Describes a program called Athletes for a Better Education (AFBE) which is a year-round academic-athletic-counseling program for outstanding high school athletes. It consists of three phases: a summer residential camp; follow-up programs; college placement and culminating activities. Discusses the current collegiate-athletic scandals. (RC)

Proposes human potential seminars on topics such as "study skills" or "library use" as alternatives to traditional freshman orientation courses. Examines the implementation of the seminars at Lurleen B. Wallace Junior College and discusses their effectiveness in improving the self-concept and retention of high-risk students.…

Describes a six-week residential orientation and study skills program for educationally disadvantaged students at Livingston College, New Jersey, which includes mock registration, developmental workshops, content study skills courses, purposeful nonacademic activities, and group counseling, and which is adapted to the needs of a multiethnic,…

Describes a study to extend research of Piaget and Jahoda into children's spatial conceptions. Individual testing and interviewing are discussed. Results indicate differences in rate of spatial stages development of Swiss, Scottish and American children, although Piagets' original theorized stages remain invariate. (Author/AV)

In analyzing the impact of a freshman orientation course, it was found that the greatest impact was in the area of student activities. Students had a high degree of participation in college activities and reported positive attitudes toward the teaching and counseling faculty, other students, and required courses. (Author/HLM)

Discusses a study to establish and compare the perceived importance of 17 of the most regularly identified effective-schools characteristics for school community members in Australia and the United States. Principals, teachers, parents, and students believe that the most critical elements are dedicated and qualified staff, clear school purposes,…

Data collected during new-student orientation on nontraditional-age and traditional-age first-time students indicated more psychosocial similarities than differences between them. Results suggest that first-entry nontraditional students experience some of the same needs and concerns in higher education as do their younger peers. Referrals to…

Describes the Carnegie Middle School (CMS), a North Carolina public charter school that uses the community as the classroom. Examines the school's emphasis on parental support and partnerships with neighborhood business and service organizations, as well as its unique features of accessibility, problem solving, teamwork, goal setting, and life…

Explores teen-initiated communication with parents about same-sex attraction, coming out, and adolescent sexuality. Reports the findings of a qualitative study on teen and parent reactions as well as a number of strategies which emerged that may help maintain healthy relationships in the face of developing sexuality. (Author/SD)

Interviews with seven recent-immigrant Chinese families in Canada examined parental expectations of their children's school performance. Parents' expectations motivated their children to pursue goals with hard work, which enhanced self-efficacy and nurtured good study habits. However, high parental expectations and unwillingness to accommodate…

Notes that few counseling psychologists publish research after obtaining their doctoral degree. Investigated predictors of research productivity and science-related career goals in doctoral students (N=267) from 15 counseling psychology programs. Findings indicate career goals and research productivity can be predicted by Holland personality type,…

Researchers at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) examined preservice physics teachers' motives for attending an orientation course, noting how the motives developed and changed. Periodic surveys indicated that students had five motives, the most important being desire to learn whether they wanted to be secondary teachers (followed by…

Case studies of six young women with learning disabilities revealed three career development phases: unsettled, exploratory, and focused. Phases varied along two dimensions stability of employment and clarity of career goals. Key elements influencing career development included motivation and determination, family support, career exploration…

Examines multiple ways in which the normalization of sexuality might be interrogated. Argues that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered faculty and administrators can more effectively contravene the normalizing practices of heterosexism by refusing to remain silent about issues of sexuality. Includes implications for practicing researchers and…

Based on a recent study, this article asserts that training programs in classroom testing are constrained by classroom management demands (chiefly student resistance to higher order thinking tasks), the curriculum's overemphasis on broad content coverage, a lack of organizational commitment to strengthening the teaching-testing connection, and…