Fluctuations in cognitive task performance in older individuals have been reported. To examine intraindividual variability as a function of practice, 34 younger and 34 older female participants, aged 20-30 years and 70-82 years, respectively, performed a reading span task 16 times over four sessions. Each individual's recall accuracy was analyzed…

This paper explores the perceived parental influence (PPI) on mathematics learning among over 700 students across three year levels (Years 5, 7, 9) in China and Australia. It was found that the PPI of students was less strong as year levels increased in both countries. Students in China had stronger perceived parental encouragement and higher…

Models of self-regulated learning and of children's coping both consider help-seeking an adaptive response to academic problems, yet students do not always seek help when it is needed, and help-seeking generally declines across early adolescence. A study of 765 children in elementary and middle school (Grades 3-6) during fall and spring of the…

A study explored gender differences in toy preferences, using 824 children's responses to a southeastern newspaper's request for letters to Santa Claus. The results suggested that it is in the choice of toys associated with some aspect of the adult social structure where children's preferences show the greatest gender differences. Changes in toy…

This study tested the theoretical proposition that family histories of destructive adult conflict reduce children's emotional security. Subjects were 112 children--ages 6, 11, and 19 years--with equal numbers of males and females in each age group. Subjects viewed the videotapes of an adult couple engaged in either a destructive conflict or a…

This study examined the effects of hands-on instruction on young children's understanding of an aspect of flight, specifically Bernoulli's principle. First, 137 public school children, ages 5 through 8 years, were interviewed about their understanding of how an airplane flies. Two weeks later, the subjects participated in two hands-on…

This study examined the influence of education, agency culture, and demographic attributes on the level of professional socialization of state administrators, using data from a national survey of 5,980 state administrators. It found a positive relationship between the educational attainment of state administrators and their orientations toward…

This study examined the perception of post-secondary education held by traditional and non-traditional graduating seniors from a small, rural comprehensive public university. A 132-item questionnaire was randomly administered to 126 seniors at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, with 98 of the students indicating that they were under 30 years of…

This report uses data from the 1990 Survey of Income and Program Participation (n=143.5 million) to examine the relationship between work disability, Social Security program participation, and economic well-being. The report estimates the proportion of people with disabilities who receive benefits, how this proportion depends on their disability…

This study examined 3- to 7-year old children's knowledge about gender roles and moral and social norms, their beliefs about the possibility of violating these roles and norms, and their attitudes about children who do. The gender role norms were grouped into several categories: toys, games, play styles, adult occupations, adult parental roles,…

This paper describes two projects analyzing forms of appearance and the characteristics of symbolic play, that is, spontaneous play free from adult intervention. The paper highlights some characteristics and theoretical orientations and discusses preliminary findings. The theoretical framework includes using evolutive cognitive and…

The enhancement of the self-concepts of elementary school students through the "Let's Get Excited about Life" program and the recognition of such enhancement by their teachers were studied for 100 inner-city students in Atlanta (Georgia) in grades 1 through 5. All of these students, as well as their teachers, were African-Americans, and…

Many factors have been associated with the varying levels of self-esteem among children. Researchers disagree on the relative importance of many factors, including maternal employment, anxiety, family happiness, and family structure. This study was conducted to investigate associations between the above-mentioned factors and gender, grade level,…

Career self-efficacy as a component of career development has been an important research topic. Measurement of the self-efficacy construct has been a concern since inception of research in this area. The question is whether instruments will be measuring the same construct across groups whose experiences in acquiring efficacy expectations may be…

This study was conducted to investigate attitudes toward physical activity and self-esteem of students (N=82) in grades three through five. The independent variables were gender, grade placement, and physical fitness. The dependent variables were scores from the Grade 3 Children's Attitudes Toward Physical Activity, the Revised Children's…