Objectives: To understand predictors of first-year college adjustment in the context of collective trauma, including a school shooting. Participants: Two consecutive years of entering freshman (Year 1 (Y1) N = 169, Year 2 (Y2) N = 94) were surveyed over time: Y1 in October 2012 and March 2013, and Y2 in October 2013 and August 2014. During Y2,…

Objective: This study investigated variables within the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction (IMBP) as well as differences across socioeconomic status (SES) levels within the context of inconsistent contraceptive use among college women. Participants: A nonprobability sample of 515 female college students completed an Internet-based survey…

This paper estimates technical efficiency scores across the community college sector in the United States. Using stochastic frontier analysis and data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System for 2003-2010, we estimate efficiency scores for 950 community colleges and perform a series of sensitivity tests to check for robustness. We…

In this study, we assess the effects of temporary employment on job satisfaction and the personal lives of recent PhD graduates. Temporary employment is becoming increasingly prevalent in many sectors, but has been relatively common in academia, especially for early career scientists. Labor market theory shows temporary employment to have a…

The prevalence and severity of mental health issues are increasing among college students, and such issues pose a threat to health and academic performance. Purpose: The primary purpose of the study is to examine differences in mental health diagnoses and their related academic impact with a special focus on classification year in college.…

Hierarchical control of skilled performance depends on chunking of several lower-level units into a single higher-level unit. The present study examined the relationship between chunking and recognition of trained materials in the context of typewriting. In 3 experiments, participants were trained with typing nonwords and were later tested on…

Prior research has highlighted the importance of educational achievement throughout school in predicting subsequent progression to higher education in England. However, progress assessments may not only demonstrate students' prior academic achievement but also influence their future achievement. I compare students who have received different…

This study examined how, and under what conditions, teacher clarity (i.e., structure/signaling) impacts student learning. One hundred and forty eight students reported their propensity to approach their studies with a mastery orientation and were randomly exposed to a lesson on persuasion that was either signaled or not. After the lesson, students…

Semantic word representation changes over different ages of childhood until it reaches its adult form. One method to formally model this change is the word maturity paradigm. This method uses a text sample for each age, including adult age, and transforms the samples into a semantic space by means of Latent Semantic Analysis. The representation of…

Universities across the United States (U.S.) are perplexed as to why fewer women than men study engineering and why even fewer complete the curriculum and earn an undergraduate degree in engineering. The percentage of undergraduate engineering degrees awarded annually to women in the U.S. since 2000 has remained relatively constant at around 20%.…

As education seeks to mold itself to fit the demands of the 21st century, STEM education will continue to be an important consideration. The integrated and crosscutting nature of STEM is incorporated into the "Next Generation Science Standards" in which engineering design is raised to the same level as scientific inquiry and is expected…

Research has demonstrated that families are consistently willing to pay more for homes situated in catchments with better quality schools. However, few have considered whether other school characteristics are capable of capitalizing home values in this way. Using data from the city of Chicago, we investigate whether traditional magnet schools may…

This study examines students' exposure to print, vocabulary and decoding as predictors of spelling skills. Participants were 42 college students (Mean age 22.5, SD = 7.87; 31 females and 11 males). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that most of the variance in spelling was explained by vocabulary knowledge. When vocabulary was entered first…

There are many things which can be made more useful and interesting through the application of creativity. Self-concept in mathematics and some school environmental factors such as resource adequacy, teachers' support to the students, teachers' classroom control, creative stimulation by the teachers, etc. were selected in the study. The sample of…

This study employs a cross-sectional design to explore sociology majors' attitudes toward research methods. Survey data from a convenience sample of students enrolled in 16 departments are used to compare the attitudes of students who have and have not completed a research methods course. Despite consistent anecdotal claims that students harbor…