Kobus Maree

Editorial: Assessment in psychology in the 21st century — a multi-layered endeavour

It will surely come as no surprise that assessment features prominently in virtually every article in this issue — after all, assessing and diagnosing clients is central in the practice of psychologists in every category of registration (Motsoaledi, 2010). The science of assessment, the standardisation of existing instruments and the development of new assessment instruments are all proceeding well in South Africa and excellent work continues to be done in this field. However, the number of researchers engaged in this key activity remains unacceptably small, and I have, accordingly, devoted the first part of this editorial to a brief exposition of the need for greater involvement of psychologists in this area. Psychology as a profession has in recent years seen numerous changes globally, and changes in people’s lifestyles have brought fresh challenges to psychological assessment practice. The new century is characterised by increasing stress levels, economic challenges and accompanying increases in mental health diseases. Numerous challenges are facing psychological assessment practice in the 21st century, and the practice will have to meet these challenges if it is to remain relevant to postmodern society. Local academics and practitioners have repeatedly expressed their concern that most assessment instruments were developed some time ago or were not standardised on a representative sample of the South African population. The schism between qualitative assessment and quantitative assessment also still haunts the field.

Editorial: Reflecting on Research and Practice in Psychology: Serving and Facilitating Rigour:

All the contributors to the current issue have, to a greater or a lesser extent, dealt with either the theory or the practice or a combination of these two facets of the science of psychology. In covering innovative techniques, as well as older techniques applied innovatively, the contributions have helped push forward the boundaries of the field of psychology. This is in essence why psychologists conduct research and attempt to get their findings published. In line with this aim, we at the SAJP have repeatedly called on academics, as well as practitioners, to reflect and report on their research and practice. I believe that a meta-analysis approach to research is what is needed more than anything else to move the profession forward in the 21st century.

The Psychology of Career Adaptability, Career Resilience, and Employability: A Broad Overview

This chapter first discusses the influence of a changing world on people’s career adaptability, employability, and career resilience. Next, it elaborates on the responses of professionals working in career counselling to what is happening in society and, more particularly, the workplace. It shows that their individual and collective responses are practical as well as theoretical. Their goal is to take counselling praxis forward and thereby help clients ‘survive’ in turbulent times. The twin aims of a) enhancing clients’ career adaptability and b) helping them, as a consequence, become employable (rather than merely linearly trying to find a job and remaining in one organization for their entire career-lives) are addressed individually and collectively. Ultimately, career counselling professionals (should) strive to help clients acquire career resilience since the world of work no longer provides them with work-holding environments for the duration of their career-lives.

Utilizing Career Adaptability and Career Resilience to Promote Employability and Decent Work and Alleviate Poverty

In the first part of this chapter, the effect of changes in the world of work on people’s lives and society’s failure to create opportunities for decent work for everyone are considered as well as ways in which this situation can be improved. Global attempts to alleviate poverty by fostering career adaptability and career resilience in disadvantaged regions in particular are also considered. The chapter begins with a discussion of the most significant work-related changes that have taken place in the world over the past few decades and how these changes have influenced the world of the work and workers themselves. Next is considered what is meant by career counselling in general and by career adaptability, career resilience, and employability in particular. The second part of the chapter is devoted to seven research projects that illustrate how adaptability and career resilience can be enhanced and harnessed to promote employability and decent work and reduce poverty.

A reflective conversation with Kobus Maree, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Always regarded as somewhat of an ‘outsider’ (the child of an Englishspeaking (Catholic) mother and an Afrikaans (Protestant) father in an exclusively Afrikaans milieu) and growing up extremely poor, seeing the hardship of others and realising how much talent was going to waste, Kobus Maree took a particular interest in gifted disadvantaged persons. A marginalised loner, he almost inevitably developed creative abilities and took a keen interest in creativity, giftedness and the education of gifted, disadvantaged learners. As an adult, his research showed that many teachers in South Africa have to contend with the generally poor socioeconomic background of learners. A dire need for appropriate teacher and learner support materials, and school environments that are not conducive to achievement (including inadequate facilities, overcrowded classrooms, lack of teacher and learner support materials). South Africa is at a critical stage in its education. It is therefore important for educators to teach emotional intelligence in their classrooms. Our biggest challenge will be to maintain and enhance vitality in gifted education in a dynamic, ever-evolving environment. A combination of scholarly leadership and strategic management to support gifted learners is important. We should do all we can to promote societal transformation and diversity, focussing anew on underrepresented groups (women and ethnic groups) who show promise and support them. The widest array of partners possible including the big institutional players, the entire teaching fraternity (including government departments), nongovernmental organisations and miscellaneous interest groups together should develop strategic, rolling five-year plans and make gifted education a priority.

Editorial: Psychology — Tracing the SAJP's Progress in Helping Shape the Future of Psychology in South Africa

It is hard to believe that we have reached the end of the first term of the year already. As mentioned on previous occasions, the SAJPs success can be attributed to many factors including the exceptional support from the editorial board, which, among other things, has helped us reduce the backlog of articles. Only a few articles currently in our offices have been under review for longer than five months and even fewer for longer than four months.

Editorial: Psychology — A Multi-Layered Reality

This is the sixth issue of the South African Journal ofPsychology since I became editor in February 2008, yet, for various reasons, this is my first editorial. I am well aware that any new editor will need great energy, enthusiasm, and dedication i fhe or she is to maintain the standard ofprevious volumes. This is indeed a daunting task in view of the outstanding work done by Martin Terre Blanche, previous editor, and his team. I would like to extend belated thanks to them for the way in which they handled all editorial activities, including giving empathic and timely feedback on submissions. The past few months have been a demanding yet productive period: Issue 39(3) is almost ready to be moved to print. Our core editorial staff, including PsySSA president, Norman Duncan, president elect, Kopano Ratele, our consulting editor, Anthony Pillay, our consulting editor: statistics, Prof. Tyrone Pretorius, our copy editors, Willy Nel and Martin Strous, and our publishing editor, Erna Kinsey, meet regularly (be it electronically or in person) to discuss issues related to the smooth running of the journal. I am delighted to announce that Prof. Mark Savickas, Editor: Journal of Vocational Behaviour (voted top journal in the Elsevier group from a total of 1,700 titles) visited the University of Pretoria from 18 to 24 April, during which time he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria. While in South Africa, Prof. Savickas offered invaluable advice on ways to improve our impact factor. He confirmed, for example, that articles that cover meta-analyses of previous researchitheoretical considerations and that describe the standardisation of new assessment instruments are generally in great demand (such contributions will therefore be fast-tracked in the future). The SAJP should begin to reap the benefits of implementing his insights within the next 12-18 months. As I page through the current issue of the SAJP, I feel honoured to be associated with such a stellar constellation of scholars. In this issue, the reader will encounter a wide range of contributions that reflect multi-faceted research endeavours in a number of psychological fields and that focus attention on current research developments across the spectrum ofpsychological inquiry. The list of contributions is diverse in terms of institution, gender and international profile. However, more contributions from black scholars would be appreciated, and I would therefore like again to invite established and emerging black researchers to use the SAJP as an outlet for their publications. In the first article, Exploring religion, race and gender as factors in the life satisfaction and religiosity ofyoung South African adults, Cynthia Patel, Sarojini Ramgoon and Zubeda Paruk (2009) explore differences in religious and existential well-being, religiosity and life satisfaction among university students across religion, race and gender. Not surprisingly, in line with past research, the correlations found between life satisfaction, religiosity and religious well-being were significant. The philosophical premise underlying the second article is that theoretical ‘models’ for self-understanding will succeed only if subjectivity is approached as a complex phenomenon defined in terms of necessary internal conflict. In this contribution, aptly entitled “Know thyselj?” a Lacanian model f o r understanding subjective complexity, Andrea Hurst (2009) outlines a Lacanian model for self-understanding as an articulation of registers, passions and styles. Psychologists are well aware of the multiple challenges facing South Africa’s mental health services, which is why the third contribution will be of special interest to readers. Because of the serious mental health service deficits in (especially) non-urban communities, alternative approaches are needed to facilitate access to care. Anthony Pillay, Molelekoa Kometsi and Evy-Terressah

Editorial: Psychology — A Multi-Shaped Crystal

Nine months into 2009, the editorial team is delighted to confirm that it is on track to deliver the last issue of the year on schedule. This success can be attributed to a number of factors including the exceptional support from the editorial board, which has helped us reduce the backlog of articles that have been under review for more than five months. We have also finalised issue 40(1) (March 2010) and are in the process of compiling issue 40(2). The core editorial staff, including PsySSA president, Kopano Ratele; consulting editor, Anthony Pillay; consulting editor: statistics, Tyrone Pretorius; copy editors, Willy Nel and Martin Strous; and publishing editor, Erna Kinsey, are doing all they can to maintain on-time delivery and smooth running of the journal by dealing timeously (electronically or in person) with any potential problems.

Book Review: Thinking Skills Across the Early Years: A Practical Approach for Children Aged 4–7

Extracted from text ... Perspectives in Education, Volume 24(1), March 2006 103 Thinking skills across the early years: A practical approach for children aged 4-7 Belle Wallace, Nicola Beverley, Mike Carter, Lynne McClure and Dorothy Rickarby, 2002 UK: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. ISBN 1-85346-842-8 Pages xiv, 178 Series available from NACE Website: www.nace.co.uk REVIEWED BY CAROL VAN DER WESTHUIZEN AND KOBUS MAREE Published in the United Kingdom, this publication comes at a time when the number of discourses on the indispensability of critical thinking in education is ever-increasing. Perceptions of the value of critical thinking skills in South Africa have changed drastically since ..

Book Review: Thinking Skills and Problem-Solving: An Inclusive ApproachThinking Skills and Problem-Solving: an Inclusive ApproachWallaceBelleMakerJuneCaveDianaChandlerSimon, 2004UK: London. David Fulton Publishers Ltd. ISBN 1-84312-107-7 Pages: 164,

The introduction of outcomes-based education in South Africa changed the way in which learning facilitation is viewed .and conducted in a number of ways. The emphasis at present is on assessing learners on an ongoing basis, instead of using examdriven assessment, with a renewed emphasis on developing critical thinking, reasoning and reflection in the classroom. The emphasis is also on the application of content to reallife situations instead of textbook-bound situations. Learners are offered constant feedback in an attempt to motivate them to take responsibility for their own learning, thereby reaffirming their role in the learning process. This shift from educational inputs to learning outputs, from a narrow focus on classroom processes to learner achievements, and from educator actions to learner outcomes is common to first world and developing countries. It is within this context that the insights presented in this book should be evaluated.