The authors compared service-use patterns and factors associated with service use for 279 boys and 119 girls who met the criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as defined in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV)." The participants had been identified from a nationally…

The "Convince Me" computer environment supports critical thinking by allowing users to create and evaluate computer-based representations of arguments. This study investigates theoretical and design considerations pertinent to using "Convince Me" as an educational tool to support reasoning about public policy issues. Among…

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between such factors as learning style, gender, prior experience, and successful achievement in contrasting modules taken by a cohort of thirty design and technology trainee teachers during their degree programme at a University in the North East of England. Achievement data were collected…

We use quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the links between participation in adult learning and self-efficacy, particularly for the subgroup of adults who had low levels of achievement at school. We focus on self-efficacy because it translates into a range of wider benefits and because it may afford protection from depression and…

Past research on academic achievement has tended to overlook the diversity among Asian American groups and the educational and socioeconomic difficulties that many Asians, particularly Southeast Asians, face. The present study addressed several shortcomings of past research by contrasting parent attachment and discipline, peer delinquency, and…

This study examined the effectiveness of curriculum-focused diversity initiatives on a college campus by determining the relationships between GPA, social class, year in school, residential status, racial diversity courses taken, and cross-racial friendships on the level of social distance between Whites-Blacks, Whites-Hispanics, Hispanics-Whites,…

Purpose: This study examined (a) the extent of genetic and environmental influences on children's articulation and language difficulties and (b) the phenotypic associations between such difficulties and direct assessments of reading-related skills during early school-age years. Method: Behavioral genetic analyses focused on parent-report data…

This study explored the effects of a full-day preschool program on 4-year-old children. The study compared the development of a group of children (N = 403) who attended the preschool program on a half-day basis during the 1999-2000 school year (the last year the half-day program was in place) with the development of a group of children (N = 418)…

In an effort to standardize academic application procedures, the Standardized Letter of Recommendation (SLR) was developed to capture important cognitive and noncognitive qualities of graduate school candidates. The SLR consists of seven scales ("knowledge," "analytical skills," "communication skills,"…

This report contrasts the characteristics of border and nonborder districts in Texas from both a demographic and student achievement standpoint. The information in this report should also inform and strengthen border initiatives, such as those emphasized at the 2006 U.S.-Mexico Border Governors Conference. The study sought to answer three…

This paper investigates the correlation between the quality of instructional design and learning outcomes for early childhood students in the online synchronous cyber classroom. Today's generation of e-learners has access to highly engaging and well-designed multi-media synchronous classrooms. However little data exists on what constitutes…

The study described in this paper outlines an attempt to explore those factors that contribute to learning performance improvement in laboratory instruction. As a case study, the educational methodology involved in a basic microcontroller course was analyzed. Traditional lab sessions based on the control of peripherals with low interactivity have…

This study investigated the degree to which it was possible to identify students who were likely to fail the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Test (ONGPT) from data contained in their academic records. The criterion measure was student scores on the Trial Test of the ONGPT, a measure selected because it provided scores that could be correlated, as…

This paper tested the hypothesis that certain cognitive, affective, and psychomotor variables were significant predictors of college persistence in the first few weeks of the freshman year. Data for the study involved 462 freshmen, with an average age of 18, who matriculated in the fall of 1997 at a public higher education institution; about 93…

This paper discusses problems the author encountered in attempting to conduct a study of teacher motivation as influenced by a combination of participative decision-making and financial rewards. Over a 3-year period, teacher motivation was to be viewed as influenced by two independent variables--participative decision-making and financial rewards;…