Found that a text mode of programed instruction and tutorial computer-assisted instruction are equally effective modes of instruction for teaching internally- and externally-oriented preservice elementary teachers (N=81) the integrated science process skills. (JN)

Studies the relationship between video game playing and academic achievement. Compares matched groups of community college psychology students, differing in the amount of their game playing. There were no differences between frequent and infrequent players on measures of psychology class attendance, locus of control, or grade point average.…

Two experiments were performed to examine the process of attributional thinking in Black and White children who differed in social class. Blacks did not display a less adaptive attributional pattern than did whites following actual performance on exams, and no differences existed in children's understanding of the meaning of causes. (Author/LMO)

Determined importance of transition between a student's initial collegiate science experience and the decision to continue in science, and whether reasons students give to explain their success or failure in their first course are related to that decision. Results demonstrate a sense of competence for students who continue in science. (Author/JM)

Explores how families who care for their elderly relatives view their situations, in semistructured interviews with 10 Indian and 10 White caretakers of ill elderly relatives in the rural northwest. Results implied that cultural background influences the meaning of caretaking and that both affect the coping strategies selected. (JAC)

A study was undertaken to determine how individuals at community colleges made sense of organizational change, specifically with respect to the identification of external and internal forces of change. Interviews were conducted with over 200 administrators, board members, faculty, staff, and students at 6 community colleges in the United States…

This study examined the multivariate relationships between teacher efficacy and task analysis variables as predictors of classroom beliefs about control, focusing on these relationships in preservice teachers. Preservice teachers from a required educational psychology course volunteered to participate in the study. They completed three…

Based on national data from Prospects: The Congressionally Mandated Study of Educational Growth and Opportunity, researchers identified individual characteristics that distinguished academically successful, or resilient, third grade students from minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds from their less successful, or nonresilient,…

This study investigated the effect of weekly progress reports on the academic achievement of seventh grade language arts students. It also investigated the effects of weekly progress reports on locus of control attribution and the relationship between academic achievement and locus of control attribution. The study took place in a suburban school…

A two-year evaluative study of a Child Parent Center Compensatory Education Program examined specific program characteristics and parent involvement as they affected achievement, locus of control, and home environment. Based on this quasi-experimental study, the program increased achievement, promoted greater feelings of control, and stimulated…

A study of the effects of television drama on learning of prosocial and antisocial behavior analyzes programs in terms of sex of the actor, apparent motivation for the actor's behavior, and portrayed importance of the action. Results show that the effects on viewers differ according to their sex. (EAO)

Differences in attitudes toward algebra and general mathematics among ninth-grade students were measured to determine both individual personality variables and attitudes toward the learning environment. Students in the upper and lower tracks shared many personal attitudes, but differed in their views of classroom adequacy. (Authors/PP)

The predictive validity of reading attitude, field independence, locus of control, and demographic variables for reading and mathematics achievement was investigated. Expressed Reading Difficulty, field independence, and locus of control all contributed substantially to the regression equation. (Author/CM)

Investigated relationships among college students (N=76) science achievement, engaged time (observed and perceived), personal characteristics of academic aptitude, reasoning ability, attitude toward science, and locus of control. Among the results reported are significant relationships between engaged time measures and achievement, and between…

Investigated possible reflections of teachers' locus of control in their professional attributions in educational situations. Findings based on a random sample of 190 elementary school teachers point to significant differences between high and low scores on the I.E. Scale (Rotter, 1966) in attribution of responsibility in several educational…