Over the last decade the Australian higher education sector has become increasingly reliant upon the income generated by overseas fee-paying students. Yet the experiences of these students are sometimes traumatic, and institutions have been slow to develop appropriate structures to support them. The authors report on recent efforts to overcome…

This article investigates a group oral test as administered at a university in Japan to find if it is appropriate to use scores for higher stakes decision making. It is one component of an in-house English proficiency test used for placing students, evaluating their progress, and making informed decisions for the development of the English…

When children start school it is not just a transition to a new physical context, but also an entry point to a new "culture" where aspects of teaching, learning and assessment are different, and hence what it means to be a learner is constructed differently. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in making links between…

If children are to benefit from a healthy, supportive early childhood experience, it is important to strengthen transitions between early childhood experiences in educational and care settings and the more formal educational system. This issue of Coordinator's Notebook focuses on strengthening linkages and transitions between home, preschool, and…

The way in which children's transition to primary school is managed can set the stage not only for children's school success, but also their response to future transitions. This study examined transition experiences of young children, their families, and their early childhood and primary school teachers, by means of interviews and detailed…

Starting school is a transition marked by excitement, trepidation, happiness, or sadness for all involved. This issue of the Australian Early Childhood Association Research in Practice Series discusses some of the issues described as important by children, parents, and preschool and elementary educators in an interview study of children's…

Interviews with British student teachers examined the nature of support they received in school when making the transition from student to teacher. The success of the transition depended on experiencing various relational conditions, which were largely determined by others, but which served as a crucial context for individual development. (SM)

A summer program at Ambleside (England) works with adolescents who are at risk of becoming disaffected with life. Challenging outdoor activities increase students' self-esteem and keep them in contact with education, training, or employment. Good facilities and a pleasant environment can contribute to meeting objectives, but facilitators'…

A study of 60 New Zealand high-school students and young adults with moderate mental retardation evaluated current transitional arrangements; related policies, practices, and attitudes; and typical outcomes for students/graduates. Of special focus are the importance of family involvement, support groups, education, postschool vocational training,…

Overviews trends in language education across 11 small island states in the South Pacific and notes the difficulties inherent in regional implementation of chosen bilingual-education models. Language policy is discussed in both historical and social terms, and the realization of present-day policies in the competing educational motives of economic…

Pupils transferring to secondary school are positive about science and look forward to practical work. The research reported here explored Y6 and Y7 pupils' perceptions of practical science in school and the world of work. Pupils at both ages saw practical work as a natural and enjoyable consequence of scientific endeavour and of use to society.…

This grounded theory study employed in-depth interviews with nine student/parent dyads from eastern Canada. Youth with disabilities, aged 16 to 21, contributed narratives describing high school transitions. Shared experience that transcends disability categories produced powerful results. Three categories emerged: (1) transition facilitators; (2)…

The importance of a smooth transition into school for children who have received Early Intervention Services (EI) but have not received the Ongoing Reviewable Resource Scheme (ORRS) funding has become of increasing concern to stakeholders involved with these children. The EI and School Focus (SF) teams of the GSE in Pakuranga collaborated…

The study has focused on the transition from day-care centre to school. Questionnaires were completed by staff at several day-care centres, at three schools recruiting pupils from these and by the parents of these children. Schools were asked what kind of information they thought it was important to receive from the other parties about children…

This article considers the transition from A-level to degree-level study from the schoolteacher's point of view. It highlights the conflicting subject philosophies that exist at A level, and the resistance to the revised English of Curriculum 2000 that has been apparent in debates about the nature of English Literature post-16. Its main argument…