Presents a study that focused on the school subject preferences of 11-12 year old girls (n=144) and boys (n=218) and 15-16 year old girls (n=269) and boys (n=300). Reports that there are gender differences in subject preference, while more traditional subjects were favored. (CMK)

Examines whether a shift in secondary school students' constructions of gender, school subjects, and subject ability has occurred. Explores their statements concerning gender and ability involved in school subjects. Argues there has been a blurring of the gender dichotomy when reviewing favorite subjects versus least favorite subjects. (CMK)

Presents data on trends in the academic job market, placement rates for PhDs inside and outside the academy, and levels of job satisfaction for those with doctorates. Includes samples of information available from the Modern Language Association and a bibliography of print and online publications that they recommend for planning a career in…

Reports on the pilot year of a 3-year research program on developing discipline-appropriate models for computer-enhanced collaborative learning. Focusing on a computer program for collaborative drafting among law students, discusses the program's impact on students, impact on teachers, and instructional design issues. (EV)

Data from German universities suggest that considerable differences in the social composition of the student population by discipline, or group of disciplines, continue to exist, the result of self-selection. Implications are found for gender differences and the role of the academic labor market in students' choice of academic field. (MSE)

Posits the disciplinary context is the locus of legitimate and illegitimate activity in science and scholarship. Compares structural features of sciences and social sciences that influence malpractice rates, type, and detection. These features include research activity, replication and replicability, coauthorship, plagiarism, locus of creativity…

Advocates a shift in vocational education goals to be more like those of liberal education. Proposes a new model that assumes the central focus of vocational education to be the student, its purpose to prepare people for a working life, and its subject matter to be work. (96 references) (SK)

A method for predicting freshman performance based on high school grades allows calculation of any student's likely grades in a similar university course. The method is contrasted with several more traditional predictive methods and examined in a study of 3,734 University of Western Australia students. (MSE)

Explores the need for technical writing instruction for English majors. Reports that English majors entering M.B.A. programs felt unprepared for technical writing and business communication. Argues that technical writing instruction would broaden preservice English teachers' discourse education and their knowledge of the kinds of writing people do…

A national survey of faculty (N=2,311) teaching introductory college courses revealed 10 factors influencing course planning including: discipline-related content, student characteristics, facilities, resources, and campus support services. The strength of these influences differed substantially by discipline but only modestly by institutional…

Analyzes the development of education science based on a research project at the University of Freiburg (West Germany). Uses content analysis to examine doctoral and habilitation theses submitted between 1945 and 1985. Examines the extent to which the processes of differentiation, specialization, and formation processes can be reconstructed on the…

This article discusses the rationale for athletic trainer education and describes a degree option in physical education, exercise science and human performance, created at the University of Toledo. The human performance option includes a track which allows a concentration in athletic training. (IAH)

This article focuses on the epistemological changes evident in twentieth-century educational reform in China. Reflections on linkages between knowledge and modernization, based on sociological literature, are presented. The Chinese knowledge tradition, current changes in the higher education curriculum, and curricular experiments at six…

Responds to four conference papers (same issue; see CS 737 952 to CS 737 955) on the range of tasks confronting administrators of speech departments as they cope with current difficulties and look toward the next decade. Responds from the viewpoints of both the faculty member of a department and a dean or higher administrator. (MS)

A discussion of research needs concerning higher education-industry collaboration in Europe looks at the impact of such collaboration in five areas: institutional autonomy, the status of continuing education, relations between university and non-university education, relationships between basic and applied research, and disciplines not normally…