Teachers' teaching-related competence beliefs such as perceived teaching ability and self-efficacy have been linked to their occupational well-being and external evaluations of instructional quality. However, researchers have struggled to establish a reliable empirical link between teachers' competence beliefs and students' academic outcomes. To…

US schools fail to engage a significant proportion of adolescent students. Although student engagement is significantly related to academic achievement, there is a dearth of longitudinal research simultaneously examining the impact of personal and contextual factors on student engagement at both individual and school levels. Using a…

The effect of mastery learning procedures on achievement and students' attributions for learning outcomes was studied with undergraduates enrolled in a general education course at a large state university. Most of the students were juniors and all had met selective admission requirements. It was hypothesized that mastery learning would result in…

This study was designed to measure the effect of option on cognitive andaffective behavior and reexamine the function of locus of control as a predictor of academic performance in a situation where option-in-means is provided while option-in-ends is controlled. (Author/RK)

Noting the attractions of self-report questionnaires and surveys to those engaged in educational research, this article discusses some of the problems that can arise from their injudicious use. It is argued that the potentially misleading nature of findings from such approaches is particularly highlighted when mixed methodologies are employed.…

Indicated that internal control was related positively to effective study habits and attitudes and to college academic success, while the opposite was true for powerful others and chance control. (RB)

Existing research indicates that particular study strategies are deployed with differing success according to certain critical personality factors, most notably a syndrome of characteristics related to internal or external locus of control. Institutional factors that have an effect on study behaviour include Faculty membership (Arts/Science), mode…

This study was conducted to find a method to assess a sanitarian's learning potential both before hiring and in service. Found that past achievement (educational level) was the most important factor in predicting achievement on tests; improvement during inservice was more closely related to motivation. (MR)

The locus of control construct referred to in this study describes a distribution of individuals on a continuum according to the degree to which they accept personal responsibility for what happens to them. This study showed that for first grade children the interactions between a student's locus of control and his classroom environment may…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children with differing cognitive abilities can benefit from differing educational environments. The investigation was specifically concerned with two questions: (1) Are there differences in the mathematics achievement between children with an internal or external locus of control in both open and…

Investigates the effect of The Individualized Science (IS) program on sixth and eighth graders' perception of locus of control. Findings suggest that the structure of the environment can affect the perception of locus of control. (HM)

Considers the hypothesis that the open classroom is less threatening than other role postures of the teacher, with the outcome being that the child will come to direct his own learning experiences and will learn more fully and with less trauma than in other settings. (Author/RK)

A study examined the possible relationships between student study behaviors and academic achievement and represented a continuation and extension of an earlier large-scale project undertaken at the Far West Laboratory. Subjects, 184 college students enrolled in an introductory psychology course, had their study skills, self-efficacy, academic…

Personal characteristics of 58-inner city teachers (fourth through eighth grades) were analyzed for their relations to student achievement. The assumption supporting this analysis is that teachers' influence upon students is pervasive and powerful and, therefore, knowledge of teachers' motivational beliefs (personal causation) and orientation…

High school students in grades 8-12 participated in an experimental three-weekend camping and construction project designed to measure the personal and social growth potential of a non-risk, challenging, generative-based experience. Twenty-three students were matched and randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group.…