Academic optimism has an essential role in the adjustment of students in school. This study aimed to examine a model of academic optimism formed from democratic parenting, school climate, internal locus of control, and students' self-concept. This a cross-sectional non-experimental design research design involved 335 Junior High School students in…

The current study examines predictors of math achievement and college graduation by integrating social learning theory and expectancy-value theory. Data came from a nationally-representative longitudinal database tracking 12,144 students over twelve years from 8th grade forward. Models for math achievement and college graduation were tested…

There has been growing research interest in achievement emotions in university teaching-learning processes in recent years. While their importance has been firmly established, there continues to be a need for assessment and intervention models. The objective of this report is to present the "Competency Model for Studying, Learning and…

Background: Educational attainment is associated with a plethora of positive economic and social implications for individuals, institutions, and the broader society. One factor that has been identified as an important predictor of students' educational attainment is their educational expectations. Thus, understanding how educational expectations…

Past research in both the transitions to adulthood literature and cultural sociology more broadly suggests that the working class relies on traditional cultural models in their construction of identity. In the contemporary post-industrial world, however, traditional life pathways are now much less available to working-class men and women. I draw…

Despite the major push for higher student outcomes in graduation, school achievement, and test scores, even when legislated (NCLB, 2001), too many students fail to persist in school, often choosing to drop out as their last resort (Bridgeland, DiIulio, & Morison, 2006). Specifically, one third of the nation's students drop out of school, even when…

This article provides an overview of the historical and theoretical work on adolescent substance abuse with implications for preventive interventions. The focus is on illustration of the use of four basic prevention tools: education, competency promotion, community mobilization, and natural care giving. (Author)

Differences in self-satisfaction between the employed and the newly unemployed vary according to: (1) amount of concomitant change in social, family, and economic role; (2) relative importance of the status change among subgroups (male vs. female, white collar vs. blue collar); and (3) individual's attribution of cause for the status change (own…

Children identifies as pre-delinquent often show early signs of aggression, may be involved in theft, often have learning problems, and act out in the classroom. The author shares several ideas for treatment strategies which have been found to be effective in a variety of treatment situations. (Author/DOW)

Second and third graders' competence to integrate knowledge of their ability and effort, as they would function in the child's success on a reading task, was examined in terms of the constraints of the stages of the Genevan operativity model. (Author/PN)

Sixty abandoned and 36 non-abandoned school-aged children were told six short stories about mother-child relationships. Abandoned children showed less positive affect attribution to the mother, more compliant behavior in the child, and more justification of the mother when her behaviors were unfair. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This paper evaluates models of positive mental health for their applicability to blacks and describes three studies that examined self-esteem, locus of control, and commitment to social change as critical dimensions of effective functioning and mental health among blacks. The first study examined racial differences in self-evaluation by subjecting…

Reviews principles of rational behavior therapy. Presents model for changing the way one feels by changing the way one thinks for use by experiential educators during rockcraft, caving, or high ropes course briefings/debriefings to teach students to think rationally, feel more positive about themselves, and take responsibility for their lives.…

A meta analysis of research on children's attributions for success and failure was conducted to test the adequacy of the egotistic bias hypothesis for children in grades one to seven. Results supported the egotism hypothesis and indicated that both question wording and research context are important determinants of children's attributions.…

Describes a model for understanding and applying conflict management strategies using a personal power development theory. Adds conflict management styles to this theory to address the growing need for effective conflict management in higher education. Explains the approaches to conflict in each stage of the model and provides a case study. (RJM)