A study of a continuous quality improvement effort at Auburn University (Alabama) is reported. The study investigated variables predicting which students are at risk of failure. Data were drawn from the records of pre-engineering students enrolling at the university in fall terms of 1991 and 1993-95 (n=2,505). Data sources included achievement…

This study investigates pre-enrollment factors, particularly those related to computer confidence, in relation to persistence in the community college. Data on sex, ethnicity, reading level, high school grade point average (GPA), goal for attending college, and self-reported ability to use five computer application programs were gathered from 543…

In fall 1994, New York's Bronx Community College (BCC) conducted a study of the usefulness of 50 variables in predicting the academic performance of students readmitted to the college following academic suspension. The sample consisted of 86 academically suspended students readmitted to the BCC for fall 1994. The 50 variables examined included…

This paper describes the development of a predictive model to determine potential high school dropouts and identify areas for intensified assistance at the individual or group level. V. Tinto's (1975, 1987) model of college attrition was validated for use with high school students in rural, low socioeconomic areas of the Southeast. Ex post facto…

This study, conducted at the Buca Faculty of Education, Dokuz Eylul University (Turkey), sought to identify factors associated with academic failure of college students. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire titled "Perceived Causes of Academic Failure Inventory" that identified 10 subgroups of factors: teachers' behavior;…

A study on family structure and values among the poorest of all welfare recipients, homeless families found that not only has the traditional family structure broken down, but that there are stark contradictions between the reality of the lives of homeless women and the values they hold. The traditional family may actually be obsolete for this…

This study was conducted to examine the extent to which one's demographic characteristics, previous experience, aptitudes, and attitudes may be indicative of probable success in learning about computers. Information was derived from two National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded programs designed to retrain experienced teachers to become K-12…

The present study extends a previous study of student teachers' teaching potential to first-year teachers and includes variables addressing commitment to a teaching career and efficacy. Respondents consisted of 126 first-year teachers who completed questionnaires at student teaching, graduation, and one year following graduation. Seven tables are…

This paper briefly reviews the literature on the common factors in effective college student retention programs, then presents a study assessing the impact of the institution's mission effectiveness as distinct from other determinants of student retention. The assessment of retention predictors and the effects of the school's mission were…

This document reviews the research related to students' and teachers' anxiety related to science and the teaching of science in order to better understand the relationships between the variables that can predict this phenomenon. The research reports reviewed used either the Science State Trait Anxiety Inventory or the Science Teaching State Trait…

This manual is designed to serve as a comprehensive guide for utilizing 20/20 analysis, an instructional planning approach that aims to overcome the disjointedness of current, narrowly formed categorical programs for educating marginal students. The authors explain that 20/20 analysis is a key element in developing an integrated service delivery…

Education researchers have long been concerned with finding the appropriate method for correlational analysis of hierarchical data. In recent years, the alternative of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) has come into extensive use. HLM users typically center some or all student-level predictors either at the grand mean or at the school means. This…

This paper suggests that community colleges receive undeserved criticism as institutions that contribute to students' decline in college motivation. Rather, many college-bound youths underestimate college demands due to open-admissions policies and the ready availability of remedial courses, and fail to prepare adequately for this educational…

Despite a strong and persistent interest in fathers and concern about their absence in children's lives, there is little information on the complex ways fathers make contributions to their families and children. Six major topic areas were covered by panels of experts during the conference: (1) economic, sociological, psychological, and…

This study was conducted to identify competency areas most problematic for students who did not complete their student teaching experience. Data were collected from case studies of 19 student teachers who did not complete the experience and 31 student teachers who did. Evaluations were based on objective competency measures and subjective…