This paper reports the development and psychometric evaluations of a multidimensional model of loneliness in Australian adolescents. In the first study a new instrument was designed and administered to 1,074 adolescents (ages 10-18 years, M = 13.01). An exploratory factor analysis from data supplied by 694 of these participants yielded a 4-factor structure (friendship, isolation, negative attitude to solitude, and positive attitude to solitude). Competing measurement models were then evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis with data from the remaining 380 participants; strong support was demonstrated for the conceptual model. Significant main effects were evident for geographical location (rural remote/urban), age and sex. In a second study, involving 235 Australian adolescents (ages 10.0-16 years, M = 13.8) the superiority of the first-order model represented by four correlated factors was confirmed. The findings have clinical and practical implications for professional groups represented by child and adolescent psychiatry, pediatric and clinical psychology services, researchers, and educators. Specifically, the new self-report instrument identifies adolescents who are at risk of loneliness and its associated adverse outcomes and in doing has the potential to offer new insights into prevention and intervention.

The present study explored the relationships between student engagement and mathematics achievement for 295,416 15-yearold students from 11,767 secondary schools in 34 countries who participated in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012. Affective engagement was measured by students' mathematics interest (InterestMath) and perceived usefulness of schooling (PerceptionSch), behavioral engagement by behaviors facilitating mathematics learning (BehaviorMath) and participation in mathematics learning activities (ActivitiesMath), and cognitive engagement by openness (Openness) and perseverance (Perseverance) in problem-solving. Results showed that students who were more engaged had higher levels of academic achievement, with cognitive engagement having the strongest association with achievement. Results also showed that students who were highly engaged in two domains had higher achievement levels than peers who were engaged in only one domain in six pairwise comparisons (InterestMath-BehaviorMath, InterestMath-Openness, InterestMath-Perseverance, PerceptionSch-BehaviorMath, PerceptionSch-Openness, PerceptionSch-Perseverance). These results highlighted the importance of a whole-school based approach in enhancing student achievement.

Purpose -While Singapore's outstanding educational achievements are well known worldwide, there is a disproportionate paucity of literature on school leadership practices that contribute to and support pedagogical initiatives that -along with socio-cultural factors -are normally considered responsible for its educational success. The aim of this paper is to explicate system-wide school leadership factors that contribute to Singapore's educational success. Design/methodology/approach -The paper includes critical discussion, review of literature and conceptualization. Findings -It is argued that three unique features of Singapore school leadership, namely -logistics of a small tightly-coupled school system, human resource policies that reinforce alignment, and a distinctive "leader-teacher compact" reflecting the predominant Chinese culture -account for the extraordinary level of tight coupling and alignment of leadership across the school system. In turn, these unique features bring synergies of sustainability, scalability, succession, and high performance across the entire Singapore school system. Research limitations/implications -Unique features of Singapore school leadership must be examined in conjunction with pedagogical initiatives and socio-cultural factors for a more complete and nuanced understanding of educational success in Singapore. Practical implications -Tightly coupled mechanisms of leadership underlie the success of Singapore education. Government needs to consider whether such tightly-coupled leadership will continue to serve it well in future, given the demand for twenty-first century knowledge based skills. Social implications -The influence of socio-cultural factors (e.g. leader-teacher compact) on educational success merits inclusion in any explanation. Originality/value -This paper addresses an important gap in the literature by promulgating crucial features of school leadership that contribute to Singapore's educational success.

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