearly so widespread in the area of TAFE course implementation. The following were identified as ways of improving TAFE/industry partnerships: (1) form the highest possible TAFE/industry/training policy committee at the state levels; (2) have industry commission TAFE to develop and help implement all components of publicly accredited industry training curricula and commission TAFE to help develop other training programs; and (3) have industry provide TAFE with modern equipment, either at TAFE colleges, skills centers, or industrial sites. (MN)

A survey of a random sample of students from five tertiary institutions in Melbourne was conducted in 1986 to determine the nature and extent of their usage of their own university or college and other libraries. Questionnaires were mailed to 1,996 students, of whom 999 responded. The questionnaire sought information on: (1) students' backgrounds; (2) the types of libraries used; (3) the frequency of that usage; (4) the primary reasons for using academic and public libraries; (5) the resources and services used in these libraries; (6) the degree of satisfaction with services offered; and (7) the nature and extent of course-related usage of public libraries. Other comments were also solicited. A complex network of information sources used by students in fulfilling their course needs emerged from the study. Academic libraries were found to constitute the primary information source, with other sources, including public libraries, playing supplementary roles. It is noted that some of the traditional assumptions of the relative roles of different types of libraries are challenged by the data, and the final chapter explores some implications of these findings for planning library services in Victoria. Tabulated data are presented in 120 tables, and appendixes contain copies of the questionnaire and cover letter, a follow-up letter, additional cover letters, and respondents' comments. (82 references) (CGD)

The stability of Rasch test item difficulty parameters was investigated under varying conditions. Data were taken from a mathematics achievement test administered to over 2,000 Australian students. The experiments included: (1) relative stability of the Rasch, traditional, and z-item difficulty parameters using different sample sizes and designs; (2) effect of different sample types and sizes on the Rasch item fit estimator; (3) effects, on the item fit parameter and the Rasch item difficulty parameter, of removing some less appropriate items from the test; and (4) an examination of Wright's statement that the standard error of the item difficulty parameter is a good estimator of its variance, and that it has an inverse square root relationship to the sample size. Results showed that Rasch and z-item difficulty parameters were similar. Item fit increased as sample size increased. The removal of poorly fitting items improved fit values for the entire test, but worsened them for the remaining items. The Rasch standard error parameter was an appropriate measure of the true error of estimation as calculated from the square root of the sampling variance of the item difficulty index. (Implications for test calibration are concluded, and detailed item analyses are appended.) (GDC)

Bilingual education programs and policies in three countries with sizable minorities, Sweden, Australia, and the Federal Republic of Germany, are examined in order to gauge both the extent to which children with limited proficiency in the dominant language are in integrated classrooms and the degree of their social integration. First, the acceptance of foreign nationals into the Swedish labor force and communities and the elaboration of social policies toward those persons are outlined. The assumptions underlying bilingual education in Sweden are discussed along with four alternative forms of classroom organization that are being tried and the level of social integration of immigrant groups. Second, bicultural education in Australia is considered in terms of Aborigine education; education about the Aborigines; the induction of immigrants; ESL instruction; supplementary bilingual education programs; social studies and foreign language education; the response of education departments to the need for teacher training; and the debate over multiculturalism versus social integration. Third, the following dimensions to bilingual education in the Federal Republic of Germany are reviewed: policies toward guestworkers, political refugees, and European Economic Community nationals; the change from segregationist to integrationist approaches to the education of guestworkers' children; difficulties in integrating foreign students academically and socially; the problems of inner city enclaves of immigrants; and the question of repatriation. (RDN)

The hypothesis that higher levels of job knowledge and/or more extensive career exploration would be indicated in higher correlations between self-estimates and measured interests was investigated in two separate studies. Job knowledge was assessed using the Job Knowledge Survey (JKS), and career exploration was assessed using the questionnaire, Finding Out Facts about Jobs (FOFAJ). In the first study, the JKS was administered to 77 Australian students in year 10 together with the Vocational Interest Survey, a questionnaire of vocational interests, and the Work Interest Survey, a self-rating scale of the same interests. The effect of level of consistency among interests and the relationship between vocational types and job knowledge were analyzed. Results showed that neither factor influenced job knowledge and did not support the hypothesis that job knowledge and self-estimate ability are related. In the second study, FOFAJ was administered to 101 students in year 10. The two measures used in the first study were also administered. No evidence indicated that scores on the career exploration measure were affected by students' vocational type or the consistency of their interests. Self-estimate ability was not correlated significantly with the extent of career exploration. However, differentiation among the measured interests was related to career exploration. (YLB)

The user of the Vocational Interest Survey (VIS) has available a number of interpretative approaches at various descriptive and qualitative levels. This report provides a brief outline of the various approaches. Whenever all six scales of the VIS are administered, the client's total score on all six scales should be within the average range. The average total score is 54. Fifty percent of all clients range from 26 to 72. The clients' highest scores determine their resemblance to one of the six vocational types. People who resemble many vocational types are labeled as undifferentiated or poorly defined; the average level of differentiation in a sample of 206 high school students was 58. The level of consistency refers to the compatibility between a person's highest interests. Compatibility is measured by the distance between the vocational types of interest on a hexagonal typology of interests described by Holland. The hexagonal model may also be used to obtain four degrees of person-occupation congruency. Results from the VIS can be used to search for occupations which are compatible with interests. A copy of the interest profile and list of careers in each vocational category is attached. (JAZ)

This report summarizes a 1985 study during which 85 special library/information center managers from Melbourne, Australia, were interviewed to ascertain their continuing professional development activities, needs, and aspirations. Major areas of investigation included the extent and nature of organizational support for continuing professional development; the formal continuing education activities and professional involvement of those interviewed; and participants' perceptions of their present and future needs for continuing professional development. The background of the study is discussed; related studies are summarized; and the methodology and data collection are detailed. Study results indicated that over 70% of the interviewees had participated in at least one workshop, conference, or seminar in the last 2 years; that organizations, not individuals, were the major providers of funds for continuing professional activities and the amounts spent were relatively low; and that the major constraints to such participation were lack of time and lack of suitable courses to attend. It is concluded that information technology and management skills are the major areas of need in continuing professional development, and that improvements must be made in meeting the needs for present and future professional development for information service professionals. The text is supplemented with 23 statistical tables, and references and a 33-item bibliography are provided. The interview schedule and cover letter are appended. (Author/KM)

The theme of the 1983 Australian and South Pacific External Studies Association concerned developing efficient teaching-learning systems and efficient management systems. Such an emphasis on efficiency was symptomatic in the United States' educational arena to a commitment to the practices of scientific management. The central role accorded to efficiency by some theorists of educational administration is illustrated by educational principles that use the term "raw materials" for students and "worker" for teachers. Business ideology still dominates Western discourse and those in the education sector still perceive themselves and their institutions as vulnerable to it. Institutions that provide distance education materials feel even more vulnerable than do those that maintain a more cloistered and discrete relationship with their students. The methods adopted in a standard approach to distance education materials resemble the methods of scientific management. In order to complete materials successfully, students are required to submit to an "if you can't beat them, join them" approach because the materials fail to acknowledge the centrality of the possible contributions students can make. Issues such as qualitative, as opposed to quantitative, efficiency have not been sufficiently addressed in discussions about efficiency in distance education methods. Differing political commitments generate differing standards and measures of efficiency. (10 references) (CML)

Five studies of aboriginal language use in Australia's Northern Territory include: (1) "Yanyuwa--A Dying Language" (Jean F. Kirton), which outlines the factors contributing to the demise of the use of Yanyuwa since 1963 and the trend toward use of Kriol; (2) "Kriol in the Barkly Tableland" (Phillip L. Graber), presenting sociolinguistic and linguistic observations about the language use of aboriginal people in eight Kriol-speaking communities; (3) "Sociolinguistic Survey Report: Daly River Region Languages" (S. James Ellis), discussing sociological conditions of each Daly River area language; (4) "Sociolinguistic Survey Report: Wagalt Region Languages" (S. James Ellis), describing the population centers, sociological conditions of vernacular languages and the Belyuen Creole, and language attitudes in that area; and (5) "Tiwi: A Language Struggling to Survive" (Jenny Lee), chronicling Tiwi's history, Tiwi life today, the present language situation and the nature of change within it, and factors influencing the language's survival or revival. (MSE)

On behalf of a national committee advising the Australian Minister of Education, two consultants prepared separate evaluations of language policy statements from the states of Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland. The three statements all support the teaching of languages other than English (LOTEs) in the public school system, but differ widely in frame of reference, target audience, program objectives, priorities, and level of commitment. Both papers agree that Victoria most strongly supports LOTE programs, presenting a policy which is substantial in its content, clarity of thinking, and implementation strategies. The Victoria statement expresses a genuine commitment to a multicultural policy which encompasses not only language experience and learning, but also first-language maintenance and the affirmation of cultural identity through language learning. Queensland has not fully resolved the immense struggles of the last decade about the issues of language teaching, community languages, and ethnic identity. The Queensland document, produced by a task force within the multicultural education apparatus rather than the Education Department, appears to be talking to the power brokers of the education system, attempting to obtain some recognition for multicultural education, thus far denied at the highest levels. The South Australia statement makes no firm commitment to increasing resources and support, but couches its recommendations in cloudy rhetoric. (SV)