As an integral part of American life, technology is expected to accomplish a variety of tasks, including promoting the educational development of children. To accomplish this task, technology must deal with the challenge of connecting the two major institutions of learning for children: families and schools. Surveys indicate that while most…

To study how the organization of information affects the way that information is interpreted, a total of 404 undergraduates in two studies (151 and 253 students, respectively) solved statistical reasoning problems based on data presented in a variety of types of graphs and tables. When assessing relative probabilities, students were equally…

This study examines the effectiveness of multiple methods of soliciting attributions. The Attributional Style Questionnaire, specific attributions, and causal dimensions are used to predict the grades and feelings of frustration of college algebra students. The results show that, contrary to current theoretical work, both specific attributions and…

The effects of the school psychological environment on student motivation and the indirect effects of school leadership on student motivation are examined in this report. Path analysis of a comprehensive data set of over 16,000 fourth-, sixth-, eighth-, and tenth-grade students from 880 public schools was used to develop a causal model based on a…

The components of complex domains have dynamic, interdependent relationships that are often unstable. A useful method for representing relationships among elements in complex systems is causal influence diagramming, often described as concept mapping. This study employs the use of software applications, traditional assessment, and case studies to…

Girls consistently out perform boys in mathematics in Hawai'i. Starting from the premise that literacy is a prerequisite for mathematics learning, a causal model was proposed to account for gender differences in mathematics on multiple choice (MC) and constructed response (CR) items in conjunction with the effects of reading and writing. Two…

Nested latent variable causal models were contrasted to compare the relationships of distal family and child and proximal adolescent factors to dropping out of high school in a sample of 194 Euro-American families over 19 years. Dropping out was a multiply-determined process with early influences developing in childhood. (SLD)

Demonstrates an approach that places regression modeling strategies within a specific and well-developed framework for thinking about causality. Focuses on the Catholic school effect on learning. Provides propensity-score matching estimates of the Catholic school effect for the Catholic schooled to supplement estimates obtained by regression…

Examined the effects of parental stress on adolescent adjustment in independent rural and urban samples of intact families with at least one early adolescent male child. Findings showed that parental stress was related to adjustment through stress-related parental depression that, in turn, correlated with disrupted discipline practices. (MDM)

This review essay extends the thesis of Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton, that the continuing cause of the underclass is neighborhood segregation, to cover school segregation. Continuing costs of school segregation, racial tension and white racism, and reinvestment in school integration are also explored. (SLD)

In spite of many inherent problems, impact evaluation should remain an integral part of program evaluation, both because impact evaluation brings its budget justification with it, and because its focus on causal hypotheses is an essential part of evaluation. Methodology based on the author's body of work is reviewed. (SLD)

A content analysis of obituary notices spanning a one-year period. Examined marital and family patterns such as age at marriage, length of marriage, marital status at time of death, and other factors. Single women had the highest average age at death. Patterns were less consistent among men. (RJM)

Examines how control theorists believe behavior results from individuals' internal standards reacting to environmental change. Argues that this belief requires a new research method, a test for the controlled variable, which seeks variables that do not change with a stimulus. Presents features of William Powers' control theory. Suggests sources of…

The relationship between academic self-concept and achievement was examined longitudinally for 46 children at ages 8 and 10. A bidirectional relationship operated between self-concept and achievement. Success attributions to ability were positively related to self-concept and achievement but were not a direct predictor of achievement. (SLD)

Issues the author has explored in his work on the philosophy of statistics are reviewed. Indeterminacy, the place of empiricism, questions of causation and causality, and explorations of language have preceded the study of objectivity. The relationship between objectivity and multivariate statistics is examined. (SLD)