Vocational guidance emerged in Queensland in the early 1910s as part of a governmental plan to transform the colonial educational ladder to provide an efficient distribution and coordinated range of vocational outcomes. The central feature of this new educational ladder was the New Scholarship which would provide significantly expanded opportunities for children who had the talent for an education higher than the compulsory level of primary school to participate in secondary, university, agricultural, technical and continuing levels of education. A governmental strategy was formulated to improve the efficiency of these vocational distributions, to facilitate ambition in the family for this New Scholarship and to avoid talent wastage. The guiding strategy was first proposed from within the Department of Public Instruction under the heading of “Sagax, Capax and Efficax’ prior to the First World War. While it was first proposed to be trialled by the Department of Public Instruction at the Central Technical College in Brisbane, the governmental officer charged with the responsibility to provide both the parents and the child with the necessary guidance was the primary school teacher.

Little is known about the criteria used in selecting applicants for guidance and counselling positions in schools. This article reports the findings of a survey completed by 91 Queensland secondary school principals and 115 guidance officers and senior guidance officers working in secondary schools. The instrument was a 105-item forced-choice instrument in which each of 15 criterion statements was paired with each other. Both groups indicate the applicant's practicum performance as a major factor in making selection decisions. Communication skills also were regarded as important. In contrast with similar studies conducted in the United States, teaching experience was not deemed to be a crucial consideration. The implications of the findings for training programs are discussed.

There is a perception among educational communities that guidance officers are often working on their own agendas which are at cross-purposes to the needs of schools. This study was undertaken to investigate the legitimacy of those perceptions using 22 areas of guidance operation. The sample included 80% of secondary principals and 100% of secondary guidance officers in Clusters 1-5, South Coast Educational Region in Queensland. The study found that there were high correlations between guidance officers and principals in their perceptions of present and preferred guidance practice. The area of consultation with administration and staff however indicated that there was little or no correlation between present and preferred operation. This was targeted by both guidance officers and principals for improved operation. Consultation and communication represents a key area for supervision of operation.

Recent political and labour market changes have focused attention on the need to specify the competencies of four-year educated psychologists. This study surveyed 53 employers and 71 senior practising psychologists in the state of New South Wales concerning the educational content, skills and work experience they expected of new four-year educated psychology graduates in order that they be effective, competitive and employable. The results revealed substantially similar expectations by both employers and the profession, and suggest the need to include more employment-relevant skills in the first four years of education. The implications are discussed in terms of the apparent discrepancy between these expectations and the graduating skills of current four-year graduates, and the need to review the content of the first four years of psychology education.

This paper attempts to highlight the potential dilemma counsellors face because of their limited knowledge. It argues that counsellors should be aware of their limitations and develop a critically self-reflective approach to deal with this shortfall. The adherence to ‘truth’ or the ‘right thing to do’ in counselling is questioned. Counsellors' knowledge is seen as emanating from beliefs that cannot be validated, but are accepted as the guiding principle. To espouse this point the concept of authenticity is examined as it is a central concept underlying most counselling relationships.

This is an edited version of the inaugural Constance Davey Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr Rosalyn Shute on 23 February 1995, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the educational psychology (guidance) service in South Australia. Constance Davey's background and the beginnings of the psychological service in 1924 are described. The role of the educational psychologist as she established it is discussed, and its breadth contrasted with the narrow role which educational psychologists often find themselves taking today. The unique and vital role of the educational psychologist is outlined but concern is expressed about current professional problems both in Australia and overseas. This lecture was sponsored by the South Australian Department for Education and Children's Services.

This study investigated the impact of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Rational-Emotive Education (REE) self-enhancement programs on children's self-talk, self-esteem and irrational beliefs. A total of 116 children (50.9% girls) with a mean age of 9.8 years attending Years 4 and 6 at two primary schools participated in the study. CBT resulted in a reduction in negative self-talk while REE seemed to enhance independence beliefs. Both programs were associated with increased positive self-talk and with having increased rationality in Conformity and Discomfort Intolerance beliefs.

This paper discusses the results of a study which was conducted in 11 classes across three year levels (Years 2, 4, and 6) in four schools in suburban Brisbane. The study had two foci. It was designed firstly, to determine if there were differences between the cooperative behaviours, interactions, and types of language used by the children in the Structured and Unstructured groups; and secondly, to investigate whether there were differences across the year levels in the helping behaviours and interactions of the children in the two conditions. The study showed that when children work in Structured rather than Unstructured groups there are observable differences in the behaviours, interactions and language. The children in the Structured groups were consistently more cooperative and helpful to each other as they tried to involve each other in the learning task. They gave more explanations to assist each other's learning and they used more inclusive language (e.g. frequent use of “we” or “us”). Furthermore, these behaviours were exhibited by the children in the Structured groups across the three year levels. Group condition (Structured or Unstructured) was a significant predictor of group behaviours and interactions, and the type of language used.

I recently heard of a principal who had been enthusiastically promoting a suicide prevention program in his school. The program had been going for two years and was considered effective. It was a small school and I calculated that statistically one suicide might be expected every 15 years. The claim for efficacy regarding suicide prevention seemed premature although the program may have been helpful in other ways.

A recent analysis of the efficacy of state initiatives in the USA addressing youth suicide reported encouraging results with most (non-school) initiatives (Lester, 1992). However, with school programs the more students exposed, the greater the increase in youth suicide rates was found. School initiatives in this area seem to have an abundance of enthusiasm and goodwill but have lacked the critical appraisal necessary for success. It is time for enthusiastic chaos to be replaced with more level-headed approaches.

Considerable interest has been shown in the teaching of decision-making skills to Australian adolescents during the past decade. Acceptable modes of teaching are currently being researched and refined. The experiences of one Victorian co-educational school as it grapples with this task are described. How the program is adapted and modified over a three-year period is detailed. Some encouraging findings in relation to teaching methodology, ‘at risk’ students and parent partnership are described, as well as future suggestions for program refinement. The value of multi-model evaluation is discussed as it relates to the various facets of the program.

In response to increased awareness of the negative consequences of child sexual assault, the New South Wales Department of School Education has developed the Child Protection: Preventing Child Sexual Assault curriculum, which is a K-12 school based program. The attitudes and experiences of 250 members of staff in the Metropolitan North Region were analysed to identify some of the factors which affect implementation of this curriculum in schools. The results indicate that the most important factors were not the quality of the package or the beliefs of staff, but the support of those staff responsible for implementing the program and practical consideration of the day-to-day running of the school. The findings have implications for (1) further education of school personnel prior to specialist training, (2) the importance of establishing support for the curriculum as a priority within the school community, and (3) practical strategies and support for teachers in the implementation process.

This paper describes a school-based behavioural intervention in which the class teacher with the support of the guidance officer successfully intervened with a 6-year-old boy who had been selectively silent from about the age of 3. Specifically, a behavioural intervention comprising systematic desensitisation, stimulus fading and reinforcement of successive approximations was employed in a classroom setting.

Alternative education and ‘off-campus’ units are becoming an increasing focus for Governments as a solution to the rise in behaviour problems in schools. Generally, the national response to the issue has been to promote an inclusive policy aimed at keeping young people in the education system and adapting curriculum to meet young people's needs rather than isolating them. This approach is supported by numerous studies demonstrating the low percentage of young people attending these units who actually return to the mainstream system. However, the Queensland Government is presently considering the development of ‘Off-campus’ education centres for young people with behaviour difficulties in each of the eleven regions throughout the state.

Guidance counsellors and psychologists have an important role in the alternative education scene. Their involvement can be multifaceted and extends into roles of support (student and teacher), intervention, advising, interagency, evaluation, assessment, counselling, referral collection, and so on. The Ipswich Off Campus Unit (OCU) – The Basement – is an alternative education program already existing in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, for long-term truanting young people. The program is jointly funded by the Ipswich Youth Action Group Pty Ltd and the Queensland Department of Education. This paper is based on an evaluation completed in 1993 of the Basement which utilised the Youth Self Report Form (Achenbach, 1991), Teacher Report Form (Achenbach, 1986), Family Review Form, Referral Satisfaction Questionnaire, Community Satisfaction Questionnaire, Observations, Juvenile Bureau Records, Attendance Records and Academic Records. It is proposed that the effects of an alternative school for truanting young people may provide many benefits and some concerns for the participating young person. The most observable change for young people in the program was the increased consistency of attendance rates and the lessening involvement in juvenile criminal activity. To support this contention, further longitudinal research and evaluation of alternative schools and programs for young people is encouraged.