Data from a recent study of potential effects of friends' characteristics and friendship features on students' adjustment to school are used to illustrate the distinction between two contradictory assumptions about the path of peer influence. The first assumption, which is linked to the work of Bronfenbrenner, takes a negative view, and focuses on…

This document reports on the qualities of a good urban teacher as perceived by urban early childhood and elementary school teachers in 1988. A review of the educational literature indicates that the characteristics of good teaching reflected the time period in which the teachers lived and were prepared. This study focused on preschool, substitute,…

Conation is a domain of behavior or mental processes associated with goal directed action. Wholistic education stresses an integrated approach to an individual's learning process; thus, consideration of the integration of the four domains (cognitive, affective, psychomotor and conative) can find a receptive niche among educators who seek to…

The effectiveness of noncognitive variables in predicting college grades and persistence for international students over 8 semesters was studied at the University of Maryland, College Park. The Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ), an instrument designed to assess eight noncognitive variables found to be related to academic success for U.S. minority…

The African American woman has commanded widespread public attention, but popular misconceptions of her socioeconomic role and status differ sharply from her actual situation. The following basic characteristics of the contemporary African American woman, drawn from census figures, are outlined: (1) demographically, females comprise a majority of…

The 1980 census was the first census since 1910 to collect extensive data on American Indian tribes. This two-section report is based on the 1980 census sample (approximately 19% of housing units), and contains 27 extensive data tables describing demographic and economic characteristics of U.S. American Indian tribes. Tables estimate 1980 census…

This report describes student technicians who dropped out of postsecondary education courses before qualifying for the New Zealand Certificate of Engineering (NZCE). The exploratory study describes some of the characteristics and progress of the students who dropped out of NZCE studies and investigates the reasons for high dropout among students.…

A study examined how age and the period of adolescence affect communication satisfaction and other organizational variables. Psychological and sociological profiles suggest that there should be differences between three age groups: "Traditionalist," individuals whose adolescence took place during the late 1950s; "New Breed,"…

The socioeconomic characteristics of a generalizable sample of recently displaced farm households in North Dakota were compared with characteristics of a random sample of farmers who were still operating their enterprises in 1985. Data were collected in 1986 by phone and mail surveys from 162 displaced and 752 active farmers. The farm…

This user's guide provides materials on the Career Motivation and Achievement Planning (C-MAP) Inventory for use with ninth and twelfth grade students. Chapter 1 discusses the purpose and uses of this assessment of long-range career commitment, short-range motivation to achieve on a particular task, and level of education and career aspiration.…

The relative influence of selected life history experiences on the development of three vocational types (investigative, social, and enterprising) proposed by J. L. Holland is studied using causal modeling procedures. The lack of explicitness in the developmental postulates of Holland's theory is seen as a major deficiency. Among the principal…

In exploring myths surrounding the development of persons with Down syndrome, this paper discusses briefly the characteristics of Down syndrome, the origins of the myths, the status of the myths in light of current empirical research, and reasons why developmental psychology has clung to some essentially counter-developmental assumptions.…

A study examined the extent and causes of burnout among extension agents in Ohio. From the 241 extension agents working in the 88 counties of Ohio, researchers selected a random sample of 101 agents. Included in the sample were 34 agriculture agents, 33 home economics agents. Included in the sample agents were asked to complete a survey…

This fact sheet reports findings of an investigation of the reported difficulties experienced by federal agencies in retaining career members of the Senior Executive Service (SES). These responses to a mailed questionnaire are highlighted: (1) the most important reasons for leaving are agency-specific (dissatisfaction with top management,…

Because the intervention of a neutral third party is currently gaining favor as an alternative form of dispute resolution, this book explores the process of mediation in the context of managing struggle and examines some of the characteristics of mediators, their training and ethics, and the techniques and skills of good mediation. The theory…