The development and validation of the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scales (MMCS) are described. The scales are distinctive because they measure locus of control specific to two goals--achievement and affiliation. Half of the items concern success, and half concern failure experiences. Results of four validity studies with under…

This study of Piagetian formal reasoning in seventh grade students reports the relationships between four aspects of the ability to control variables in an experiment and the relationships between those four aspects and other constructs. The four aspects of the ability to control variables identified are: (1) set up a controlled experiment, (2)…

Life Lab, an alternative educational program stressing self-directed learning at Miami-Dade Community College, is discussed in terms of its development, impact, and student attributes. More than half of the document presents personal histories and opinions of students and staff, alternating with the views of Dr. MacGregor Smith, program founder.…

This segment of the national evaluation study of the Follow Through Planned Variation Model presents an analysis of the longitudinal effects of Follow Through program models and a study of Follow Through children who were identified as being at academic risk. The longitudinal analysis examines three dimensions of program effects: (1) differences…

National studies indicate that remedial or developmental programs in the community college have generally been unsuccessful, resulting in inordinately high attrition rates among nontraditional, low-achieving students. A more appropriate system is individual, learner-oriented instruction. The attempt is to shift the students' orientation from…

A technique was developed to facilitate creating computer-based instruction (CBI) with a minimum of effort on the part of the author/coder, and the feasibility of using a structure which puts control of the lesson strategy into the hands of the student learner was investigated. A model which relieves the author of CBI strategy selection was…

Both papers are concerned with locus of control (of reinforcement) expectancies among young children, especially preschoolers. The first reviews a number of studies which examined the relationship between locus of control, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. The results indicate that (1) economic status is consistently related to locus of…

Sketches the outlines of a life-span perspective on competence development, which focuses on beliefs about one's potential for producing desirable outcomes. The concern is with the nature and implications of individual differences in perceptions of personal agency and likely origins and development of the perceptions in the early years. (Author/BB)

When asked how much freedom they had in determining course content, elementary and secondary teachers in England responded that they didn't have total freedom, nor were they totally restrained. They felt that this was how things should be. The most important factor influencing curricula is aid provided by external professional groups. (Author/RM)

This paper provides a window into Japanese learners' thoughts about what it is necessary for teachers and learners to do in order to foster Japanese learner autonomy--and why Japanese learners would find this so difficult to do. There are numerous student journal and interview excerpts providing interesting insight to what Japanese learners think…

This study investigated whether gender differences exist in the factors thought to influence a person's desire to pursue higher education. A 152-item multiple choice questionnaire, completed by 346 students enrolled at a large university during 1998, was the source of the data. The independent variable was gender; dependent variables were…

Measured the effects of three variations in the use of diagnostic-prescriptive (DP) teaching on the cognitive and affective biology achievement of high school students (N=93). Variations included: (1) no DP assistance; (2) teacher-managed DP; and (3) student-managed DP. Results favor DP approaches. (Author/JN)

Vocational or college-bound students responded to four futures orientation variables (personality, physical well-being, family, and occupation) along several dimensions, including hopes and fears, locus of control, and optimism. The same students took the same survey two years later. Age, sex, and educational status differences were noted. (CP)

Although self-esteem and locus of control orientation differ for American Indian and White children at all educational levels, internality increases with age and is positively related to self-esteem for both groups. American Indian students have a more external orientation and lower self-esteem than White students. (SB)

Investigates boundaries between normal and abnormal psychological profiles among adolescents, particularly on instruments widely used in psychology research and clinical/educational practice. Participants were 117 students from a large, urban city in an outgoing intervention program, with adolescents who were at risk of dropping out of school…