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Background: A high proportion of individuals seeking treatment for alcohol and other drug (AOD) use report engaging in Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Interventions to reduce IPV, particularly in the context of AOD use, are generally low in effectiveness. Co-design and consumer input enhance ecological validity and attendance rates yet are not common practice. This study aims to gain an understanding of the relationship between AOD use and IPV for those seeking AOD treatment in the Australian treatment system, and to report their treatment needs and perceptions on program design and delivery. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with residents in AOD residential rehabilitation services in Victoria, Australia and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Nine males identified two themes related to IPV; the anger, guilt and shame experienced, and the role of AOD use. Treatment needs were focussed on communication and emotion regulation skill building. Conclusions: Participants identified their need for skills in managing relationship difficulties. A greater emphasis on these in treatment programs appears to be a useful step for both AOD treatment and IPV interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of the low mathematical performance of South African learners in international panel studies, there is an urgent need to improve mathematical education. In particular, the curriculum and its structure raise questions. It is logical that the prescribed curricula should align with learners' developmental trajectories. Given the hierarchical structure of mathematics, the curricular requirements should pay attention to learners' current knowledge of mathematical concepts. The aim of this study was to compare the curricular requirements as defined by the CAPS with the conceptual current knowledge of South African learners. South African Grade 1 learners (N = 602) were assessed on a test of numeracy concepts, based on a theoretically informed and empirically validated model of developing mathematical proficiency. The content of the CAPS for Grade 1 was aligned to the model levels by two experts (Cohen's κ =.753, p < 0.001). Results show that the curricular requirements go far beyond the current knowledge required to engage with these new concepts of the vast majority of South African Grade 1 learners. The mismatch may to some extent be responsible for the unsatisfactory results in international comparison studies. These results show that the intended curriculum is beyond the grasp of most South African Grade 1 learners. These children are unlikely to develop new arithmetic concepts based on their lack of required foundation knowledge. We therefore argue that the intended curriculum for Grade 1 should focus more on counting skills, ordinal relations between numbers and—most importantly—set-based number representations and part–part–whole relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chain of progression from teacher education to qualification to classroom instruction and student engagement, and then to learning and achievement, is not as straightforward as often presented. Societal, political and economic pressures create either a positive climate or a stressful one for both teachers and students. Nevertheless it is safe to say that in a subject like mathematics, the importance of subject matter knowledge cannot be underestimated. Research in this area supports the presumption that formal qualifications in the subject, in this case mathematics, are necessary, as this focused engagement with mathematics provides the foundation for mathematics teaching and learning. The allocation of fully qualified teachers to schools has in the past been uneven, with the supposition that students at higher socio-economic levels are being taught by better qualified teachers. In South Africa the improvement of teacher qualifications has been identified as a core area of action with the relevant policy on teacher education renewed in 2007 and again in 2014. The focus of this paper is to understand the change in patterns of teacher qualifications, and the interrelationship with school contextual variables. The analysis is based on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data from 2003, 2011 and 2015, where teachers from the TIMSS sample provided contextual information. Descriptive statistics were calculated using the IEA IDB Analyzer. The results show that South Africa has made substantial progress in uplifting teachers' formal qualification levels and in reducing structural inequality within its education system. Out-of-field teaching of mathematics is still shown to be a common phenomenon and is unevenly distributed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of the Annual National Assessment (ANA) Grade 6 Mathematics assessment instrument, administered in the year 2012 guided by the main question: to what extent does the 2012 Grade 6 Mathematics assessment instrument provide meaningful and consistent information for making appropriate interpretations? The responses to 29 questions, comprising 56 items, from 546 learners' scripts were coded individually, recaptured and analysed. The analysis shows that the Annual National Assessment was not well targeted, that is, the mean of the item and the mean of the person measures were not approximately equivalent. Specifically, in relation to this cohort, and taking into account the many factors that influence performance, we recommend that for reliable inferences to be made from test results, the quality of the assessment instrument should first be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, the use of systemic assessments is controversial, raising issues of fairness. However, an argument can be made that they yield valuable insights into the current levels of literacy and education in the country. National systemic assessments are used to gauge scholastic progress across schools and provinces, while international tests provide some measure of comparability across countries. This article investigates the Lexile® Framework for Reading as an educational tool for gauging the reading difficulty of texts used in national and international assessments conducted in South Africa. The results of the Lexile analyses showed that the reading difficulty of the Annual National Assessments (ANA), conducted in 2014, varied between grades and did not match the same grade level in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). We argue that by using the Lexile framework during the designing phase of assessment, and selecting texts that are level appropriate for the learners, the assessment process may be enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational measurement is generally thought of as empirical, quantitative, and large-scale, whose purpose is to monitor educational systems. Sociocognitive studies, on the other hand, are associated with small-scale, theoretical, and qualitative studies, the purpose of which is to conduct fine-grained analysis of learning or teaching, or to comprehend in depth the development of a mathematical topic. This article describes an application of the Rasch model in mathematics education in which theory and measurement are used interactively to provide greater understanding of a constellation of mathematical concepts within the multiplicative conceptual field. It is affirmed here that Rasch measurement provides the basis for a coherent research model based on principles of measurement, while giving consideration to the theoretical construct. Challenges to educational measurement demand that researchers provide substantive theoretical models to support, firstly, educational measurement and, secondly, the level of inference that can be made from the measurement outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Clients with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders are not well served in traditional health care systems where specialist services offer segregated interventions and the client is left to negotiate required treatment across both systems. In recent years, policy change guiding the treatment of dual diagnosis in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere has triggered the development of diverse models of treatment, each of which function at different points on a continuum from serial to fully integrated care. This paper outlines key models and provides examples, while considering their potential for appropriately addressing the needs of this client group. Consideration is given to the benefits of an interaction between stepped care and the chosen model, as a means of enhancing care efficiency while retaining the focus on positive outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: 'Dual diagnosis' is the term of choice in many countries to describe clients with co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues. However, it is not known if its meaning is consistently represented within and across health care services. This uncertainty has significant implications for referral, consultation and research. Aim: To obtain information about the way that different health care professionals understand the term 'dual diagnosis'. Method: Twenty-nine health care workers across five service types (medical, mental health, AOD, dual diagnosis and community health) in Victoria, Australia were interviewed about their understanding of the term 'dual diagnosis'. Results: The findings indicated that service providers working in AOD and Mental Health had a shared general understanding of what was meant by 'dual diagnosis', despite uncertainties about more specific inclusion criteria. In contrast, medical and community health staff lacked a similar shared understanding, and were more likely to recommend change, but offered no consensus on alternatives. Conclusion: The results indicate that while the term 'dual diagnosis' has value in efficiently directing attention to the complexity of treatment issues, health practitioners cannot assume it will convey the intended meaning outside mental health or AOD services. Clear articulation of the intended definition may be a necessary requirement in wider health care communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This prospective study compared outcomes over one year for two groups of separated parents who attended mediation about their entrenched parenting disputes. The two treatments studied both aimed to improve the psychological resolution of parental conflict with associated reduction of distress for their children. The child-focused intervention prioritised the needs of children in high conflict divorce without any direct involvement of the children, while the child-inclusive intervention incorporated separate consultation by a specialist with the children in each family and consideration of the children's concerns with the parents in the mediation forum. Measures were collected from parents and children before mediation commenced and again three and twelve months after the mediation concluded. Significant and enduring reduction in levels of conflict and improved management of disputes occurred for both treatment groups in the year after mediation. Across all ages, children in both interventions perceived less frequent and less intense conflict between their parents and better resolution of conflict, with a significant lowering of the children's related distress. The child-inclusive intervention showed a number of independent effects not evident in the other treatment group, related to relationship improvements and psychological well-being. These effects were strongest for fathers and children. Agreements reached by the child-inclusive group were significantly more durable and workable over the year, and these parents were half as likely to instigate new litigation over parenting matters in the year after mediation than were the child-focused parents. The article considers possible mechanisms of change underpinning these outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out descriptive baseline data on the first 111 Australian families participating in a current study of the efficacy of child- focused and child-inclusive Family Law Mediation. The families come from the first of two treatment groups in that comparative study. While outcome data are not yet available on this group, the baseline data, gathered prior to intervention, are of interest and value. The paper describes the nature of parents' conflict with each other, the strength of their parental alliance, and the psychological functioning of theft children at the time of presentation to the mediation service. High mental health risk for the children in these families is evident, both from parents' and children's perspectives. Uniquely, the paper includes the perceptions of 73 children about theft parents' conflict and its impact on them. Implications are discussed, underscoring the imperative of early intervention with separating families that includes screening of the children's experience of conflict and their own needs for recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children have largely been absent from or on the periphery of mediation processes in postseparation parenting disputes. An accompanying paper (Moloney & McIntosh, 2004) canvasses a number of reasons why this may be the case. Moloney and McIntosh draw a distinction between child-focused and child-inclusive practice, provide a definition of both, and argue that the time is now right for child-focused mediation to become the minimum yardstick by which practice is measured. Child-inclusive practice, on the other hand, more formally fulfils the aspirations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (and statements from similar bodies) that children should be consulted when decisions about their welfare are being made. Further, child-inclusive practice (as defined in Moloney & McIntosh) allows for consultation without placing the burden of decision making oil the child. The present paper goes on to describe a current prospective study of outcomes for families utilising these two different forms of mediation: child focused and child inclusive. Over 12 months, the study follows the pathways of individual adjustment and parental alliance for families across the two forms of intervention, addressing whether and in what cases a child-inclusive mediation process enhances postseparation family outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the joint factor structure of the WAIS-R and WMS-R in a sample of 289 participants (mostly males) with alcohol dependency. In a confirmatory phase we contrasted a range of factor models derived from previous analyses of the Wechsler scales. The best fitting model incorporated five factors representing Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Attention-Concentration, Verbal Memory, and Visual Memory, with reassignment of factor loadings for two subtests. The invariance of the measurement model was then examined comparing data from a large sample of healthy participants (J. R. Carstairs & E. A. Shores, 1999). The results indicated that the number of factors was invariant across samples, and four of the factors satisfied the criterion of partial measurement invariance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including "Planning: Let's Not Leave It to the Economists," by Bertram Gross in the September-October 1965 issue, "The Other Side of the Poverty Problem," by David Caplovitz in the September-October 1965 issue, and "The Congressional Politics of Foreign Aid," by David Baldwin in the September-October 1965 issue.