This collection of eight papers focuses on empirical research and economic analysis related to the economics of supply and demand in higher education. They include: (1) "The University in the Marketplace: Some Insights and Some Puzzles" (Michael Rothschild and Lawrence J. White); (2) "Adolescent Econometricians: How Do Youth Infer the Returns to…

Three papers written by graduate students on educational linguistics are included. These papers represent works in progress by students and professors on topics ranging from speech act analysis and classroom discourse to language planning and second language acquisition. The papers are generally based on research carried out for courses offered in…

To determine the average time students take to complete an associate degree, certificate, or diploma, Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), in Pennsylvania, conducted a study of all 944 students who graduated during the 1991-92 academic year. Data for the sample were gathered related to age, sex, grade point average, academic major, attendance…

To guide the development of teacher education programs at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur (Australia), a "Starting Teacher" questionnaire and the Graduate Career Council of Australia survey were administered to 48 early childhood and 168 primary teacher education students at their graduation ceremony in April 1993. These…

After 3 years of dramatic gains, the average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores for the Wake County (North Carolina) Public Schools stayed essentially level for 1994 graduates. The scores did reflect a one point drop in the average total score, which is not considered significant. The leveling off matches a similar trend for the entire state.…

This book was developed to provide guidance in the process of systematic inquiry in the field of adult education and training. The book contains 11 chapters. It begins with an introduction and overview of the research process, followed by two chapters on how to shape a research problem and conduct a review of the literature that will help to…

A study evaluated the labor market outcomes of individuals with various types of postsecondary educational experiences. In particular, it examined differences among three groups: students who pursued technical education programs; those who pursued academic programs; and those individuals who did not pursue any type of postsecondary education. The…

A discussion of teacher education focuses on how teachers' conceptions of classroom practice are influenced by their participation in a graduate inservice teacher education program. It is based on a longitudinal study following four high school foreign language teachers through an inservice program. Participants were observed in five phases:…

A follow-up study was conducted of students who had attended Olympic College (OC), in Washington, in fall 1990. A questionnaire was sent to a stratified random sample of 647 students, 3 years after their 1990 enrollment. A total of 390 responses were received for a 60.3% response rate. Respondents were divided into the following four groups, based…

The research reported in this paper is a follow-up study of a cohort (N=115) of African American males who attended a predominantly African American suburban school, Metropolitan High School (as it is called here) between 1986 and 1989. Cohort members have reached an average age of 21 years. Their former school district is located in a…

In 1991, a study was conducted to examine historical trends in educational results for both the Associate in Science (A.S.) and the Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree programs at Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC). The results were measured primarily by job placement rates for A.S. graduates and by continuing education status of A.A. graduates. The…

The Commission to Study the Future of Community Colleges in Kentucky was established in 1988 to review the accomplishments of the Kentucky Community College System (KCCS), to assess its current status, and to provide direction for the KCCS towards the year 2000. Developed as part of a collection of reports on the KCCS for use by the Commission in…

What can be learned from the experience of analyzing jobs and testing employees in industry that can help advance the goal of assessing and improving college performance is summarized. It is apparent that grades, the traditional way of measuring college performance, do not explain much about one's performance in employment. There are two areas…

For a national program assessing college graduates to succeed, it must be institutionalized at the majority of colleges and universities in the nation. The information generated must play a clear and key role in formulating state and institutional higher education policy, college matriculation standards, and degree-granting decisions. Such an…

To provide practice in making design decisions, collecting and analyzing data, and writing and documenting results, a professor of statistics has his graduate students in statistics and research methodology classes design and perform an experiment on the effects of fertilizers on the growth of radishes. This project has been required of students…