Teachers in a small high school nominated students whose classroom behavior facilitates or inhibits (disrupts) the learning process. These two groups were compared on locus of control, Maslow motive hierarchies, attitudes toward crime prevention, and achievement. Results are discussed and suggestions for helping disruptive students are made. (SJL)

Presents psychoeducational information about four racial groups of gifted high school students, identified by a nontesting method. Results indicated these students had higher self-concept scores, and higher internal locus of control scores. Racial status appears to have little effect when social position dimensions are controlled. (JAC)

Data on perceived sense-of-power and perceived threat-of-sanction, gathered from a probability sample of 129 Detroit suburban teachers through questionnaires and interviews, indicate both the principal and superintendent are perceived as controlling curriculum decision making. Teachers feel that they should be major curricular influence, but it is…

Discusses the significance of two psychological variables (internal and external control) on Black civil rights in the last century. Identifies three eras: Colored-external, Negro-internal, and Black-external-internal. Reviews civil rights tactics for each era and also examines poetry as a reflection of the ideology of the times. (Author/GC)

Teacher personal control was investigated by comparing the responses of teacher trainees with those of practicing teachers. The responses of teachers with more than five years experience indicated a significantly higher sense of personal control than either teacher trainees or teachers with less than five years experience. (Author/JN)

Goal setting is examined as an influence on student learning and self-evaluation. Goal setting results in increased motivation, on-task behavior, effort, and persistence and conveys information concerning individual performance capabilities and personal accomplishments. (JN)

Cites results of a study that assessed the effects of diagnostic prescriptive teaching strategies and locus of control on various cognitive levels of science achievement of college biology students, also examined the interaction between the instructional strategy and students' locus of control. Students' attitudes were also examined. (CS)

Achievement and locus of control data were gathered the first week of first grade, and seven months later, for middle- and lower-socioeconomic status (SES) children. While middle-SES children experienced greater achievement gains, lower-SES students increased in internal control. Results suggested that internal control contributed to achievement.…

A survey of the self-esteem, sex-role orientation, and perceived spouse support of women returning to work or school revealed that the first two factors were not related to the actual support received. Although most respondents felt that they had spouse support, they still perform essentially traditional domestic roles. (SK)

An empirical investigation of the optimum amount of teacher intervention in experience-based education was conducted. Teachers trained in the Mini-Society Instructional System kept journals of their roles and students' roles. It was concluded that nonintervention was the most effective teaching strategy. (Author/MH)

The Prisoner's Dilemma Game and locus of control measures were administered to eighth graders enrolled in an open or closed space school. Open-space students developed cooperative interdependence and made seating choices indicative of anticipated peer interaction most frequently. Interactions involving sex and race were obtained for cooperation…

Provides findings in support of the assertion that learned helplessness has been inadequately substantiated as the explanation of previous research results. (Author/RL)

Reports on a study that used a national dataset to support or disconfirm research regarding parental involvement with, and control over, various aspects of high school seniors' lives. Findings support the contention that parental involvement and parental control are conditional on one another in predicting adolescents' locus of control. (RJM)

Examines the issue of speech rate and listening comprehension by giving control of speech rate to students and focusing on individuals instead of groups. The study concluded that when given control, students' listening comprehension improved and improved listening comprehension was achieved by slowing down the speech rate. (21 references)…

Factors keeping teachers "in the box" of traditional education are the physical and psychological environment, the moral setting, and staying true to the discipline. "Out of the box" teaching is experiential, student-centered, interdisciplinary, and cooperative. Each way of teaching leads to a particular way of knowing.…