Examined academic achievement under a cultural motivational framework. Asian American students' performance in mathematics was found to be between that of Chinese and Japanese students and that of Caucasian Americans. Suggests that academic achievement reflects a cultural heritage that emphasizes education and the ability of all persons to benefit…

Studied diversity in high-level competence with 122 students identified as academically gifted, in grades 6-8. Results, which contradicted linear, single-scale models of intelligence, supported a three-factor solution: linguistic, logical-mathematical, and social. Specialization and generalization developed in tension with each other, yielding…

Unpopular students in grades 5-11 were compared with average and popular students among 319 high ability students. Unpopular students were distinguished by lower social self-concept, lower academic self-esteem, and less prestigious paternal occupations. Unpopular students were not found to be academically less capable, less mature, or more…

A discussion of tracking, or student grouping by academic ability, looks at arguments for and against such tracking, outlines several alternatives, including cooperative learning, active teaching strategies, and extended learning time for low-achievers. It is concluded that tracking is ineffective, harmful to many, and undermines democratic…

Examines the ways in which teachers expected their students to use, or to know how to use, certain reading skills. Reveals a significant interaction between ability and reading component in an analysis of variance (grade x ability x component). Suggests that teachers' expectations about students' reading skills are related strongly to the ability…

Reports two studies hypothesizing that nonintellectual learning dispositions are as important as intellectual assets in predicting college student success. One study was conducted with 298 low-risk francophone students in Canada; the second involved 179 academically at-risk students in the United States. Implications of the results for selection,…

Recent reports on Indigenous education have revealed that high proportions of students have been placed in special classes for intellectual disability or behaviour disorders. This is not an isolated phenomenon. Indigenous students in Canada and Romani children in Europe are also disproportionately represented in special schooling. This paper asks…

The purpose of this research effort was to examine Black male students' self-perceptions of academic ability and gifted potential in science. The purposeful sample consisted of nine Black males between the ages of 14 and 18 years. Four categories of self-perceptions of academic ability and gifted potential emerged from the data. These included:…

There is a body of literature suggesting that involving parents in their children's education is an effective strategy for children at risk of reading failure. In a pre-test/post-test control group design, parents in an experimental group received reading materials and were trained on techniques to stimulate their child during paired reading at…

The academic, career and personal needs of students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma-Nigeria were surveyed. A total of 920 undergraduates participated in this study. The results of the study revealed that irrespective of students' residential status, gender, age and relationship status, the students ranked time-management as the most pressing…

According to Columbia University social psychologist Carol Dweck, teachers may find some answers to students' ways of thinking if they consider students' views of "intelligence." In "Messages That Motivate: How Praise Molds Students' Beliefs, Motivation, and Performance (in Surprising Ways)," Dweck maintains that academic motivation and…

In this article, the author shares his experiences as a professor of English at Monroe Community College in New York. He compares teaching at a community college as something similar to transporting lost souls across the River Styx. He relates that the open door admissions policy practiced at his school has given him opportunities to reach out to…

Is it possible simultaneously to enhance the academic quality of the student body and to increase its diversity? Assessments of creative and practical skills were given to college freshmen at thirteen varied institutions to supplement the SAT. Prediction of freshman-year GPA roughly doubled, and ethnic-group differences were substantially…

This study sought to develop a causal model for college persistence based upon students' degree aspirations 4 years into the college experience. It is based on a subset of data from the 1986 and follow-up 1990 Cooperative Institutional Research Program survey, namely 1,473 students attending 261 institutions. The model examined five sets of…

In recent years, many schools have turned to Integrated Learning Systems (ILSs) to facilitate instruction and assist with raising state standardized test scores. Typically, these ILSs are utilized in a computer lab with students working individually on computer-based instructional lessons for an allotted time period. Using ILSs in this manner has…