This book is a primer for practitioners and researchers striving to incorporate the assessment of human strengths, resources, and fulfillment into their work. Contributors examine the scientific underpinnings and practical applications of measures of hope, optimism, self-efficacy, problem-solving, locus of control, creativity, wisdom, courage,…

The study with 20 emotionally disturbed and 20 nondisturbed subjects (ages 9-11) found that an external locus of control and poorer performance in decoding voice tone and facial expression were associated with emotional disturbance. Implications for teaching and remediation are discussed. (Author/DB)

Control over environmental events has been shown to reduce the behavioral and psychological impact of environmental stress. To assess the effect of residence hall judicial policies on attitudes toward rule violating behavior, 93 college freshmen (36 males, 56 females, 1 unreported), randomly assigned to one of four dormitories (social contract or…

The investigation assessed whether 6 learning-disabled boys (ages 10-12) who were taking stimulant medication reported fewer adaptive attributions in academic situations than their 8 nonmedicated peers. Boys who were not taking medication reported more internal-effort attributions in failure situations than boys who were taking medication.…

Criticizes Lawrence J. Schweinhart and David Weikart's article on early childhood development in this "Educational Leadership" issue for overemphasizing inadequacies of the direct academic approach. Claims that findings were based on insufficient data and disclosed no significant differences in self-esteem, locus of control, suspension,…

This project was designed to investigate the effect of the use of cause-and-effect activities in the science curriculum on the locus of control of the learner. The purpose of this research is to find the effect of the activities on the learner's locus of control and attitude toward science at grades 7 through 10. A multivariate analysis of…

Reports on a study designed to compare the effects of two instructional treatments in which the experimental treatment emphasized self-management, goal clarification, and individualized course expectations. An increase in science locus of control was found to be significant for the experimental group. (TW)

An interview study examined the assumptions about adult learning held by 28 educational policy-makers, researchers, and staff developers. Fifteen assumptions were inferred from the interview data, each forming a dimension that describes learning as experienced by the participants: (1) Adult learning experiences are envisioned as similar for all…

In Mississippi, the State College Board has increased college entrance requirements in science for four-year universities to include three science courses consisting of biology, chemistry, physics, or advanced courses in these areas. This has had the immediate effect of doubling the science enrollment in some high schools. This study was designed…

Reports on a study of 120 (60 boys, 60 girls) middle school students in Bophuthatswana on the relation of academic achievement to self-concept and locus of control. Finds that measures of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism are related negatively to school achievement. (CFR)

People tend to have both public and private selves, creating different images in their own minds, and in the minds of others. High self-monitoring individuals (SMIs), as identified through the Self Monitoring Scale, observe their public images and adapt them to produce desired effects. They tend to see themselves as pragmatic, flexible, and…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors responsible for the perceived decline in attitudes toward science observed in an intervention study designed to enhance scientific literacy. The literacy study focuses on a new freshman course in an urban Catholic high school. Negative attitudes toward science were found to be related to the demand…

Discusses results of interviews with 11 year olds in a longitudinal study of educational progress. Reports that students were aware of the importance of school work. Describes most students as looking forward to secondary school and the study of more specialized subjects. Reports that children perceived academic success as within their control.…

The first section of this document contains definitional papers prepared by three sections of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAEE). They are: (1) "The Challenges of K-12 Environmental Education" (Harold Hungerford and Trudi Volk); (2) "'Environmental Studies': Towards a Definition" (Royal Harde);…

Orthopedically handicapped (OH, N=353) twelfth graders were compared to a control group. Blacks were under-represented in the OH cohort, and OH students had a higher incidence of other impairments. Academically the OH teenagers performed competitively with classmates, though they experienced difficulties in self-esteem, locus of contrtol, and…