To date, no studies have focused solely on community college students' epistemological beliefs and the courses students pursue. The purpose of this study was to determine if a semester-long community-college course designed to increase critical thinking skills could help students attain more sophisticated levels of epistemological beliefs. A…

This paper presents an expanded definition of school readiness that includes the skills children possess as they begin formal school as well as the ways that family backgrounds, preschool experiences, and primary-grade classrooms interact with children to point them toward school success or failure. The paper notes five dimensions of school…

This paper examines four aspects of current high stakes testing that impact minority students and others traditionally underserved by American education. Data from research conducted at Boston College over 30 years highlight 4 issues: high stakes, high standards tests do not have a markedly positive effect on teaching and learning; high stakes…

Beginning with the class of 2003, all Massachusetts students must pass the state's high stakes test, MCAS, in order to graduate, which may significantly affect Massachusetts' already high dropout rate. According to this MCAS Alert, instead of remedying the problem of students who graduate without skills, this policy threatens to push the most…

The school-to-work transition process of a vocational-technical high school in Ankara, Turkey was assessed from the perspectives of graduates and employers. Data were collected through interviews with 126 of the school's graduates and 18 of their employers. Results showed that in students' vocational choice, future employment anxiety was more…

This study investigated factors that affected stress, burnout, and job satisfaction among Hong Kong high school teachers. First, the researchers interviewed former Hong Kong teachers to determine possible teacher stress sources. On the basis of their suggested list of stress sources, the researchers created a questionnaire that included items…

This manual encourages students to act as volunteer tutors. Chapter 1, "Attitudes, Anxieties, and Expectations," discusses normal fears and anxieties and unconditional acceptance. Chapter 2, "Building Relationships," looks at making connections, building trust, motivating students to learn, going beyond academics, and establishing boundaries.…

This paper examines how self-evaluation strategies contribute to helping students take control over their own learning processes. In addition to examining the role of self-evaluation when a student takes on and exercises control over an activity in the classroom, this paper takes into account homework assignments and the role of parents. Subjects…

This paper examines the status and role of teaching faculty at research-intensive universities. After agreeing that research was the dominant element in the university's reward system, a case study format was used to examine the attitudes of 11 active and 18 less-active researchers at a large public research institution regarding their own…

At the close of the 1996-97 academic year, some 45,000 transfer-oriented students left the Washington community and technical colleges they had been attending. Eleven thousand, three hundred of these students transferred immediately to a four-year institution in Washington or Oregon, with another 2,000 transferring a year later. More than half of…

A study examined college students' academic delay of gratification, that is, their preference for an immediately available option (go to a concert the day before a test) or a delayed alternative (stay home studying for a test). Differential explanations of academic delay of gratification between task, performance approach, and performance-avoid…

This document reviews the existing literature on intercultural communication (ICC) and ties it to teacher-student classroom interactions, exploring ways that teachers can respond to cultural incongruities and reduce the cultural clashes they experience between themselves and students from different cultural backgrounds. Section 1,…

How students' ability group assignments affect their attention spans is examined. Data were gathered from videotaped lessons of first-grade reading groups. Assignment to a low-ability group had a strong negative effect on student attentiveness, suggesting that classroom factors are important in shaping student behavior. (Author/IS)

Research regarding the promotion or retention of students has shown consistently that non-promotion is not an aid to pupil achievement, personal development, or motivation. Alternative strategies for dealing with underachievers are discussed. (PP)

The article digests and analyzes the long-term impact of the Early Training Project, an early childhood intervention program begun in 1962, on the achievement and motivation of students who participated. The project had positive though modest effects, especially on females. (PP)