Guidelines regarding self-efficacy assessment are highlighted in the first section of this paper. In the second section, the issue of specificity versus generality of measurement is clarified. And last, preliminary results of a study of eighth graders (n=172) are presented which demonstrate that: (1) the optimal level of specificity of any…

A study of junior high schools (MacDonald 1995) found that students and administrators held significantly different perceptions regarding the nature, extent, and management of violent behaviors. This paper presents findings of a study conducted 1 year later that more thoroughly examined students' perceptions of the effectiveness of current school…

An advocate of the Natural Approach to second language instruction discusses problems associated with error correction, highlighted in her personal experience when she visited Italy to explore her heritage and use her Italian language skills. After requesting to have her errors corrected by a native-speaking friend, the visitor experienced great…

This paper describes the status of the standards movement in relation to the middle grades and in terms of the policy context of the 1990s. It also outlines the potential of standards-guided reform at the middle level. By the early years of the 1990s, two key assumptions characterized the new wave of proposed reforms: that schools needed to…

A study reviewed the data on three innovative San Diego, California Unified School District programs: the Reading Recovery program, Turning Point project, and the Hispanic Reading project. The Reading Recovery Program is an intensive, individualized program focused on improving first-grade student reading skills, serving approximately 80 students…

This paper reports on a study that asked six groups (totalling 175 third-year medical students), before taking their surgery clerkship, to make predictions about their experiences in the clerkship. For male students, those in the high-expectation group had records of consistently higher mean academic performance in their first 2 years of medical…

An exploratory study examined teachers' perceptions of students' motivation to read and the relationship between those perceptions and students' reading achievement. Focus groups of third- and fifth-grade teachers were convened and given an initial questionnaire. A second questionnaire based on those findings was developed and field-tested with…

This study involved a cross-cultural analysis of exemplary teachers' dispositions and the philosophical beliefs that underpinned and informed the ethical dimension of their roles. Four exemplary secondary teachers from each of three countries (England, Ireland, and the U.S.) participated. Participants completed a pre-interview survey then engaged…

This study examined motivational determinants of academic delay of gratification (ADOG) with 196 undergraduate college students at a large midwestern university. Students completed the academic delay of gratification scale, in which students are presented with 10 hypothetical situations and they indicate their preference among options offering…

North Carolina is implementing a new accountability model, the ABCs (Accountability, Basics, and local Control) model. As a beginning examination of the implementation of this model, the Department of Public Instruction studied 11 high-poverty schools that demonstrated success in moving students up the state's Achievement Levels on the…

This study used systematic, direct observation of classes over 2 years to investigate whether physical education (PE) teachers' habitual physical activity related to their conduct of PE classes. Participants were 18 fourth and fifth grade classroom teachers employed in a California school district where classroom teachers typically were…

In 1997, Governor Terry Branstad appointed 14 Iowa citizens, educators, and leaders to a special commission to create a vision and roadmap for the state's prekindergarten through 12th grade educational system. Working groups assisted the commission by addressing issues and drafting recommendations in four key areas: high expectations for students,…

This participant observation study describes how one beginning, bi-lingual, Puerto Rican, elementary art teacher instructs a class of Puerto Rican, inner-city children. The study concentrates on the types and frequency of teaching behaviors that occur for a beginning teacher; cultural perspectives that affect instruction, content selection, and…

The role expectations of older female students and younger, less experienced female students were compared in a study. It examined the relationships of demographic, academic, and sex role orientation factors to role expectations expressed by two groups of college women. Participants were 46 women volunteers enrolled in a women's college either at…

Following a brief introduction, five reports, books, and articles that examine the issues of engendering, maintaining, or regaining student motivation are summarized. While some offer specific strategies that can be used at the classroom level, others address issues beyond the classroom, recognizing that schoolwide policies and practices can also…