Interest in the relationship between self-image and occupational choice and concern over the low representation of women and minorities in science provided the impetus for this study of 2,442 high school and junior high school students. Self-image ratings were examined with respect to the student's interest in taking science courses. Particular…

A rethinking of the definition of excellence is called for. It is suggested that a definition of excellence must go beyond narrow issues and include attention to the nature of the teacher, the subject matter that needs to be transformed and communicated, and the diversity of learners. Upon this triad of concerns, educators are challenged not to…

This document presents a statistical profile of minority women in science based on unpublished 1980-81 data from the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, and from the Scientific Manpower Commission. Areas examined include numbers of minority scientists and engineers, academic degrees, secondary and college participation,…

School environments conducive to equal status relations appear counter-productive to assimilation, according to a study of the relationship between school status characteristics and assimilation levels achieved by Hispanic sixth graders. A prior study provided data for this research from 10 desegregated elementary schools in California regarding…

This study examines factors that determine the enrollment of black students in the high school math courses (i.e., advanced algebra, trigonometry, calculus) that are necessary for competitive college and major field access. The data are from a local college survey of juniors and seniors who were enrolled in eight (8) local public and private…

As part of the TV Ontario Telidon and Education Field Trials, a study was made of the application of the Telidon videotex systems to computer-assisted learning (CAL), including the future directions of these applications and differences in achievement between advanced and general-level students. Subjects were 129 middle- to upper-middle,…

Responses from a national survey of engineers were used to compare background and career characteristics of male/female engineers (N=1961) differing in number of years since completing the bachelor of science degree (5 or less, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20 years). Findings indicate that parents of women engineers were more likely to hold college degrees and…

Cigarette smoking is a behavior with profound biomedical and psychosocial consequences across the life span. Although it is advertised in terms of youth, beauty, sexual appeal, success and independence, smoking is intimately linked with addiction, disease and death. Smoking has been shown to be a leading contributer to several kinds of cancer,…

Sex differences in faculty members' use of and evaluation of sabbaticals and leaves taken at a large research university were examined. Attention was directed to sex differences in two faculty programs: a competitive leave program, established in 1954, which awards faculty a leave for one quarter at full pay; and a noncompetitive sabbatical…

To determine whether social forces have changed the attitudes of rural women or whether the cohesiveness of the rural family unit produces such strong attitudinal transference that attitudes do not change, researchers studied the attitudes of three generations of women in Dawes County, Nebraska. The study was distinctive because it covered more…

This report presents some of the results of two national surveys which assessed the performance of 13-year-old students in science. It includes an outline of the assessment framework; some of the questions which were written to match it; a description of how well, and how differently, students responded to the questions; and suggests how the…

In a multicultural study involving three ethnic groups, an attempt was made to evaluate features of an infant's developmental niche in the context of immigration. Four dimensions are reported: (1) parental beliefs about child development; (2) aspects of the baby's physical and social environment, including number of caretakers, crowding of the…

This paper describes selected experiences of Korean-American students and students with a Korean heritage from other countries who live and study at the undergraduate level in Korea. Korean-American students' search for their roots and the process of cultural values clarification are examined, with particular emphasis on identifying cultural…

The standardization method of determining differential item functioning (DIF) is not acceptable for detecting biased items because of its methodological limitations. The main problems with the standardization index by N. J. Dorans and E. Kulick (1983) are: (1) it does not detect as DIF all items with large or aberrant group differences; (2) it…

Some research suggests that sources of social support change through the lifespan. Given that the support network changes because of both the individual's needs and the particular life stage of the individual, peer relationships may emerge as crucial sources of emotional support at different times in the lifespan. This study examined friend and…