A 12-week classwide peer tutoring program in multiplication based on the “tutor huddle” procedure was compared with a conventional teacher-directed procedure. Two sixth-grade classes (n=52) were divided into higher and lower achievers on the basis of an initial multiplication pretest. The higher-achieving members (n=26) were then randomly assigned to be either tutor huddle tutors or teacher-directed tutors. The remaining class members (n=26) were randomly assigned to be either tutor huddle tutees or teacher-directed tutees. Results indicated that the tutor huddle tutors made significantly greater gains in multiplication skills than the teacher-directed tutors. There was no significant difference in the gains made by the two tutee groups. Benefits of the tutor huddle procedure for tutors and practical implications for its use in classroom settings were discussed.

A small group of Year 4 students, selected from a regular primary school to which a support unit for physically disabled children was attached, were trained to work as peer tutors with three of the unit children. Their attitudes towards disabled children in general and their interactions with specific disabled children were measured at three different times during the school year; prior to the peer-tutoring intervention, immediately on termination of the intervention and three months after the intervention had ceased. In addition, all non-disabled Year 4 children from the same regular school who had experienced different levels of academic, social and physical exposure to the unit children were assessed on the same attitudinal measures. Results were compared with a control group of Year 4 students from a neighbouring school of similar socio-economic status, with no support unit on site, to see whether general attitudes towards disability were affected by exposure to disabled students. This indicated that, while the measured attitudes of peer tutors did not appear to change over the three occasions, observations of interactions suggested both a trend for increased positie socialisation immediately after the intervention and a corresponding decrease three months after termination, which was not exhibited by other Year 4 students. There were no differences in general attitude measures among the four different Year 4 classes, suggesting that measured attitudes towards disability do not appear to change as a result of differential exposure to disabled students. However, as there was some evidence that changes in interactions by a small group of target students were not paralleled by corresponding changes in measured attitudes towards disability, it is suggested that both procedures should be used to gauge the effectiveness of integration programs.

There is a certain conceit in believing that a contemporary perspective represents the highest point of development in a field. Present-day views of development have their origins in the historical and cultural contexts of earlier eras, and it is possible to trace the cyclical waxing and waning of developmental perspectives across the centuries priorto the present “scientific” era in the field. Throughout history, cultures have varied in the significance they place on age and the relationship between age and the stages of development. For example, the stages that contemporary Western societies take for granted, such as infancy, childhood, and adolescence have changed their meaning and significance considerably over the centuries (Aries, 1962).

A sample of 44 fifth-grade children exhibiting common fears were assigned to receive treatment using emotive imagery during a seven week period. One control group received attention-placebo treatment and another no treatment. There were no significant differences between the groups on post-intervention measures of fear and depression. Methodological limitations of the study are discussed.

Recent developments in Cognitive Psychology and in the new discipline of Cognitive Science (an integration of Cognitive Psychology, Computer Science, Linguistics, Philosophy of Mind, and Cognitive Neuroscience) have made it appropriate to consider new ways in which Cognitive Development and Educational Psychology can benefit each other. Cognitive Development can contribute to Educational Psychology by specifying cognitive processes entailed in educationally relevant tasks, by analysing processing loads, and by indicating more efficient ways of using available capacity. Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science have now produced some penetrating theories of the cognitive processes that underlie a wide variety of intellectual activities. Although there is still much work remaining to be done, these developments can be used to analyse the strategies children and adults use in solving problems in areas such as mathematics and science. This can result in benefits in both learning and remediation. Educational Psychology can benefit Cognitive Development by offering alternativeconcepts, by providing realistic problems for analysis, and by providing a testing ground for its theories. I will illustrate these ideas in the area of mathematics.

The attitudes of 144 11-and 12-year-old primary school children to contemporary health issues were measured by a specially designed questionnaire. Levels of agreement and disagreement to the health-related statements indicated that the children held positive attitudes to health and fitness, were anti-smoking and anti-drinking and generally were prepared to accept responsibility for their health. The importance of monitoring children’s attitudes and changes to them as a result of educational and media campaigns discussed.

This paper is not intended to be a deeply meaningful philosophical analysis of theory development nor a detailed historical account of the period involved. It is a personal view as seen by a practitioner and researcher during a period of several decades (1950s-1990). From this perspective, the period divides itself nicely into three distinct stages. Firstly, between the mid 1950s and the early 1970% practitioners were trying to describe Piaget's insights in classroom terms (Collis, 1969,1971; Peel, 1960,1971). This period was followed by attempts to explain the Piagetian stage phenomena most often in terms associated with information processing concepts (Case, 1972; Pascual-Leone, 1970). This latter work continued through the 1970s and in to the 1980s and sparked off a period that saw the efforts of the critical reviewers of Piagetian concepts redoubled. These reviews led to more recent expositions which have Piagetian heritage but subscribe to only a few of the original constructs. As an educational practitioner during the whole of the time under consideration, the writer's observations are biased towards'that context.

Six hundred and seventy four high school students from an Australian tourist region responded to a range of employment choices involving the tourist/hospitality industry. Many students evinced a readiness to consider employment in this industry and over one-half of the sample would consider further studies in order to obtain a better job within the same context. Formal qualifications and practical experience were thought to be the more important factors in the attainment of tourist/hospitality jobs. It was also found that males were more likely than females to demonstrate no interest in this type of employment and less likely than females to indicate a readiness to undertake further studies. Finally, it was found that students demonstrating an internal locus of control were more likely to believe in a variety of factors as a method of attainment of tourist/hospitality industry jobs, including performance and presentation, whereas externals believed more in formal qualifications. The implications of these findings for the later employment of students and for educational psychologists working in this context were examined.

A marked impression gained when one reviews the developmental literature with a view to decidina what knowledge might be relevant to education is the large number of single issue and unconnected theories and the apparently frequent overturning of theories. At least every ten years we witness a major change in the basic theories guiding research and development in both developmental and educational psychology.

Witnessing this heavy turn-over from a sideline, one might be excused for feeling concerned that the fabric of psychological knowledge may not be able to withstand the hard wear and tear resulting from this continuous reworking and recycling, and that the psychological fabric will become more and more fragile. Some threadbare parts have become obvious already. For example, the terms cognitionand cognitive are of quite limited usefulness now because their meaning has been reduced to something internal, something that is not directly observable. Initially the concept of cognition had a general but clear meaning. Concepts such as schema, stage, behaviour, and action are beginning to suffer a similar fate.

Personal construct theory and the repertory grid technique were used to investigate the self-concepts of 30 dyslexic and 30 non-dyslexic children aged between 9 and 16 years. It was predicted that he self-concepts of the dyslexic students would be more negative than the self-concepts of the non-dyslexic students and that there would be a greater discrepancy between the self-constructions and the ideal self-constructions of he dyslexic group than of the non-dyslexic group. Results indicated hat the dyslexic students ranked themselves as significantly worse at reading and significantly less important than did the non-dyslexic students. The dyslexic children also exhibited significantly greater discrepancy between their ideal self and actualself. A cluster analysis of the grid data indicated that the dyslexic students perceived the constructs ‘Hardworking’, ‘Clever’ and ‘Good at Reading’ as similar, while no such connection was made by the non-dyslexic group.

Behavioural approaches to instructional consultation, problem-solving and teaching children have their base in operant psychology. In their modern forms they appear variously under labels such as Applied Behaviour Analysis (Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1986), Direct Instruction (Englemann & Carnine, 1982) and Precision Teaching (Haring, Lovitt, Eaton & Hansen, 1978). They involve the systematic application of scientifically-based processes and procedures which produce learning to a sequence of chosen facts and concepts (‘knowing about’) and behaviours and skills (‘knowing how’). Three illustrative intervention studies which highlight some key characteristics of behavioural approaches to working with children are presented. These permit useful comparisons between a behavioural approach and some current ‘developmental’ and ‘educational’ orientations.

Teachers do not need to be either psychologists, sociologists, historians, political scientists or theologians. However, they do need an appropriate professional grounding if they are to be more than didatic technicians. The question of professional background is often solved by an uncoordinated smorgasbord where students are exposed to varying amounts from the basic disciplines of psychology, sociology, history and philosophy, taught independently of each other, without a clearly defined single focus.

Early childhood educators, as a concomitant of a long tradition of child-centred curricula, have found such a focus in the study of child development. If education can be seen as a deliberate effort to interact with that development in a way that leads to definable positive outcomes, this is a justified conceptualisation of the professional basis for a teacher's work. This is particularly the case in early childhood where development is rapid and varied in pace, and institutional settings vary so greatly. However, as teachers in higher grades are increasingly asked to be involved more widely in their students' lives, through ever greater curriculum demands, it becomes more pertinent there are well.

Ever since mass education became the norm, with children being required to attend group-teaching in literacy and numeracy, some children have experienced difficulty in coping with this type of instruction. Their reaction frequently manifests as a bored, unruly child who exertsa disruptiveclassroom influence. The issue of what to do with such children has been a persistent problem for their teachers.

“Education is generally accepted as having, as one of its major functions, the development of every child's potential to the fullest extent possible. It follows, therefore, that gifted children should have their gifts extended by their schools” (Senate Select Committee Report, 1988, p.173). The Committee considers that by encouraging the talents of the most able, Australia will strengthen its most valuable natural resource (its people) and will be in a better position to contribute economically, intellectually, and artistically at an international level.