Self-efficacy is a key factor in performance success, yet little is known about how music educators nurture students' self-belief within studio and class music lessons. This study explored teachers' perceptions of pedagogical priorities in the development of self-efficacy. The goal was to understand how teachers intuitively nurture students'…

This article examines interpreters' dilemmas and choices in the case of home-based aged care assessments of elderly migrants in Australia. Based on one-on-one interviews with professional interpreters, it specifically explores tensions between power, norms and interpreters' own positionings on intercultural communication problems. Data analysis…

This study explored the educational and employment profiles and the psychosocial wellbeing of 65 Australian adults with dyslexia. Participants were also asked about their age at diagnosis of dyslexia. These domains have been under studied in the Australian adult dyslexic community. Data was collected using an anonymous online two-part survey. Part…

Increasingly prescribed teacher standards dictate what graduates will know and be able to do, yet little heed is taken of how they learn. In light of this situation a two-phased study was undertaken. Based on Rasch analysis of initial efficacy scales, 26 intern teachers were interviewed. The data was analysed using NVivo and LEARnT, an a priori…

Research into the emotional experiences of language learners and their impact upon the language-learning process remains relatively undernourished within second language education. The research available focuses primarily on emotions experienced within the classroom, rather than in the daily lives of learners within various social contexts. This…

All educational testing is intended to have consequences, which are assumed to be beneficial, but tests may also have unintended, negative consequences (Messick, 1989). The issue is particularly important in the case of large-scale standardized tests, such as Australia's "National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy" (NAPLAN), the…

Using survey data, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of student engagement for different groups of students, many of which may be classified as "nontraditional". The analysis presented in this paper is based on Kahu's framework for student engagement. Both the antecedents as well as consequences of engagement are incorporated…

Victimisation is a traumatic experience linked to development of Borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, there is limited research investigating the developmental journey prior to BPD diagnosis. School environments offer an opportunity for BPD prevention and early intervention. A survey with 19 Australian family carers of people with BPD…

Within a theoretical framework of cognitive dissonance, this phenomenological study explored Australian intellectually gifted pre-adolescent/early adolescents' experiences of asynchrony. The study focuses on mothers and sons. Eleven boys aged 10 to 14 years, and nine of their mothers, participated in semi-structured interviews. Seven boys reported…

This paper explores the experiences of 12 young people, all teenagers, who have chosen to attend alternative schools known as flexible learning options within the Australian context. Using a phenomenological approach, the study seeks to understand their experiences outside the normalised public discourse that they had "disengaged" from…

Children with disability continue to experience disadvantage in their school lives; thus, the question of what makes up an optimal school life, and whether this is different for children with disability, becomes critical. This paper reports on research into parental views about an optimal school life and the usefulness of Social Role Valorization…

Focused conversation is an approach used to lead group inquiry into topics of concern or interest. Four levels of questions guide participants through objective, reflective, interpretive and decisional levels of conversation. Over the past several years focused conversation was adopted in Australia to facilitate National Quality Framework related…

This volume comprises the refereed proceedings of the 2007 ATLAANZ (Association of Tertiary Learning Advisors of Aotearoa/New Zealand) conference. The first three chapters set the scene well for the breadth and depth of issues addressed by the authors. In Chapter 1, Andy Begg refers to his own educational journey in discussing the inseparability…