A study was conducted to investigate the respective contributions of personal and social factors (initial competence and imitation of modeled responses) in children's observational learning of conservation. Subjects included 180 first-grade nonconservers from six schools attended by French-speaking middle class pupils. All subjects failed…

Participation in organizational decisions is thought to have a number of positive effects on performance and worker attitudes, but it is not clear which elements of participation are responsible for these positive effects. The effects of two elements of participation, upward information input by the worker and the provision of downward knowledge…

This paper reviews principal effectiveness research and suggests measures that might promote effective principalship. The first section discusses principals' behavior patterns and conditions bearing on their effectiveness. Topics examined include role ambiguity, goal setting behavior, leadership and initiative, management behaviors, instructional…

A study examined the feasibility of the use of the Herzberg Motivation-Hygiene Theory to identify groups of teachers as motivation seekers. The theory distinguishes individuals by their personal needs, i.e., "hygiene needs," such as working conditions, salary, class size, supervision, policy, and benefits; and "motivation…

In order to identify the relationship among social support networks, depression, life events, and student progress in medical school, 96 students completed a questionnaire. The results indicated good social support, a high number of recent life events, slight depression and a continuum of not quite passing to doing extremely well in medical…

Personal reflection on the role of college or university presidents and how their professional academic preparation influences how they accomplish things is presented. Evidence of the sociological imagination is noted. A review of how others have viewed their positions as president is included. In a recent summary, findings on the college…

This paper presents an overview of the research and literature on teacher expectations, particularly that from the last ten years. This includes research on race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Also included are studies on non-verbal behaviors and grouping children according to perceived ability. It is pointed out that pupils respond to…

The study investigated alternative explanations for differences in mathematics achievement between pairs of handicapped students exhibiting comparable amounts of academic engaged time. Forty-two students in grades 2-4 from urban and suburban districts participated; 14 students were classified as learning disabled, 14 as emotionally or behaviorally…

The ways in which principals use performance appraisal data for personal professional development, the characteristics of those who use such information, and the features of performance appraisal systems and decision contexts that are predictors of appraisal use were studied through a series of interviews at four sites (two with high appraisal…

A method of sex-fair performance evaluation is presented which can be used in coeducational secondary school physical education classes. This method tallies specific skill areas associated with athletic activities, disregarding such concepts as student improvement, level of competition, participation, effort, and exact skill measurement.…

This paper provides a summary of thoughts, resources, ideas, and a review of the state-of-the-art provisions of vocational assessment services for the visually impaired. The paper is organized in seven sections. The first section provides definitions of vocational assessment and the related terms of career assessment, educational/psychological…

This study applied a model of student academic motivation to an existing set of classroom data from 323 third graders in 17 classes from 2 Stanford, California elementary school districts. The model proposed that common forms of student-motivated behavior, such as task engagement, are systematically related to students' cognitive structures and…

A study investigated the effects of selected psychophysiological factors known to affect cognitive functioning on the reading achievement of older adults. The subjects, 34 noninstitutionalized adults ranging in age from 50 to 88 years, completed measures of (1) self-reported mental and physical health, (2) nonverbal intelligence, (3) reading…

This document is a compilation of the highlights of brief reports regarding the performance of Philadelphia prekindergarten graduates evaluated by the Early Childhood Evaluation Unit during 1981-1982. Part 1 provides highlights of later effects, i.e., the performance on citywide tests of graduates of four prekindergarten programs (Child Care, Get…

This paper describes the Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model (SEM), developed by psychologists to learn more about stability and change in self-definition. An initial section discusses the situational-motivational processes assumed necessary for individuals to maintain a positive self-evaluation, i.e., a reflection process and a comparison process.…