A number of critical issues concerning the assessment of children with intellectual disabilities,... more A number of critical issues concerning the assessment of children with intellectual disabilities, including definitional problems, psychometric factors, and practical difficulties, are raised in this article. It is suggested that school counsellors and psychologists should consider these issues when assessing children with probable or known intellectual disabilities , particularly when using IQ tests. The use of adaptive scales as an additional means of defining and measuring intellectual disability is also examined. Although no ideal means of formally assessing children with intellectual disabilities is put forward, a range of concerns is explored and some suggestions for appropriate additions and caveats to present practice are proposed. Over one hundred years ago, the first test of intelligence was developed by Binet in order to identify children having difficulties learning in regular education. Binet's original measure of intelligence was constructed relative to age-typical cognitive functioning, and this theme of developmental normality remains implicit in our definitions and measures of intelligence and intellectual disability in the 21st century. Over time, increasing sophistication in psychometric principles and applications has occurred, resulting in the reliable measurement of intelligence (commonly known as IQ) across most age groups and levels of cognitive ability. However, questions still remain about the validity of intelligence; firstly, as a psychological construct (MacMillan, Gresham, & Siperstein, 1993) and, secondly, in terms of its predictive capacity (Neisworth & Bagnato, 1992). Further, differing
Objective: There is limited understanding of the views of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal workers a... more Objective: There is limited understanding of the views of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal workers about the factors that influence the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services. This inquiry identified and explored the factors that influence the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services, as described from the experiences of a sample of paid non-government disability service workers in New South Wales, Australia. Methods: Interviews and focus groups were conducted with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal paid employees of an Aboriginal community controlled organisation and a generic disability organisation. Results: Twelve factors that influenced the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services were identified from the data. These factors are inter-related historically, socially and institutionally. Conclusions: The study has both identified issues relevant to the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services and has provided indicators of strategies that could ensure greater and more appropriate participation by Aboriginal people. It is imperative that service access barriers are addressed for Aboriginal peoples during the current national government reforms to the disability services sector (NDIS). Implications: The findings from this study have significant implications for disability service policy and practice relating to Aboriginal people with disability, their families and carers.
According to the cognitive-experiential self theory (CEST), all behavior is guided by two informa... more According to the cognitive-experiential self theory (CEST), all behavior is guided by two informationprocessing systems: the rational system and the experiential. Previous research with school leaders has shown that the rational system and constructive elements of the experiential system have a strong positive relationship with transformational leadership, as outlined in the Full-Range Leadership Theory. This article reports a pretest, posttest study using an intervention and control group to test whether changes to CEST information-processing systems could bring about changes in transformational leadership. The results of a 10-week, individually delivered coaching intervention pro-
Guiding conceptual frameworks are vital for informing an investigation's factor selection, m... more Guiding conceptual frameworks are vital for informing an investigation's factor selection, model ordering construction and data analysis. Importantly, alongside conceptual and substantive perspectives, some key methodological considerations help shape better ...
The current research integrated components of the transactional model of stress and coping with s... more The current research integrated components of the transactional model of stress and coping with selfworth and goal theories to examine a model where (a) teachers' goal orientation (as indicated by mastery and failure avoidance) was hypothesized to predict their teaching coping strategies (as indicated by problem-and emotion-focused coping) and (b) teaching coping was hypothesized to predict occupational well-being (as indicated by engagement and burnout). A longitudinal sample of 430 teachers took part in the research. With the structural equation model suggesting an acceptable fit to the data, findings generally supported hypotheses. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
The ICPR is an international publication with a focus on the theory, practice and research in the... more The ICPR is an international publication with a focus on the theory, practice and research in the field of coaching psychology. Submission of academic articles, systematic reviews and other research reports which support evidence-based practice are welcomed.
With a view to understand the influence of culture on achievement motivation, the study aimed to ... more With a view to understand the influence of culture on achievement motivation, the study aimed to test the hypothesized mediating role of individual-oriented and social-oriented achievement motives in linking value orientations (eg achievement, security, conformity, hedonism) to ...
ABSTRACT Adaptability is proposed as individuals’ capacity to constructively regulate psycho-beha... more ABSTRACT Adaptability is proposed as individuals’ capacity to constructively regulate psycho-behavioral functions in response to new, changing, and/or uncertain circumstances, conditions and situations. The present investigation explored the internal and external validity of an hypothesised adaptability scale. The sample comprised 2,731 high school students. In terms of internal validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA and CFA) suggested a reliable higher order adaptability factor subsumed by a reliable first order cognitive-behavioural factor and a reliable first order affective factor. Multi-group CFA indicated invariance in factor structure as a function of gender, age, and language background. Further, age (younger adolescents), language background (non-English speaking), and parents’ education (higher levels) predicted higher order adaptability, while gender (males) predicted first order affective adaptability. In terms of external validity, consistent with hypotheses, higher and first order adaptability was differentially associated with cognate/aligned factors (personality, implicit theories of ability, buoyancy) and also with psycho-educational wellbeing ‘outcome’ factors (achievement, enjoyment of school, meaning and purpose, life satisfaction). Findings hold theoretical and empirical implications for researchers and practitioners seeking to better understand the constructive regulation of individuals confronted with situations involving novelty, change, and uncertainty.
... SUSAN COLMAR, Child Advisory and Psychological Service, Birmingham Education Authority ...Kie... more ... SUSAN COLMAR, Child Advisory and Psychological Service, Birmingham Education Authority ...Kiernan's chapter on language remediation programmes is a good critical analysis in which he raises important issues through his consideration of four programmes (Derbyshire, Non ...
Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 2008
This article examines recent research and developments relating to the role of phonemic awareness... more This article examines recent research and developments relating to the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in early literacy education and the relevance of these findings for school counsellors and teachers. It defines and reviews the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in ...
In this chapter, we describe correlational research (focussing on confirmatory factor analysis, s... more In this chapter, we describe correlational research (focussing on confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and multilevel modelling) through a construct validity lens, outline historical roots and developments in methodology that underpin modern measurement and correlational modelling, and summarise the types of knowledge that correlational approaches produce under a construct validation framework. The discussion introduces modern techniques that are geared to analyse correlational data most effectively, and examples are presented from three large-scale educational studies that are based on correlational data. The chapter concludes by describing some of the issues and debates relevant to correlational techniques and offer direction for other research methods and designs that can complement correlational construct validity approaches.
Background. Academic buoyancy is students' ability to successfully deal with setbacks and challen... more Background. Academic buoyancy is students' ability to successfully deal with setbacks and challenges that are typical of academic life. The present study extends previous preliminary cross-sectional work that tentatively identified five motivational predictors of academic buoyancy -referred to as the '5Cs' of academic buoyancy: confidence (self-efficacy), coordination (planning), commitment (persistence), composure (low anxiety), and control (low uncertain control).
Transformational leaders increase job satisfaction and well-being among workers. According to the... more Transformational leaders increase job satisfaction and well-being among workers. According to the cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST), all behavior is guided by two information-processing systems: a rational and an experiential system. Study 1 examined the relationship between information processing and transformational leadership among experienced school leaders (N = 183). The rational system had a strong positive correlation with transformational leadership, whereas the experiential system was weakly correlated. Study 2 (N = 126) examined constructive thinking and transformational leadership. Global constructive thinking, emotional coping, and behavioral coping all had strong positive correlations with transformational leadership. These results suggest that improving leaders' awareness of their own information-processing and thinking systems might encourage more productive transformational-leadership techniques.
Abstract This paper argues for a new behavioural model of language facilitation. Current behaviou... more Abstract This paper argues for a new behavioural model of language facilitation. Current behavioural language programmes are critically analysed in terms of their poor generalizability to the natural language environment. More cognitively oriented ...
This paper reports the results of three studies which examine the behaviours of teachers when hea... more This paper reports the results of three studies which examine the behaviours of teachers when hearing children read. In the first study, we examine the tutoring behaviour of 55 teachers listening to 8‐14‐year‐old low progress readers. In the second study, we report results on 31 teachers listening to very low progress readers aged 9‐16 years and, in the third, we discuss the findings from 55 teachers listening to young average progress readers aged 4‐8 years. The results suggest that, for all three groups of readers, most teachers tend to respond immediately most of the time to reader errors, allowing little or no time for readers to self‐correct. Teachers tend to respond to errors with a prompt on most occasions but this is more likely with low and very low progress readers than with young, average progress readers. Relatively low rates of praise were apparent in all three groups. We also found that a large number of readers in all groups were inappropriately placed on book levels which were too easy or (less frequently) too difficult, as against an appropriate instructional level.
APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser c... more APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser configuration. - alerts user that their session is about to expire - display, print, save, export, and email selected records - get My ...
A number of critical issues concerning the assessment of children with intellectual disabilities,... more A number of critical issues concerning the assessment of children with intellectual disabilities, including definitional problems, psychometric factors, and practical difficulties, are raised in this article. It is suggested that school counsellors and psychologists should consider these issues when assessing children with probable or known intellectual disabilities , particularly when using IQ tests. The use of adaptive scales as an additional means of defining and measuring intellectual disability is also examined. Although no ideal means of formally assessing children with intellectual disabilities is put forward, a range of concerns is explored and some suggestions for appropriate additions and caveats to present practice are proposed. Over one hundred years ago, the first test of intelligence was developed by Binet in order to identify children having difficulties learning in regular education. Binet's original measure of intelligence was constructed relative to age-typical cognitive functioning, and this theme of developmental normality remains implicit in our definitions and measures of intelligence and intellectual disability in the 21st century. Over time, increasing sophistication in psychometric principles and applications has occurred, resulting in the reliable measurement of intelligence (commonly known as IQ) across most age groups and levels of cognitive ability. However, questions still remain about the validity of intelligence; firstly, as a psychological construct (MacMillan, Gresham, & Siperstein, 1993) and, secondly, in terms of its predictive capacity (Neisworth & Bagnato, 1992). Further, differing
Objective: There is limited understanding of the views of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal workers a... more Objective: There is limited understanding of the views of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal workers about the factors that influence the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services. This inquiry identified and explored the factors that influence the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services, as described from the experiences of a sample of paid non-government disability service workers in New South Wales, Australia. Methods: Interviews and focus groups were conducted with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal paid employees of an Aboriginal community controlled organisation and a generic disability organisation. Results: Twelve factors that influenced the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services were identified from the data. These factors are inter-related historically, socially and institutionally. Conclusions: The study has both identified issues relevant to the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services and has provided indicators of strategies that could ensure greater and more appropriate participation by Aboriginal people. It is imperative that service access barriers are addressed for Aboriginal peoples during the current national government reforms to the disability services sector (NDIS). Implications: The findings from this study have significant implications for disability service policy and practice relating to Aboriginal people with disability, their families and carers.
According to the cognitive-experiential self theory (CEST), all behavior is guided by two informa... more According to the cognitive-experiential self theory (CEST), all behavior is guided by two informationprocessing systems: the rational system and the experiential. Previous research with school leaders has shown that the rational system and constructive elements of the experiential system have a strong positive relationship with transformational leadership, as outlined in the Full-Range Leadership Theory. This article reports a pretest, posttest study using an intervention and control group to test whether changes to CEST information-processing systems could bring about changes in transformational leadership. The results of a 10-week, individually delivered coaching intervention pro-
Guiding conceptual frameworks are vital for informing an investigation's factor selection, m... more Guiding conceptual frameworks are vital for informing an investigation's factor selection, model ordering construction and data analysis. Importantly, alongside conceptual and substantive perspectives, some key methodological considerations help shape better ...
The current research integrated components of the transactional model of stress and coping with s... more The current research integrated components of the transactional model of stress and coping with selfworth and goal theories to examine a model where (a) teachers' goal orientation (as indicated by mastery and failure avoidance) was hypothesized to predict their teaching coping strategies (as indicated by problem-and emotion-focused coping) and (b) teaching coping was hypothesized to predict occupational well-being (as indicated by engagement and burnout). A longitudinal sample of 430 teachers took part in the research. With the structural equation model suggesting an acceptable fit to the data, findings generally supported hypotheses. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
The ICPR is an international publication with a focus on the theory, practice and research in the... more The ICPR is an international publication with a focus on the theory, practice and research in the field of coaching psychology. Submission of academic articles, systematic reviews and other research reports which support evidence-based practice are welcomed.
With a view to understand the influence of culture on achievement motivation, the study aimed to ... more With a view to understand the influence of culture on achievement motivation, the study aimed to test the hypothesized mediating role of individual-oriented and social-oriented achievement motives in linking value orientations (eg achievement, security, conformity, hedonism) to ...
ABSTRACT Adaptability is proposed as individuals’ capacity to constructively regulate psycho-beha... more ABSTRACT Adaptability is proposed as individuals’ capacity to constructively regulate psycho-behavioral functions in response to new, changing, and/or uncertain circumstances, conditions and situations. The present investigation explored the internal and external validity of an hypothesised adaptability scale. The sample comprised 2,731 high school students. In terms of internal validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA and CFA) suggested a reliable higher order adaptability factor subsumed by a reliable first order cognitive-behavioural factor and a reliable first order affective factor. Multi-group CFA indicated invariance in factor structure as a function of gender, age, and language background. Further, age (younger adolescents), language background (non-English speaking), and parents’ education (higher levels) predicted higher order adaptability, while gender (males) predicted first order affective adaptability. In terms of external validity, consistent with hypotheses, higher and first order adaptability was differentially associated with cognate/aligned factors (personality, implicit theories of ability, buoyancy) and also with psycho-educational wellbeing ‘outcome’ factors (achievement, enjoyment of school, meaning and purpose, life satisfaction). Findings hold theoretical and empirical implications for researchers and practitioners seeking to better understand the constructive regulation of individuals confronted with situations involving novelty, change, and uncertainty.
... SUSAN COLMAR, Child Advisory and Psychological Service, Birmingham Education Authority ...Kie... more ... SUSAN COLMAR, Child Advisory and Psychological Service, Birmingham Education Authority ...Kiernan's chapter on language remediation programmes is a good critical analysis in which he raises important issues through his consideration of four programmes (Derbyshire, Non ...
Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 2008
This article examines recent research and developments relating to the role of phonemic awareness... more This article examines recent research and developments relating to the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in early literacy education and the relevance of these findings for school counsellors and teachers. It defines and reviews the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in ...
In this chapter, we describe correlational research (focussing on confirmatory factor analysis, s... more In this chapter, we describe correlational research (focussing on confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and multilevel modelling) through a construct validity lens, outline historical roots and developments in methodology that underpin modern measurement and correlational modelling, and summarise the types of knowledge that correlational approaches produce under a construct validation framework. The discussion introduces modern techniques that are geared to analyse correlational data most effectively, and examples are presented from three large-scale educational studies that are based on correlational data. The chapter concludes by describing some of the issues and debates relevant to correlational techniques and offer direction for other research methods and designs that can complement correlational construct validity approaches.
Background. Academic buoyancy is students' ability to successfully deal with setbacks and challen... more Background. Academic buoyancy is students' ability to successfully deal with setbacks and challenges that are typical of academic life. The present study extends previous preliminary cross-sectional work that tentatively identified five motivational predictors of academic buoyancy -referred to as the '5Cs' of academic buoyancy: confidence (self-efficacy), coordination (planning), commitment (persistence), composure (low anxiety), and control (low uncertain control).
Transformational leaders increase job satisfaction and well-being among workers. According to the... more Transformational leaders increase job satisfaction and well-being among workers. According to the cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST), all behavior is guided by two information-processing systems: a rational and an experiential system. Study 1 examined the relationship between information processing and transformational leadership among experienced school leaders (N = 183). The rational system had a strong positive correlation with transformational leadership, whereas the experiential system was weakly correlated. Study 2 (N = 126) examined constructive thinking and transformational leadership. Global constructive thinking, emotional coping, and behavioral coping all had strong positive correlations with transformational leadership. These results suggest that improving leaders' awareness of their own information-processing and thinking systems might encourage more productive transformational-leadership techniques.
Abstract This paper argues for a new behavioural model of language facilitation. Current behaviou... more Abstract This paper argues for a new behavioural model of language facilitation. Current behavioural language programmes are critically analysed in terms of their poor generalizability to the natural language environment. More cognitively oriented ...
This paper reports the results of three studies which examine the behaviours of teachers when hea... more This paper reports the results of three studies which examine the behaviours of teachers when hearing children read. In the first study, we examine the tutoring behaviour of 55 teachers listening to 8‐14‐year‐old low progress readers. In the second study, we report results on 31 teachers listening to very low progress readers aged 9‐16 years and, in the third, we discuss the findings from 55 teachers listening to young average progress readers aged 4‐8 years. The results suggest that, for all three groups of readers, most teachers tend to respond immediately most of the time to reader errors, allowing little or no time for readers to self‐correct. Teachers tend to respond to errors with a prompt on most occasions but this is more likely with low and very low progress readers than with young, average progress readers. Relatively low rates of praise were apparent in all three groups. We also found that a large number of readers in all groups were inappropriately placed on book levels which were too easy or (less frequently) too difficult, as against an appropriate instructional level.
APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser c... more APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser configuration. - alerts user that their session is about to expire - display, print, save, export, and email selected records - get My ...
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Papers by Susan Colmar
Methods: Interviews and focus groups were conducted with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal paid employees of an Aboriginal community controlled organisation and a generic disability organisation.
Results: Twelve factors that influenced the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services were identified from the data. These factors are inter-related historically, socially and institutionally.
Conclusions: The study has both identified issues relevant to the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services and has provided indicators of strategies that could ensure greater and more appropriate participation by Aboriginal people. It is imperative that service access barriers are addressed for Aboriginal peoples during the current national government reforms to the disability services sector (NDIS).
Implications: The findings from this study have significant implications for disability service policy and practice relating to Aboriginal people with disability, their families and carers.
Methods: Interviews and focus groups were conducted with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal paid employees of an Aboriginal community controlled organisation and a generic disability organisation.
Results: Twelve factors that influenced the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services were identified from the data. These factors are inter-related historically, socially and institutionally.
Conclusions: The study has both identified issues relevant to the participation of Aboriginal people in disability services and has provided indicators of strategies that could ensure greater and more appropriate participation by Aboriginal people. It is imperative that service access barriers are addressed for Aboriginal peoples during the current national government reforms to the disability services sector (NDIS).
Implications: The findings from this study have significant implications for disability service policy and practice relating to Aboriginal people with disability, their families and carers.