Earlier project reports compared childhood social behavior of nonmigratory schizophrenics and normal classmates by analyzing teachers' comments in school records. This article expands the sample to include migratory schizophrenics and analyzes childhood intellectual functioning. Behavioral differences indicated emotional immaturity and social…

Describes the initial attempt to develop a SPART, Self-Perceived Abilities Relevant in the Task, inventory, the results and discussion of that attempt including its predictive validity, and speculations on the practical and theoretical implications of the SPART construct and instrument. (Author/RK)

A member of the Commission on the Year 2000 recalls the practical hazards and psychic rewards of forecasting the future of a nation. (Editor/LBH)

Describes a single futures, decision-oriented research project conducted in a large urban school district administrative staff development program. (Author/IRT)

Parent and child characteristics, family context, and teacher behavior and attitudes were examined as factors influencing parent involvement in children's schooling for 209 mothers and their children (grades 3 through 5) and 28 teachers. Results and the hierarchical model posited underscore the complexity of factors associated with parental…

Examined optimism, generalized self-efficacy, and interactions between these variables, along with member expectancies for group, as predictors of growth group outcomes. Results based on student responses (N=19) indicate that the ability of initial expectancies to predict outcome depended on the level of generalized self-efficacy. (RJM)

The prevalence of invalid reports of cigarette smoking initiation (reporting smoking at one point and denying it at another) was studied, with 2,597 seventh- and eighth-grade students questioned. About 4% of the sample provided inconsistent responses, a rate that justifies concern about self-report accuracy. (SLD)

Contends that talking about texts in a conversational environment, during and after reading, allows students to think about a text and think about their thinking. Explains "conversation sparks," which push students to make a variety of type of comments that include predictions, questions, clarifications, and inferences. Concludes that giving…

A study of 150 preschoolers suggests that systematic teacher mediation can enhance children's interpretive skills of television material, such as the ability to: identify fantasy in relation to special effects; bridge temporal and logical gaps; identify elements of camera work and their visual implications; and make intelligent predictions based…

Examines the influence of demographic, socioeconomic, familial, and religious variables on life satisfaction in a national probability sample of 2,107 from the National Survey of Black Americans. Findings show that familial relationships, education, religion, age, and employment status are significant predictors of life satisfaction. Similarities…

Examined in four studies whether and when infants connect information about an actor's affect and perception to their action. Found that 12-month-olds, but not 8-month-olds, recognized that an actor was likely to grasp the object she had visually regarded with positive affect. Replicated findings with 12- and 14-month-olds and with several…

Examined the academic success of 215 first-generation students at a public research university by examining non-cognitive variables and SAT scores. Found that non-cognitive variables are better indicators for continuing enrollment and moderate predictors for GPAs of students of color. (EV)

Studied whether eighth-grade reading scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills predict success on the five subtests of the Georgia High School Graduation Test. Findings for 102 high school seniors show that reading scores are statistically significantly related to all five subtests, with correlations ranging from 0.69 to 0.86. (SLD)