Rated (N=410) letters of recommendation for personal qualities and indications of weaknesses. Grade point average was related to ratings of intellectual potential, academic performance, research ability, and motivation. Sex of applicant was not significant for any variable, however, referees tended to describe same-sex applicants as having more…

Investigates the relationship between academic intrinsic motivation and anxiety when these variables are differentiated into academic subject areas. Results showed fourth and seventh graders differed in the pattern of relationships. Results clearly show academic intrinsic motivation and anxiety are negatively related and differentiated according…

Discusses children's writing process and how creating an atmosphere in which they are willing to take risks encourages their writing fluency and enthusiasm. Suggests that allowing invented spellings, reading-writing partners (peer pairs), and class editing can be beneficial to beginning writers. (HTH)

A faculty member and former student surveyed other former adult students from a British polytechnic continuing education course in sociology to determine job satisfaction and employment experiences resulting from course participation, and their motivation in taking the course. Student comments referred to increased confidence, course content,…

Definitions are provided which permit an analysis of stress, career burnout, and mid-life professional crises among teachers. Burnout is defined as the mid-career deterioration of job performance. Observation of teacher burnout symptoms shows that many teachers lose commitment to the profession as their careers develop. (JN)

Discusses Gardner and Lambert's Attitude and Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and its application in Canada. Study's purpose was to test sociopsychological theory of second-language learning by validating an adapted AMTB in the U.S. with American students of Spanish. Sought to compare underlying structure of adapted ATMB with original ATMB and…

Using 276 students from Boston University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the relationships between types of students and their work values and motivational profiles were investigated by means of factor and discriminant analyses. The vocational model is contrasted with the collegiate, nonconformist, and academic groups. (Author/MLW)

Describes operant conditioning as an effective means of modifying behavior of children in typical classes. Emphasizes effective operant procedures as having a contingency between child's response and teacher's reward. Reviews relevant literature. Suggests only tentative evidence from the present review supports the contingency of response and…

Reviews current knowledge on the encouragements and constraints affecting educational participation of older people. Reports the finding from a study of active older participants that content and sponsorship are the most important reasons for educational participation. (Author)

Translates for the secondary teacher current learning theory research into educational program implications for the mentally retarded adolescent. Discusses adaptive behavior, effectance motivation, limited range of reinforcing events, external locus of control, and deficiencies in social discrimination. (Author/DC)

Presents research that suggests how school administrators can have a significant impact on teacher motivation, especially by rewarding teacher performance. (Author/JM)

Fifty-nine undergraduate students, divided into two groups to compare the instructional motivational effects of auto-tutorial and conventional instruction, were tested for achievement via performance (Ac), achievement via independence (Ai), and internal-external locus of control. Significant interaction was found between Ac and the two methods of…

Presents the results of an evaluation of the effect of short interethnic exchange programs on attitudes and motivations linked to second language learning. Analyzes the results obtained in three experiments, showing that the attitudinal/motivational variables are positively influenced by this type of exchange. (Author/MES)

A longitudinal study of first graders found that children had a more internal locus of control, were more optimistic, and scored higher on an effectance motivation measure at the end of first grade than at the beginning but attitudes and self-esteem did not change. Some changes were effected by SES and academic success. (AtuhorRD)

The author notes four problem areas ignored by the CBS special, "Is Anyone Out There Learning?": student motivation, school-parent planning, educational bureaucracy and unions, and use of community resources. This entire journal issue consists of comments on this CBS television program, aired in August, 1978. (SJL)