The classroom environment elicits social comparison behavior in which a student uses peers' performance as a gauge for his own self-assessment. Social comparison as it relates to ability is a four phase sequential process. In phase one, stimulation of social comparison is elicited through developmentally-determined cognitive capacities and motives…

The founding of the Australian system of higher education closely parallels the creation of public postsecondary education in the United States during the nineteenth century. Their subsequent histories reflect a growing recognition of postsecondary education's capacity to shape the economic prospects not only of individuals, but of entire nations.…

What issues do distance education (DE) leaders believe will influence the future of DE? What are their colleges' DE strategies? This qualitative study compares DE strategic thinking and strategic choices at three community colleges. Two propositions are investigated: (1) each college's DE leaders use common strategic mental models (ways of…

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the relationship between the social and the individual as it is enacted in personal learning and the remaking of cultural practices through work. It discusses progress in a two-year study of the work, working lives and learning of 12 individuals: four groups of three employees each. The concept of…

This document describes findings from a survey of the women selected by their companies to receive the TWIN (Tribute to Women and Industry) award given by the Young Women's Christian Association. The women are described in terms of their years employed (the average was 19 years); career development (64 percent promoted within the last 10 years);…

A study sponsored by the Texas Education Agency was conducted to define qualitative and quantitative indicators of school district success. Efforts were focused on: viewpoints of administrators; quality indicators examined in other states; and a review of the literature. Results and recommendations are summarized into the following categories:…

A project conducted in the volunteer program of a county library system in a midwestern city assisted the volunteer coordinator in assessing the library's performance appraisal process for volunteers and in identifying ways to make the process more effective. Factors in performance appraisal which were most applicable and effective to the context…

This study explored adult students' conceptions of good college teaching, with a particular aim to identify characteristics distinguishing their conceptions from those of traditional age undergraduate students. Responses to an open-ended questionnaire were received from 181 respondents whose ages ranged from 25 to 57. Results revealed a relative…

The Doctor of Arts in Community College Education program is administered by the Center for Community College Education at George Mason University, Virginia. Coursework leading to the degree is designed to enable existing community college faculty to become more effective community college teachers and to educate prospective community college…

This presentation reviews the characteristics of the Canadian family at present. Discussion focuses on divorce, family structure, reproductive technology, fertility, family size, family mobility, family support, government role, women's participation in the labor force, daily family routines, television viewing, work and the family, the need for…

This digest provides information on determining the effectiveness of school mathematics programs. The purposes for developing accountability programs and characteristics of good mathematics programs are listed. State goals and objectives and standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics have furthered the production of…

During the Spring of 1989, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction field-tested a geometry proof performance assessment as a component of the High School End-of-Course Testing Program (EoC). The existing geometry EoC test consisted only of multiple-choice items. The performance assessment was added to the multiple-choice component to…

The Management Assessment Center (MAC) of the Dade County (Florida) Public Schools is a unique project, employing multiple techniques to evaluate behavior for school-level administrator personnel selection. This final report of an evaluation deals primarily with issues of the validity and the utility of the MAC. To ascertain validity of the MAC,…

These proceedings contain program highlights as well as 45 papers given during six sessions of the Symposium on Training of Nuclear Facility Personnel. The six sessions are entitled: (1) the training challenge; (2) influences on nuclear training; (3) the human factors--training partnership and factors affecting job performance; (4) current…

This study determined if the relationship between teacher communication style and teacher effectiveness differed for traditional undergraduate students and non-traditional adult learners. Subjects, 192 traditional undergraduate students and 167 non-traditional adult learners, provided teacher communication style and teacher effectiveness ratings…