This document consists of three consecutive but unnumbered issues of a newsletter from the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talended (NRC/GT) containing articles on the education of gifted and talented students: "NRC/GT Destination: Around the Corner" (E. Jean Gubbins); "New NRC/GT Studies for Year 5" (on implementing enrichment…

This study examined the metacognitive awareness and perceived attributions for academic outcomes for a population of at-risk college students. Participants in this study were 78 university students who, as a condition of re-admittance to the university, were required to enroll in an academic support course. All participants had a grade point…

Attribution theory supports the notion that teachers respond to student behavior based upon their own beliefs regarding the causation of behavior. This study examined differences in male and female teachers' attributions and beliefs in relation to gender and success of their students. Subjects, 250 high school teachers, half male and half female,…

This paper presents a study that assessed whether attributional retraining is an effective method for enhancing academic achievement in at-risk college students. Attributional retraining was provided to college students (N=198) who had previously performed either poorly or well on a test. Attributional retraining and previous performance (low or…

This study investigated the effects of college students' actual, rather than manipulated, perception of control along with expressive instruction, as they relate to cognitive and emotional aspects of academic achievement. In a simulated college classroom study, 228 male and female introductory psychology students at the University of Manitoba…

This study was conducted to examine attributions that teachers hold for students' academic success and failure, and the relationship between these attributions and teaching level and teacher perceptions of efficacy. Elementary (N=123), middle (N=55), and high school teachers (N=62) were surveyed; attributional data were gathered through the…

School failure in elementary school students from low income families has been a serious problem in Brazilian public schools for many years. A number of studies were implemented in an effort to reduce the incidence of school failure. One set of studies focusing on teachers' causal perceptions revealed a combination of socio-economic determinism…

Undergraduate students in sociology (N=59) and psychology (N=50) participated in a study at a large midwestern university to determine if the pattern of attributional assignment, expectancy, performance, and perceived success was different in these two groups of undergraduates. Prior to taking the first of three exams each student was asked how…

A Jungian psychoanalytic approach, using the unconscious animus/anima archetype, can explain the appeal of the romance novel to women readers through an understanding of how the romance formula fulfills the psychological needs of contemporary women as the struggle for identity in a patriarchal society. The heroine of the romance is attracted to…

Attributions for school success and failure were examined among 112 Native American and 99 Anglo students at a large, urban multi-campus community college system in the Southwest, by using the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale. All subjects were in remedial reading classes; 48% were male and 52% were female. Mean age was 24.1,…

Because intermediate grade students were not working up to their potential, a coordinator of elementary school instruction implemented a practicum to increase students' motivation. In-service meetings were held with six intermediate grade teachers from each of two schools for the purpose of planning techniques and devising activities for…

To measure perceived control in one's communication environment, a study examined the world views of the respondents as reported in a 28-item questionnaire. Subjects, 1,927 men and women composed of students and university personnel, military personnel, executives and managers, high school students and teachers, and members of women's groups, were…

The effectiveness of two alternative attitude change strategies--a traditional persuasive strategy and a combined attributional/persuasive strategy--in altering attitudes toward nuclear disarmament were compared. Seventeen male and 39 female undergraduate students at a small university participated. A nuclear disarmament attitude pretest was…

Written by scholars interested in practical questions, the four articles in this review of research on current topics in child development and early education focus on children's social and emotional development and the impact of various settings and interventions on that development. The first article explores the issue of how compensatory…

Several studies have shown that teachers' locus of control orientations are differentially related to attitudes about teaching and classroom behavior. To investigate the relationship between teachers' locus of control and students' perceptions of classroom climate, academic responsibility, and grades, matched pairs of teachers from grades four…