This summarizes a study designed to provide a basis for researchers who study measurable areas of human performance or attempt to conceptualize and develop a theory and structure of abilities. Specifically, this study was directed toward the identification of tests that can serve as markers for well established cognitive factors. (Author/CTM)

Posits a multidimensional measurement theory of adolescent drug involvement and tests its measurement properties as captured in the Drug Involvement Scale for Adolescents (DISA). Results attest to the reliability, validity, and brevity (22 indicators constructed from 29 items) of this composite index. Recommends further validation of the DISA.…

Utilizes multiple regression analysis to examine the relative contributions of measures of musical aptitude, music experience, and gender in predicting grades in a music theory course for non-music majors. Results suggest that performance experience is the only statistically significant grade predictor for this group. (MJP)

Explores academic self-efficacy of 382 male and 319 female Chapter 1 elementary school students using the Self-Efficacy for Academic Tasks scale. Factor analyses reveal no sex differences in factor structure. Verbal skills and compliance explain 66 percent of the covariation. Efficacy beliefs decline between second and fifth grades. (SLD)

Evaluates the measurement equivalence of an English-language version of the Trier Personality Inventory, using statistical methods based on item response theory to identify items displaying differential item functioning (DIF). Results with 295 U.S. and 213 West German undergraduates and 203 U.S. college students indicate significant agreement in…

In the present quantitative and qualitative study, school psychologists provided responses to a paper-and-pencil survey about their perceptions of the disproportionate representation of African American students in special education. They described their perceptions of the causes and solutions for overrepresentation by providing ratings on…

Background: There is considerable interest in differences in students' approaches to learning, particularly in the difference between "deep" approaches (characterized by contextualization, critical review and recognition of the value of the content) and "surface" approaches (characterized by rote learning for functional…

Through a rigorous process of selecting educational psychology's most useful affective constructs, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) constructed the Students' Approaches to Learning (SAL) instrument, which requires only 10 min to measure 14 factors that assess self-regulated learning strategies, self-beliefs,…

The authors explored the relationship between motivation and affect in upper elementary mathematics classes from the perspective of flow theory. They also investigated the relationship between students' motivation and teachers' instructional practices. Students' reported classroom experiences formed 4 factors--Social Affect, Personal Affect,…

The purpose of this study is to explore learner engagement and motivation related to "Flow" particularly in WBI settings. In the "Flow" state people are absorbed in their activities while irrelevant thoughts and perceptions are screened out. In this article, we attempted to identify some of the critical elements of learner…

This paper provides an in-depth study of the relationship between the company's training strategy and its learning capability. On a sample of 111 Spanish companies from the chemical industry, tests a set of hypotheses which link four different training strategies with the learning capability dimensions. The results obtained from the regression…

With vast amounts of foreign capital entering China yearly, there is a strong need to build its human capital to Western accepted levels. A plethora of external vendors offering training and consulting interventions to develop this labor force have quickly followed this investment. An evaluation of what these vendors are actually offering based on…

210 children (110 girls and 100 boys) were interviewed individually about causes that lead to success or to failure in school tests. They were presented fictitious scenarios about an unknown peer who had either success or failure in a dictation task and a sums task. The free answers were taken as mirroring means-ends beliefs of the interviewed…

The purpose of this study is to explore the validity of a scale designed to measure HIV stigma and identify potential subscales. A nonrandom sample of 88 individuals, 44 between the ages of 20 and 39 and 44 ages 50 and older, living with HIV/AIDS were interviewed and completed a 13-item HIV Stigma Scale. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) found…

Second language anxiety has a debilitating effect on the oral performance of speakers of English as a second language. This article describes a research project concerning the conceptualization of second language speaking anxiety, the relationship between anxiety and second language performance, and the major reported causes of second language…