The aim of this study was to investigate high school students' perceptions of school-related problems. Some 1583 high school students responded to the 35 item High School Stressors Scale (Burnett & Fanshawe, 1997) which measures nine areas of problems experienced by adolescents in schools. These are Teaching Methods, Student-Teacher Relationships, School Workload, School Environment, Feeling Vulnerable, Personal Organization, Achieving Independence, Anxiety about the Future, and Relationships with Parents. The results are discussed and implications for educators, guidance officers and school psychologists working in high schools are presented.

This study examined the worries of children in the middle primary years, and the frequency and intensity with which these worries are experienced. Children from years 5,6, and 7 (ages 10-13 years) were asked “What do people of your age worry about?” This data were then used to formulate the Children's Worry Scale (CWS). The CWS was administered to 140 children in years 5, 6, and 7 to determine the frequency and intensity with which these worries were experienced. Findings revealed that there were significant age related differences and that girls reported more worries than boys. There were six main areas of worry for these children: school issues, personal safety, social/peer issues, health and safety of family members, issues related to parents, and being in trouble. The items which had the highest ranking for both frequency and intensity were from the area of school issues. Implications of these findings in relation to providing support for children in this area are discussed.

Students who leave school early face long-term unemployment and a future possibly dependent on social welfare. This study reports characteristics of students at risk of leaving the education system. On the basis of teacher judgment, a group of students was selected to participate in an alternative Year 10 program at a rural school. Measures of scholastic achievement were administered at the beginning of the academic year, and personality measures at mid-year. Compared with their peers, these students were low academic achievers. They adopted coping styles which were more consultative and externalised than those adopted by the mainstream group. Self-esteem indicators did not discriminate strongly between the groups. Results support research which identifies achievement as a predictor of early school leaving, but lends an optimistic view of the potential of alternative programs to offer students strategies and resources which may optimise their chances of remaining in the school system longer than would otherwise have been predicted.

This study examined the effects of different ability compositions on students' behaviours in structured cooperative groups. One hundred and sixty, Year 6 children worked on class-based activities in one of four, gender-balanced, mixed-ability groups (high-medium-low; high-medium; medium-low; high-low). The results showed initially that the children in the three-ability level condition (high-medium-low) exhibited significantly more cooperative and helping behaviours than their peers in the two-ability conditions at the first observation period (Week 3). However, by the completion of the study (Week 6), there were no significant differences in the cooperative and helping behaviours of the children in the two-and three-ability level conditions. It appeared that as the children had more opportunities to work together, they became more responsive to each others' needs and demonstrated more cooperative and helping behaviours. Reasons for these results are discussed.

The perceptions of adolescents with AD/HD regarding their level of i) coping “strength”, ii) peer related loneliness, iii) peer rejection, and iv) interpersonal concerns were compared with their mothers' perceptions. Twenty-two adolescents diagnosed with ADD, nineteen adolescents diagnosed with ADHD, and their mothers, were interviewed. Adolescents with ADD reported significantly less peer related loneliness and significantly more coping “strength” than their mothers believed them to have. Adolescents with ADHD reported significantly less concern about being rejected and humiliated, significantly less peer related loneliness, and significantly more coping “strength” than did their mothers. These findings demonstrate the importance of seeking both the adolescents and the mothers views of the adolescent's social-emotional development. Knowledge of the different perspectives can be useful in designing counselling and guidance interventions.

This paper investigates the use of Solution Focussed Therapy with a student at-risk. It looks at some of its fundamental tenets and provides the practitioner with an understanding of its benefits. The political nature of youth suicide now makes it necessary for practitioners to start investigating preventative programs. It is argued that Solution Focussed Therapy offers skills to School Psychologists and Counsellors in the area of prevention. In addition, the focus on “client as expert” moves therapy away from problems and more into solutions.

This study concerned a six-year-old migrant girl who had not spoken in school since she enrolled (seven terms), nor prior to that in her pre-school. The treatment consisted of 16 sessions which began with direct immediate rewards alone with the therapist and progressed to indirect rewards and group work in the classroom.

It has been observed that young people seek peer assistance before approaching adult counsellors for help. A program where older students were trained to provide “helping friend” support for others was developed. Senior students received skills training in basic counselling, adolescent coping, conflict resolution, and group facilitation. The program was designed to tap into the natural helping behaviours of adolescents, the resourcefulness adolescents display in providing support for each other, and the influence which the peer group has during adolescence. This paper describes the process taken in program development and implementation. This included a review of research into adolescent concerns, resources they access, and factors which contribute to coping, personal effectiveness and resiliency. An evaluation of the specific needs of the school community is also outlined.

This paper describes a one year evaluation of a Paired Reading project with 14 (6 girls and 8 boys) Year 8 remedial students at La Salle College in Western Australia. While Paired Reading is well researched with the beginning reader, there is a dearth of information on high school readers. The evaluation study focused on three main areas, (a) the rationale and provided the background of the study, (b) the implementation of the program, (c) it attempted to identify the intended and unintended program outcomes. The mixture of statistical analyses and participant/staff interviews documented not only the success of the program, but also, through the interviews, attempted to link the differing components of the Paired Reading program towards that success.

Counsellors routinely work in situations with students, parents and colleagues, where they need to use interpersonal helping and counselling skills. This function has been recently compounded by the emergence of multiple demands which place a new set of challenges on counsellors. Given that many counsellor training programs do not include time-limited counselling techniques, counsellors have traditionally drawn on more problem-focussed, longer-term theories when helping others. This has not always been appropriate or successful. Traditional counselling theories suggest that only highly trained counsellors should be involved in interpersonal helping, simultaneously placing a major emphasis on the clinical nature of problems. This paper presents a relatively new approach to counselling that does not delve intrusively into the past, and is not restricted to professional counsellors. Solution-focussed brief counselling techniques lend themselves well to the education context, and with appropriate attention, can be utilised by counsellors who will become more intentional and f acilitative in their daily interactions.

Parent training programs are an important component of a multi-modal approach to behaviour management of A-D/HD children. The efficacy of parent training programs in the management of behaviours exhibited by A-D/HD children is reviewed. Positive outcomes for parent self-esteem, understanding of A-D/HD, anD lower parent stress levels are reported, along with increased compliance by, and improved self-esteem of, A-D/HD children.