This research study used Vygotsky's (1978) "zone of proximal development" and Wertsch's (1979) "levels of social interaction" as an alternative to Markham's method for describing a child's awareness of implicit inconsistencies in an essay. Two different essays with implicit inconsistencies were read to 30 third-grade and 30…

A study examined young children's learning from selected television program content in varied subject matter and the relationship between that learning and the amount of time a child watches television with and without adults. A 28-item learning test based on instructional design principles was developed from selected television segments and…

As part of a Feelin' Good intervention program to improve the physical fitness of children in grades 2 through 4, 603 students were tested for muscle strength and flexibility. Complete pre- and posttest data were obtained from 388 students. Two muscle strength tests and two flexibility tests demonstrated consistent sex differences in performance.…

Attitudes held by younger and older students in mixed-age college classes were surveyed, as were the attitudes of teachers toward the mixed-age classes. Seven campuses in the University of Wisconsin system participated in the survey. Findings for the faculty included the following: faculty preferred an age-mix in class; almost all faculty…

Homicide is the 12th leading cause in absolute number of deaths in the United States. Research has suggested that: (1) minorities have a greater homicide risk than do Anglo-Americans; (2) males are much more likely than females to be homicide victims; (3) the highest overall homicide rate occurs between the ages of 25 and 39; (4) among minorities,…

Disruptive behavior, which can range from tardiness to violence against classmates or staff members, is a growing problem in adult basic education (ABE). Many feel that this is because ABE programs have begun serving young adults below the age of 18 who are quite different from their more mature classmates both psychologically and emotionally.…

Using data from the 1980 Census Public Use Microdata Sample, this paper examines characteristics of women who live alone and incidence of poverty in this group. Results show there are two distinct subgroups among women who live alone: the elderly, most of whom are widowed; and the young, many of whom are single or divorced. For both groups, about…

During the 1985-1986 and 1986-1987 school years, the In-Touch Task Force of Glenbard High School District 87 developed a questionnaire to survey students on several areas of concern and to assess student willingness to participate in school-based information or intervention programs. The survey consisted of 150 multiple-choice questions and 8…

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington administered a 1986 University Union Spring Survey to 404 residential and nonresidential students to monitor student preferences and to evaluate their satisfaction with selected aspects of services and programs within the student union. The results revealed that students considered notices in their…

This report examines: (1) the extent to which rural school administrators personally use microcomputers for administrative tasks; (2) whether such use is determined by differences in sex, age, size of school district, and type of administrative assignment; and (3) the kinds of administrative computer applications that are most prevalent. Subjects…

The effects of interactive television (ITV) learning on the attitudes and achievement of different types of learners were investigated using as subjects 97 students who were taking courses at remote sites through the University of Southern Maine ITV system. First, a Likert-type scale for measuring learner preferences was developed and validated.…

Although numerous studies have investigated internal and external factors that influence career aspirations of college students, little has been done to investigate how these factors differentially affect specific grade levels of college students. This study examined several internal and external variables (grade level, gender, college major,…

Fourth and sixth grade children differing in reading proficiency read and commented on brief expository passages containing three different types of embedded problems (nonsense words, prior knowledge violations, and internal inconsistencies). Half of the children were specificially instructed as to the types of standards they should apply in order…

Research on trait descriptions of interpersonal behavior tends to converge on a two-dimensional representation in which descriptive variables are arrayed in a circular fashion around the major axes of affiliation and dominance. Wiggins' self-report adjective checklist (1979) reflects this theoretical ordering. To explore the utility of Wiggins'…

A study of young children's assignment of nouns to gender categories and general mastery of the Icelandic gender system is reported. An examination of what is involved in the induction of formal categories such as gender introduces the proposal of a "principle of localness." This principle states that the closer in proximity a closed…