Education issues feature almost daily in print media, online, on the radio and on television, much of which focuses on the perceived deficits of students and teachers. Singled out for special attention are low socio-economic status (SES) schools which are frequently characterised by teachers and students with little investment in learning and…

Students from 15 intact classes in grades 6 and 7 (N=142) from suburban schools in Perth, Australia, were used to investigate their time on task and achievement in process-oriented lessons. One finding noted is a positive relationship between achievement and student reasoning ability and engagement in planning and collecting tasks. (JN)

Presents results from an Australian study examining whether children who use cognitive strategies in solving simple addition questions develop greater proficiency in addition than children who do not use such strategies. Describes the subjects, instruments, procedure, and instructional treatment. Concludes that the development of cognitive…

Discusses a study of the effects of a schoolwide behavior management program on Australian elementary school teachers' use of encouragement. Concludes that, although teacher encouragement of students increased during the program, encouragement levels reduced following the intervention's withdrawal. Calls for further research into the effects of…

The program described in this paper was designed to address two sets of questions, one concerning the nature of classroom teaching and learning of science in secondary schools and the other concerning their mechanisms. The program consisted of four phases: (1) "Establishment" (emphasizing trust between teachers and consultants); (2)…

This paper reports a study directed toward educational improvement through individual and group change. It is a 3-year naturalistic case study centering on 9 experienced science teachers, 13 novice science teachers, 64 secondary science students, and 4 researchers. The three aims of this study are to know more about: (1) what it is to be a teacher…

Describes a study designed to provide profiles of intellectual abilities actually practiced by elementary and secondary education pupils in science lessons and to investigate changes in these profiles as a function of pupil age. Study results are discussed in terms of teaching method and the resultant intellectual abilities. (MBR)

Activities and interactions of teachers and students from high school science classes of Western Australia were investigated. Fifteen teachers from two co-educational high schools (private and public) serving medium socio-economic level families in the metropolitan area of Perth participated in the study. The specific foci were: (1) the…

Describes a study that involved a search for a model for the teaching of musical composition to students with some prior experience. Recounts in detail the way students approached the task of composing music, and the compositions they produced. Offers several recommendations for reforming composition instruction. (MJP)

The paper describes a behavioral-ecological assessment system called AIMS (Assessment for Integration into Mainstream Settings) and presents the results of a comparative study of the responses of four Australian (N=179) and two U.S. (N=72) elementary teacher groups on two of the AIMS assessment instruments, the Social Behavior Standards Inventory…

Presents study results examining the effectiveness of teacher praise on children's on-task behavior. Describes Canter's Assertive Discipline, its use in Australia, and the basics of a study of the technique. Reports that all teacher subjects increased rates of praising following training, and all but one student improved levels of behavior.…

This article is concerned with the learning of mathematics before the commencement of formal schooling. Describes the experiences of two students from four main sets of data: formal and informal measures of mathematics achievement, the learning environment in the home, and observations during teacher-led sessions concerned with mathematical…

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…

Reports on 2 studies to assess attitudes to and moral reasoning about class rules among 117 Australian secondary students and 87 student teachers. Finds students' moral reasoning to be more advanced than predicted by Lawrence Kohlberg and based on the general welfare of students and teachers. (CFR)