A strong, positive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity is a predictor of future career choice in a STEM field. In this commentary, major concepts are explored within and among four different research studies with implications regarding STEM or science identity. This commentary describes ways in which one can view STEM…

In the United States, but not only here, the movement to evaluate teachers based on student test scores has received powerful political and parental support. The logic is simple. From one testing occasion to another students should show growth in their knowledge and skill. Similar types of students should show similar patterns of growth. Those…

A study investigated the use of frequency of specific behaviors as an indicator of college student response to dissatisfaction. A population of 423 students from 5 universities helped categorize behaviors as characteristic of 4 constructs: exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect. Twenty acts emerged as viable indicators of the constructs. (MSE)

The second phase of a 1977 University of Pittsburgh research study that focused on the resistance to technology in libraries, this parallel study of library school students and faculty continues the investigation to determine: (1) the extent to which technological transformation of library systems will tend to encounter resistance as…

Describes a study that was conducted to determine whether distance education learners experience anxiety, based on results of a survey of 222 University of Southern Queensland students. Anxiety toward instructional materials and variables that affect students' perceptions of factors that affect their anxiety are discussed. (LRW)

A university academic advising coordinator responds to a study of readmission among academically dismissed students, suggesting that while objective measures of success are important, they should not be the sole basis for readmission. Student attitudes, quality of advisor-student interactions, and individual student circumstances are seen as…

Examines attitudinal variables (e.g., math anxiety, attitude toward success), locus of control, high school grade point average (HSGPA), and Scholastic Aptitude Test Quantitative (SATQ) scores as predictors of first-quarter grades in a developmental mathematics course. Reports that HSGPA, SATQ, and self-confidence were significant predictors of…

This paper consolidates findings from two related studies: William Brown's research on the predictive ability of measures of early and non-high school interracial contact/opportunities that appear to affect interracial attitudes and behaviors in high school; and Martin Patchen's investigation in Indianapolis, Indiana high schools analyzing the…

Factors affecting the motivation of high school students to learn to use computers were examined in this study. The subjects were 160 students enrolled in a large city high school, 89 females and 71 males who represented five ethnic groups--White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. The majority of subjects had prior computer coursework…

Discussion of group processes in computer assisted instruction highlights a research program being developed in the United Kingdom to explore computer groupwork with 9-to 12-year-olds. Variables to be considered in the research strategy are described, data collection methods are explained, and student attitudes and teacher roles are discussed. (24…

Studies patterns of computer use based on data from the National Science Foundation's Longitudinal Study of American Youth in which 7th- and 10th-grade students were surveyed for five consecutive years. Highlights include parental backgrounds; socioeconomic status; parental attitudes; student attitudes; gender differences; computer ownership; and…