A commonly held belief among educators, researchers, and students is that high-quality texts are easier to read than low-quality texts, as they contain more engaging narrative and story-like elements. Interestingly, these assumptions have typically failed to be supported by the literature on writing. Previous research suggests that higher quality…

This report examines: (1) the extent to which rural school administrators personally use microcomputers for administrative tasks; (2) whether such use is determined by differences in sex, age, size of school district, and type of administrative assignment; and (3) the kinds of administrative computer applications that are most prevalent. Subjects…

Concern over the under representation of women and minorities in the natural sciences and engineering led to the research reported in this document. The project surveyed a stratified sample of 1,651 college seniors who registered to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and who were majoring in natural sciences, mathematics, computer…

The effects of interactive television (ITV) learning on the attitudes and achievement of different types of learners were investigated using as subjects 97 students who were taking courses at remote sites through the University of Southern Maine ITV system. First, a Likert-type scale for measuring learner preferences was developed and validated.…

Describes a study in which 46 high socioeconomic status elementary and secondary children were exposed to Logo and Bank Street Writer at a computer camp. After exposure, children 12 and under minimally shifted toward an internal locus of control as measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children. (Author/MBR)

This study investigated the effects of medium of instruction, task difficulty, and gender on continuing motivation. A total of 139 fifth and sixth graders with previous computer experience completed an initial learning task in one of the two media formats (computer or paper/pencil) and under either a hard or easy difficulty level. Students' choice…

Research has found firstborns to be more ambitious, rule-oriented, authority-oriented, helpful, and responsible, and less oriented toward peers, their own needs, social activities, and group cooperation than are laterborns. To explore whether those occupying different birth order positions perceive themselves as psychologists have described them,…

A study of legal and illegal drug use rates among working class adolescents in Georgia was conducted in a small city of 16,000 residents. Students at the local high school completed a questionnaire administered by their classroom teacher. Of the 296 female and 283 male participants, 102 were black and 477 were white. The results indicate that…

This collection of essays seeks to prepare educational theorists and practitioners to accept diversity as a fundamental element in all educational decision making. The collection defines diversity broadly to include differences along racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, ability, socioeconomic, language, and gender lines. Themes running throughout…

In recent research, female adolescents have been found to prefer history, language, and writing courses, while male adolescents have been found to prefer mathematics and science courses. These gender differences in course selection occurred despite the fact that female and male adolescents performed equally well in these courses. This study…

Following World War I, researchers began to study psychological and behavior problems resulting from war experiences. Today these problems are defined as Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). The PTSD problems of Vietnam veterans have been widely reported but less is known about World War II and Korean veterans. A study was undertaken to examine…

Describes a study that examined the similarities and differences in computer related attitudes between sixth grade boys and girls of different mathematics achievement levels. Students' responses to questions about self-confidence in their computer abilities, the utility of computers, and general attitudes toward computers are reported and…

A study was done of current practices in teaching educational research, particularly the extent to which feminist perspectives on research are included in topics, in research methods textbooks, and in professors' use of instructional techniques responsive to feminine "ways of knowing". Seventy-one members of the American Educational…

In analyzing various moral and legal philosophies, two perspectives emerge, absolute moral rules/higher law, and situationally-specific moral rules/legal positivism. From these two perspectives, four types of individuals emerge in accordance with their degree of adherence to ideological tenets: (1) situationists (high on idealism and relativism);…

A controlled experiment studying effects of adding voice-over sound to a silent electronic text service tested program acceptability and memory retention. Results indicate no significant differences in ratings for acceptability although the test for memory retention resulted in significantly higher scores for the sound group on recall and…