A survey of 186 Mississippi social workers investigated attitudes toward poverty and the poor. Results show a relatively positive attitude, particularly among older and more experienced professionals. Discusses findings related to type of social work practice, level of educational attainment, licensure status, and political orientation. (MSE)

Reports on two studies addressing the issue of ultimate attainment of pronunciation by late second-language learners. Findings indicate that it is not impossible to achieve an authentic, nativelike pronunciation of a second language after a specified biological time. The article argues that certain learner characteristics and learning contexts may…

Notes study of interviewer influence on the moral judgment of children from New York City and Recife, Brazil, which found that heteronomy was influenced by the social interaction context. Discusses this influence in terms of the concept of heteronomy, adult-child relations and interaction, and cognitive uncertainty. (KB)

Two experiments examined the relationship between reasoning skills, student grade, ability, and knowledge levels. Findings were interpreted in terms of a two-component model: a knowledge-experiential component and the conventions of reasoning. Results indicated that consideration of the relation of reasoning to learning and to instruction…

A study of employment patterns and starting salary gaps among male and female business graduates during the 1980s found that while both employment conditions and earnings improved for women, the gender gap in starting salaries increased during the decade. Of college-acquired student characteristics, only academic achievement persisted as a…

A study of 118 adult women students, with children, in 3 Australian universities found 3 major factors in withdrawal: socioeconomic class (lack of family support for mother's study, lack of money, domestic responsibilities, lack of needed skills); nontraditional major (economics, business, law); and age (younger students because of family or…

Tested the basic hypothesis that failure experiences at school increase the likelihood of aversive parent-child interaction after school. Subjects were 254 elementary school students. Found that children who rated more academic failure events at school described parents as more disapproving after school, but this effect was only partially mediated…

Two studies explored employment age discrimination for public school teachers. Principals nationwide evaluated hypothetical teacher candidates with different ages and focal positions. Screening decisions had a disproportional impact for older individuals seeking positions with perceived higher physical activity levels. Age discrimination did not…

Replicates the Asch conformity experiment (two participants pretend to misjudge a shorter line for a longer one in an attempt to influence a third participant) and applies it to 110 school children ages 3 to 17. Indicates that conformity decreases with age in perceptually ambiguous tasks. (MJP)

Factors associated with children's attitudes towards persons with physical and intellectual disabilities were examined in a meta-analysis of 20 studies spanning the years 1990-2000. Factors included: attitudinal components, type of disability, age and gender of respondents, and role of inclusion. Children preferred target children without…

Similes and metaphors were extracted from over 2,000 papers by students in grades 4, 8, 12, and the third year of college to study the effects of age, grade, sex, mode, and writing competence on these figures of writing. Students worked with more abstract forms as they grew older. (SLD)

A survey of 8,383 full- and part-time faculty was conducted by the U.S. Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics. Attitudes about work, workload, allocation of workload and earned income were examined. The new information, combined with the Carnegie survey, suggests an improvement in the conditions of the faculty. (MLW)

A study of Norwegian researchers revealed substantially different patterns in age and research productivity in the social sciences, humanities, medicine, and natural sciences. It is suggested that discrepancies arise from differences in the development of scientific disciplines, particularly the speed of knowledge production and technological…

Presents results of a study designed to measure the extent to which factors including age, sex, and previous experience with computers influenced the levels of anxiety experienced by teachers and school administrators learning to use computers. Results indicate that beginning adults require adequate time working with computers to lower anxiety…

Explored child-parent relationships and parents' (N-1,502) psychological well-being through analysis of structural and demographic correlates of parent-child relationship quality and child-rearing demands and through implications of relational quality and demands for parents' psychological well-being. Found age and divorce status strongest…