Purpose: The study's purpose is to present and empirically test a model that identifies academic self-concept as a mediator of the relationship between gender, sexual orientation and self-perceptions of leadership ability. Design/methodology/approach: Surveys were administered to 964 first-year undergraduate students. Findings: Academic…

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the organizational factors necessary for an inclusive special education model as identified by special education teachers and school site administrators. Specifically, explored the importance of implementation factors (i.e., fidelity) and organizational factors (i.e., administrative support), as well as…

There is widespread agreement that further research is needed in order to identify afterschool program characteristics useful for understanding why some programs are more successful than others. The bulk of recommendations put forth by researchers, practitioners and policy makers focus on observable characteristics of the afterschool setting as a…

Jeremiah Stevens, director of alumni relations at Lake Forest Academy in suburban Chicago, contends with a bit of an unusual challenge. He must manage and motivate not one but two alumni boards. While alumni professionals may not share Stevens' particular circumstances, they certainly can relate to a struggle to jumpstart a languishing board and…

The belief that a trait can be cultivated with effort, known as an "incremental theory or growth mindset," promotes behavior that leads to higher levels of achievement, such as the enthusiastic embrace of challenges and resilience to obstacles. Roughly 40% of the general student population in the United States, however, conceptualizes…

A substantial amount of school district policy is set in the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between teachers' unions and districts. Although previous studies have assumed that CBA provisions bargained by unions are a primary mechanism connecting union strength to outcomes for teachers and students, research has not yet…

At the March 2007 meeting, the Commission received a progress report and a work plan for completing its accountability framework measure reports by December 2007. This report updates the Commission on progress to date.

EDUCATIONAL SUBJECT-MATTER PREFERENCES, INTERESTS, AND MOTIVATIONS OF STUDENTS WERE INVESTIGATED AS THEY RELATE TO INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC SUCCESS. AN INTENSIVE STUDY WAS FIRST MADE OF THE ATTITUDES AND REASONING ACTIVITIES OF INDIVIDUALS AT VARYING LEVELS WITHIN THE BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, AREA, USING--(1) WRITTEN AND ORAL PROTOCOLS, (2) OBSERVATIONS,…

This report examines levels of debt incurred by students and families for undergraduate education, and explores the implications significant debt levels may have on access to higher education. Included in the analysis are undergraduate debt levels at California public and private institutions and comparisons of California student debt with student…

AN AUTOINSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM WITH READING-ONLY RESPONSE VERSUS OVERT RESPONSE WAS ADMINISTERED 1 HOUR EACH DAY FOR 3 WEEKS TO SIX CLASSES OF EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS. REVIEW PROGRAMS WERE ALSO GIVEN UNDER THE TWO RESPONSE TYPES AND UNDER CONDITIONS OF EITHER SPACED OR MASSED PRACTICE. SEVERAL MEASURING INSTRUMENTS WERE USED TO ASSESS LEARNING FROM…

In an effort to identify characteristics that relate to student dropout, 259 entering freshmen at a large community college were studied with personality, ability, and demographic measures, and it was hypothesized that a group of highly efficient predictor variables would become evident. Instruments used were the Omnibus Personality Inventory…

Explanations for varying emphasis on teaching for higher order thinking in U.S. secondary classrooms and teacher goals are considered. Responses of 303 secondary school teachers (teaching 1,205 classes) to a questionnaire about higher order skills and instructional goals indicate that higher order skills are more emphasized in high-ability…

This study investigated the feasibility of developing five vocational education curricula for severely handicapped (i.e., trainable mentally retarded) young people, aged 13 to 21, that would enable them to work in the employment areas of gardening, housekeeping, laundry services, food services, and minor auto maintenance. One goal of the project…