We design a commitment device for college students, "Study More Tomorrow," conduct a randomized controlled trial testing a model of its takeup, and measure its effect on tutoring attendance and grades. The device commits students to attend tutoring if their midterm grade falls below a prespecified threshold. Unlike other commitment…

Many students in schools may demonstrate problem behaviors and show signs of academic disengagement behaviors in schools, especially students who are educated in upper-secondary schools. Exhibition of problem behaviors may negatively affect students' academic performance. These students need to receive effective interventions, such as behavioral…

Children with autism are more likely to be socially excluded than their neurotypical peers. Since the majority of children with autism attend mainstream schools, interventions are needed to improve the attitudes and behaviours of their peers. Many studies highlight the influence of contact on positive attitudes and reduced discrimination. Group…

Research from different parts of the world recognizes the effectiveness of a learning contract course in improving the personal skills of students. Therefore, UKM has chosen this approach to improve the personal soft skills of its students. The university has carried out this approach by making HHHC9118-Soft Skills as a compulsory course for all…

As performance-based contracting in social welfare services continues to expand, concerns about potential unintended effects are also growing. We analyze the incentive effects of high-powered, performance-based contracts and their implications for program outcomes using panel data on Dutch cohorts of unemployed and disabled workers that were…

Background/Context: Community colleges are central to the United States' college completion goals. A popular strategy pushed by a number of influential policy organizations and foundations is a policy of tying state funding to community college completions, otherwise known simply as performance funding. This is happening despite little to no…

This mixed-methods study illustrates the implementation of Malcolm Knowles's 1986 model of learning contracts in a current Italian University context. The study attempted to improve and adapt the tool to a master's degree course at the University of Padua. Three professors conducted the integrated course, making extensive efforts to share the aims…

In 2007 Georgia instituted a flexibility policy through which school districts enter into performance contracts with the state, receiving waivers from state rules, provisions, and guidelines in exchange for agreeing to meet annual accountability targets. The performance contracts are intended to incentivize innovations that increase achievement…

These are the appendixes for the report, "District Changes in Student Achievement and Local Practice under Georgia's District and School Flexibility Policy." Five appendixes are included in the document: (1) About the study; (2) Data and methods; (3) Supporting analysis; (4) Survey instrument; and (5) Interview protocol. [For the full…

Developed and evaluated a home-based contracting program to determine its effect on the compliance rates of 25 discharged alcohol patients to a disulfiram (antabuse) regimen. After three months those subjects who were involved in contracting and recording reached criterion more frequently than those in the minimal treatment group. (JAC)

Used monetary contracts to evaluate artificial incentives in weight reduction. Overweight men (N=89) were assigned to weight reduction treatment groups which varied by amount of deposit and type of contract. Results showed group contracts produced more weight loss than individual contracts. Amount of deposit was only weakly related to outcomes.…

Traditionally, education in Scotland has been viewed as a national service that is locally administered. This research casts new light on that relationship between the Scottish Executive and local authorities by drawing on evidence from an evaluation of the implementation of the additional support staff element of the Teachers' Agreement which…

The results of a study to determine whether health behavior contracting was effective in changing health styles among 190 college freshmen are reported. Methodology is described. (JL)

The present study examined the effectiveness of using the contract learning strategy on special diploma students' achievement and attitudes towards English language; a strategy that has been used in the field of education in general and teaching English language in particular. The subjects of the present study consisted of 41 graduate students…

While self-pacing may appear to be an ideal solution to problems stemming from individual differences in academic skill levels among college students, students in Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) courses may tend to procrastinate. Three course contingencies were studied for their effectiveness in reducing student procrastination and…