This book highlights the roles of several individual difference (ID) variables on the language learning process, exploring them from both the students' and the teachers' perspectives. It presents the results of a large-scale, mixed-methods investigation which was conducted with secondary school pupils and their teachers in Hungary. The…

This paper identifies the need for a deliberate approach to theory building in the context of researching cognitive and learning style differences in human performance. A case for paradigm shift and a focus upon research epistemology is presented, building upon a recent critique of style research. A proposal for creating paradigm shift is made,…

Researching the intersection of class, race, gender, sexuality and disability raises many issues for educational research. Indeed, Maynard (2002, 33) has recently argued that "difference is one of the most significant, yet unresolved, issues for feminist and social thinking at the beginning of the twentieth century". This paper reviews…

This study investigates the latent structure of individual differences in vocational, leisure, and family interests. The participants consisted of 302 French adults who rated their like or dislike for activities based on Holland's RIASEC typology and presented in three life domains: work, family and leisure. The multitrait-multimethod model…

Comparison of 51 artists and 51 nonartists in India found three personality factors (introversion, independence, and tender-mindedness) which, related to working style and creative production of artists, could best differentiate artists from nonartists. These could be predicted from seven other personality factors. (DB)

It has been suggested that individuals differ in the extent to which they monitor self-perceptions in social situations: high self-monitors use cues about the appropriateness of various types of behaviors to determine their social behavior, while low self-monitors control their social behavior by their own attitudes rather than by the demands of…

This study explored the moral reasoning and scientific argumentation skills of 31 gifted Finnish adolescents participating in a science program at the University of Helsinki. Students were given the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to determine their level of moral reasoning and the Raven test to evaluate their scientific reasoning. The argumentation…

Accuracy-disabled and rate-disabled young Canadian readers were compared to children who were "fluent normal" readers. Children in the latter group decoded at the same level of accuracy as the rate-disabled subjects but at a significantly faster rate. Specific deficiencies of each of the disabled groups were identified. (Author/RH)

A total of 400 subjects differing in age, sex, and SES were tested on strategic, relational, experimental, and postformal abilities. Results showed that Demetriou and Efklides' model of the development of formal thought could be integrated with theories claiming that thought is structured in different inquiring systems and develops postformally as…

Part of an exploratory project inquiring into causes and consequences of parent participation, a study was undertaken to identify possible reasons for differences in the extent parents become involved in their children's preschool. The study was conducted at the Lady Gowrie Child Centre in Adelaide, Australia, a center promoting optimum physical…

Examines the strange-situation procedure among Japanese mother-infant pairs and analyzes their behavior by comparing them with the data reported in the book by M.S. Ainsworth and others. (HOD)

Reports on a study of the effects of self-blame or societal blame among 82 Canadian female college students. Finds that women encouraged to blame themselves were more likely to endorse accepting the situation, while those encouraged to blame society endorsed nonnormative individual confrontation. (CFR)

This study analyzed the Tertiary Admission Examination and Australian Scholastic Aptitude Test results for 264 pairs of 17-year-old monozygotic and dizygotic twins in Western Australia to determine if examination performance is influenced by environmental or genetic factors. Purely environmental models are rejected as inadequate explanations of…

Studies from different countries on perceived problems of beginning teachers are reviewed. Issues discussed include: reality shock; behavior and attitude change; situational and individual differences; principals' views; job satisfaction; teacher education; and inservice support. Three frameworks of teacher development are presented which provide…

Reports on a study of the effects of culture, gender, and age on interpersonal distance, body orientation, and touch among 381 same-sex and mixed-sex dyads in 7 nations. Finds that more touch was observed among Italian and Greek dyads than among English, French, and Dutch dyads. (CFR)