Language massive open online courses (LMOOCs) represent an exciting prospect for language teachers and instructors around the globe (Bárcena & Martín-Monje, 2014). In this paper, we report on the dynamics of participation and learner behaviour in an ab initio Irish language course. The course, Irish 101, ran during March 2019, and we used a mixed-methods approach to analyse both typical patterns of behaviour among course participants and learner reflections upon their reasons for doing so. Findings suggest that most learners use the course resources in an assessing and exploratory manner and are far less likely to produce, or to examine, second language (L2) output, either written or spoken. Learners were found to be selective and to demonstrate significant metacognitive awareness (Wenden, 1998) in their interactions and learning methods, displaying agency and exploiting affordances beyond the design of the course itself. Implications for LMOOC design, including the need to question whether courses should emphasise L2 production or resource provision, are considered, in addition to a general need for more granular, dynamic research, so as to better understand the types of learners who engage in LMOOCs and to better cater to diverse learning needs.

The role of affective and cognitive factors in learning have long been recognised as imperative determinants of the learning process. Maladaptive styles with which we perceive and explain accomplishments and failures in achievement outcomes have an important motivational impact upon approach and avoidance behaviours towards academic tasks. Interventions to change these maladaptive styles are well established, although they stand to gain via addition of cognitive behavioural therapy components. A pilot study attribution retraining intervention was implemented with eight secondary school students, and their results on academic performance, self-concept, and attributional styles were compared to a control group. With significant gains in some specific academic domains, the attributional retraining program is being substantiated for effective use within secondary schools. Implications suggest that this could be an effective tool to retrain students’ attributions, with some gains, as the reattribution technique is revisited and reinvigorated.

This research explored gender and cross-cultural similarities and differences in the motivational profiles of Indigenous Papua New Guinean (PNG) and Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Secondary students (N = 1,792) completed self-report motivational measures. Invariance testing demonstrated that the Inventory of School Motivation (McInerney, Yeung, & McInerney, 2001) measure was invariant across both gender and Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups. Structural equation modelling (SEM) results explicated that males were significantly more performance orientated than females in all three groups examined; however, the disparity between genders was most apparent in non-Indigenous Australians. Diverging from previous findings with non-Indigenous students, the current study found that PNG and Australian Indigenous males endorsed mastery goals more strongly than Indigenous females. In contrast, non-Indigenous females were more mastery orientated than non-Indigenous males. Finally, the two Indigenous groups endorsed social goals more strongly than the non-Indigenous Australians. The current findings highlight the importance of assessing gender and group differences, as broad statements relating to student motivation do not appear to be applicable in all cultural contexts.

As social media use is rising among adolescents, the issue of whether this use leads to positive or negative outcomes warrants greater understanding. This article critically reviews the literature related to this important topic. Specifically, we examine how social media use affects social connectedness in terms of three elements of adolescent development: sense of belonging, psychosocial wellbeing, and identity development and processes. Mixed findings are reported regarding the role that social media plays in fostering social connectedness, which suggests that young people may experience both positive and negative psychological outcomes. As a result, this article argues that online tools create a paradox for social connectedness. On one hand, they elevate the ease in which individuals may form and create online groups and communities, but on the other, they can create a source of alienation and ostracism. This article contributes to ongoing discourse in the area of educational and developmental psychology, and has implications for researchers and practitioners working with adolescents.

This article reports on a qualitative study aimed to map the professional practice of psychologists working in schools in Victoria, Australia. A review of school psychology research literature conceptualised seven domains that were used as a lens for understanding how the professional practice of psychology was enacted in schools. The domains were placed in a hierarchy to illustrate the ecological aspect of professional practice, drawing on the work of Altman (1987) and Brofenbrenner (1977). The influence of each of these domains in shaping professional practice was understood to be mediated by the degree of control (Oakland & Cunningham, 1998) psychologists were able to garner in negotiating how their psychological services were delivered to schools. Snapshots of the practice of psychologists nominated as ‘effective’ practitioners by senior administrators identified a number of contextual barriers and facilitators across the profession that are used to inform directions for reform. The authors argue for the development of alternative models that involve collaborative actions and multiple systems — combining professional efforts to serve students and families with multiple and complex needs.

The role of educational (school) psychologists around the world is often debated, and usually involves the discussion of many key functions. Traditionally, the role has focused on the importance of cognitive assessment; however, increasingly this role is gradually being marginalised in favour of other more generic and systemic activities, such as research. This article will outline the importance of research in the role of educational psychologists, and will consider how this role can be fostered across the profession in order to meet the demands of the educational marketplace, thus ensuring that the profession of educational psychology will survive well into the 21st century. Implications for the organisation of psychological services are also discussed, as well as implications for the training of educational psychologists.

The conceptual basis for a model of professional learning in educational psychology is presented in this article. The approach is one aimed at an integration and application of theories of knowledge management with educational and organisational psychology in a pragmatic research methodology underpinning professional learning. The model focuses upon the idea of praxis and the working ideal of a ‘thinking practitioner’. This is in turn applied to the development of individual differences theory as part of a critical revision problematising theory associated with researching style differences in cognition, learning and management. A need for critical revisionism, new directions in researching style differences and professional education is identified as part of an example illustrating a way to establish valid epistemic change and paradigm shift necessary for this development. The argument underpinning this approach, finally, concludes that the future is very much part of the past, as a knowledge source for informing contemporary professional learning thereby ensuring practice is not stuck in the present.

Educational and developmental psychology faces a number of current and future challenges and opportunities in Australia. In this commentary we consider the identity of educational and developmental psychology in terms of the features that distinguish it from other specialisations, and address issues related to training, specialist endorsement, supervision and rebating under the Australian government's Medicare system. The current status of training in Australia is considered through a review of the four university programs in educational and developmental psychology currently offered, and the employment destinations of their graduates. Although the need for traditional services in settings such as schools, hospitals, disability and community organisations will undoubtedly continue, the role of educational and developmental psychologists is being influenced and to some extent redefined by advances in technology, medicine, genetics, and neuroscience. We review some of these advances and conclude with recommendations for training and professional development that will enable Australian educational and developmental psychologists to meet the challenges ahead.

This article discusses the efficacy of different methods of referring children for educational psychological services from the perspective of resilience theorising and research. Four referral systems are considered, and they are intake, patch, screening, and cross-agency referrals. It is argued that the intake system, where referrals are received by a central agency from a number of sources, is problematic from a practice as well as a theoretical perspective. The patch approach is where an educational psychologist works in a defined geographical area, and this system is recommended instead because it promotes an in-depth understanding of the particular circumstances of children, parents, and teachers. It is also suggested that geographical patches, plus the screening of students at several developmental points, is the most useful referral approach because it combines comparative standards and local knowledge. As well, cross-agency referrals, which are referrals from other social service agencies, can function as useful sources of clients for psychological services

Test anxiety (TA) affects exam performance and has been found to be composed of a cognitive (worry) and emotional component. The cognitive component has been implicated in the performance decrements seen in individuals with high TA; however, interventions involving cognitive therapies have provided mixed and limited outcomes with regard to improvement in performance. This article explores TA in relation to attentional control theory, which provides a framework for the impact of anxiety on working memory and cognitive performance. Possible interventions for the treatment of TA guided by attentional control theory will then be discussed and the need for further research to explore the efficacy of these interventions established.

According to Farrell and Lunt (1995), educational psychology is in danger of becoming a second class profession in applied psychology. Controversies about the role and training of educational psychologists need urgent attention for the profession to prosper. A clear view of roles that educational psychologists are expected to fill and of roles that are best filled by educational psychologists will improve the content and nature of training programs. Graduate training programs are likely to be where change is either resisted or nurtured. Six issues facing educational psychologists in Australia and ways that training programs may contribute to their resolution are canvassed.

A number of crucial issues face educational and developmental psychologists as they attempt to make sense of the emerging climate for contemporary practices. Downsizing, contracting out of services, and changes to standards of practice are examples of tensions in the work climate. This compilation of brief presentations at a symposium at the 33rd Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) is aimed to inform members of the APS College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists (CEDP) about some compelling issues in contemporary educational psychology work.