Culture influences basic motivational processes; however, Western theories of achievement motivation seem to have neglected the role of culture. They are inadequate when trying to explain student motivation and engagement across a wide range of cultural groups because they may not have the conceptual tools needed to handle culturally relevant…

Statistical biases associated with single-level analyses underscore the importance of partitioning variance/covariance matrices into individual and group levels. From a multilevel perspective based on data from 21,579 students in 58 high schools, the present study assesses the multilevel factor structure of motivation and engagement with a…

Thin-ideal (or media) internalization is an important eating disorder risk factor that has become a central target of many prevention programs. However, evidence for its valid assessment in young, mixed-gender, adolescent samples is limited, and the current study is the first to explore the psychometric properties of the 30-item Sociocultural…

We investigated whether the five-factor structure of the Preventive Health Model for colorectal cancer screening, developed in the United States, has validity in Australia. We also tested extending the model with the addition of the factor Self-Efficacy to Screen using Fecal Occult Blood Test (SESFOBT). Randomly selected men and women aged between…

The present study explored motivation and engagement among Chinese and Australian school students. Based on a sample of 528 Hong Kong Chinese 12-13 year olds and an archive sample of 6,366 Australian 12-13 year olds, achievement motivation was assessed using the Motivation and Engagement Scale-High School (MES-HS). Confirmatory factor analysis and…

There is an increasing support from international organizations and the research community for stepping beyond infant or child mortality as the most common child level social indicator and progressing towards an international measure of child development. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a teacher-completed measure of children's…

Teachers' meanings regarding teaching have been of interest to researchers for the last two decades and in the higher education literature there is some consensus for the way in which these are represented. One procedure for investigating aspects related to teachers' meanings is the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) which was originally…

This study assessed the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the Smoking Expectancies Scale for Adolescents (SESA) using 717 Australian adolescents (87% nonsmokers, 11% current smokers, and 2% ex-smokers). Exploratory factor analysis of SESA yielded 8 factors. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 8-factor…

This paper discusses a study that examined why older people volunteer for a research registry based at the University of Queensland, Australia. A mailed questionnaire was utilized to explore a list of reported motives developed from an in-depth qualitative phase. An exploratory factor analysis of the findings was conducted, which showed that there…

Two studies are reported which describe the development and evaluation of a new instrument, the Computer Technology Use Scale (CTUS), comprising three domains: computer self-efficacy, attitudes to technology, and technology related anxiety. Study 1 describes the development of the instrument and explores its factor structure. Study 2 used…

Educational changes included: (1) expansion of preschool facilities; (2) increased involvement of students in secondary education and in tertiary education; and (3) marked fluctuation in both the economic status of teachers and financial involvement of the aggregate of six state governments in education. (RL)

This article reports on a further exploration into the reliability and validity of the shortened form of the Career Development Inventory-Australia (Creed & Patton, 2004), a career maturity measure being developed to meet the need for a shorter and more up-to-date measure to provide data on this career development construct. Data gathered from…

This study provides psychometric data on the Inviting School Survey (Purkey & Fuller, 1995) using a rating scale analysis within the framework of the Rasch measurement philosophy (Bond & Fox, 2001; Rasch, 1980). The Inviting School Survey's factor structure and internal consistency are examined and compared with the Invitational Education…

The psychometric properties of a version of the Course Experience Questionnaire revised for students currently enrolled at the University of Sydney, the Student Course Experience Questionnaire (SCEQ), were assessed, gathering students' perceptions on a number of scales, including Good Teaching, Clear Goals and Standards, Appropriate Assessment,…

L. Mann, H. Mitsui, G. Beswick, and R. Harmoni (1994) studied perceptions of interpersonal rules by Japanese and Australian children. This reanalysis of their data uses principal components analysis to show common and culture-specific patterns of interpersonal rules. Social status and social distance were major dimensions of a large cultural…