Since 1958, the National Research Council has gathered information on doctoral recipients. This information, available annually in data tape form to supplying institutions, offers an opportunity to improve understanding of progress toward the doctorate and the way it relates to discipline, finances, gender, and age. (Author/MSE)

This study surveyed 228 students at 4 institutions of higher education in South Wales about their educational debt, finances, employment, and reason for pursuing higher education. It found that although 69% of them had not taken out loans, nearly a third of those who had taken out loans had debt levels above 1,000 pounds. (MDM)

This article identifies several national developments that have focused renewed attention on promoting young people's health through schools, highlighting relevant National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) initiatives, and summarizing 12 recent NHLBI-funded studies of children and adolescents focusing on developmental stage, gender, and…

This study tested the impact of combining mass media interventions with school smoking-prevention programs. Students in two communities received combined interventions over four years, while students in two other communities received only the school program. Periodic surveys indicated that the combined interventions had a significantly greater,…

Examined differences in perceptions of relationships in preadolescence, early adolescence, midadolescence, and late adolescence. Findings were largely consistent with seven propositions derived from major theories of the developmental courses of personal relationships. Discussion centers around the role that various relationships are perceived as…

Reviews the research illustrating the wide-ranging benefits of open-ended computer programs such as LOGO. Considers the ways in which these programs develop young children's subject-matter knowledge and problem-solving and socioemotional competencies. (BB)

Five boys and five girls each in grades one through six (n=60 students) asked controversial questions in interviews, recognized the lack of social consensus on the controversial topics and made subtle distinctions between controversial and noncontroversial topics. Implications for discussion of controversial issues in the classroom are discussed.…

Explores academic self-efficacy of 382 male and 319 female Chapter 1 elementary school students using the Self-Efficacy for Academic Tasks scale. Factor analyses reveal no sex differences in factor structure. Verbal skills and compliance explain 66 percent of the covariation. Efficacy beliefs decline between second and fifth grades. (SLD)

Relative fits of 3 factor-structure models of adolescent reckless behavior were examined using the 10-item Reckless Behavior Questionnaire with 1,357 college and 181 high school students. Both one- and two-factor models were found to be satisfactory representations. Implications of a study of construct validity are discussed. (SLD)

A hierarchical modeling approach is used in studying the predictive validity of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination, a key aid in selecting students for secondary education. Results from 51 schools indicated a modest predictive validity for the examination, with school and student characteristics influencing results. (SLD)

This study of 28 girls (ages 2-19) with Rett Syndrome found profound handicaps in the intellectual and adaptive areas, according to standardized tests. Subjects seemed capable of learning some self-help skills at a basic level. The Cattell Mental Age was significantly negatively correlated with chronological age. (JDD)

A study of the employment experiences of recent education graduates of the University of Alberta (Canada) suggested that teaching jobs were in short supply. Only 62 percent found full-time employment, although 86 percent sought teaching jobs. Job location, age, and extent of job search emerged as important influences on employment status.…

A total of 318 students in preschool, kindergarten and first grade used the Primary Grade Pupil Report to report on their teachers. Preschool students' reports on teachers were more negative than those of kindergarten and first grade students. Factor analysis identified different significant factors for the two groups. (Author/BB)

Findings from 2 studies with 179 male and 158 female Israeli early adolescents and 97 male and 183 female Israeli university students show that male self-esteem is predicted significantly by masculine self-image (SI), female self-esteem is predicted by nonstereotyped SI, and feminine SI significantly predicts the self-esteem of neither gender.…

The effects of early versus synchronous onset of puberty and dating on the eating attitudes and behaviors of 79 sixth- and eighth-grade girls were compared. Girls with synchronous onset had higher scores on the children's version of the Eating Attitudes Test and greater body dissatisfaction. Implications are discussed. (SLD)