Steps in the development of intergenerational programs include the following: (1) needs assessment; (2) planning; (3) implementation; (4) assuring program longevity; and (5) establishing a national focus. Detailed description of such stages as facility and site procurement, recruitment, orientation, training, maintenance, and support is provided.…

Lists skills identified by the Leadership Development Task Force as being critical skills for a leader. Discussion focuses on information managing skills, including problem solving, decision making, setting goals and objectives; project management; and people managing skills, including interpersonal communications, conflict management, motivation,…

An innovative orientation program for freshmen at the University of Puget Sound called Passages and Preludes mixes outdoor fun with academic work. They meet in small groups with faculty members who introduce them to college-level reading and writing. For another two days the students hike, sail, fish and canoe. (MLW)

Examines the relationship between completion of a freshman orientation course at the University of South Florida and retention (enrollment during a subsequent semester following completion of the course), academic performance, and graduation. Findings show that course participants performed better on measures of retention and academic performance,…

Seventy-eight adolescents were administered the Career Decision Diagnostic Assessment instrument. Students with mental retardation or learning disabilities scored more poorly than nondisabled students on decision anxiety, tendency to avoid decision making, authority orientation, and luck and fate orientation. The study concluded that students'…

A study examined gender differences in 180 college freshmen's development of purpose, mature relationships, academic autonomy, and relationships with freshman seminar instructors. Results indicate significant differences in male and female students' patterns of psychosocial development. The gender mix in the mentoring dyad also appeared to have…

Discusses ways to help new staff members acclimate and existing staff adjust to new personnel. Explores the role of friendships in staff relationships and suggests 11 strategies for setting the stage for positive employee relationships. (DR)

Two cohorts of children from inner-city elementary schools were provided a paraprofessional tutoring intervention to ease their transition to new schools. Participants had low-income status, lags in achievement tests, and stressful life events. Academic and sociometric follow-up data showed some academic improvements over the next three years but…

Israeli 2nd and 6th graders (n=159) working puzzles in task or ego goal conditions were more likely to request help and to explain help avoidance as motivated by effort toward independent mastery in the task-focus condition. Results clarify the role of motivational factors in academic help seeking. (SLD)

Trends in staff development for camp counselors include using experiential training activities, inviting outside speakers to address staff on topics of concern, and teaching staff about child-related issues. Addresses problems in working with staff and provides suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of staff training programs. (LP)

This study evaluated effects of a multifaceted training procedure on acquisition and generalization of social behaviors of 9 language-disabled deaf children (ages 8-9). The intervention involved child training as well as supervision, feedback, and goal setting by teachers and staff. Results indicated increases in appropriate target behaviors which…

Describes a public library program designed to stimulate appreciation of adult fiction written in and about the contemporary western United States. Discussion covers project objectives, oral interpretation of literature, project phases, study guides and bibliographies, staff orientation, lectures, evaluators, personnel, publicity, problems, and…

A total of 371 adults between 19 and 64 years of age wrote down their goals, concerns, and notions of when their goals would be realized. Goals and concerns reflected the developmental tasks of the adult's particular age. (LB)

This article offers a model of college student integration that emphasizes how students shape their college experiences by pursuing specific life tasks over others. A study of 311 first-year college students found that school persisters tended to focus more on academics during their first semester and social and personal needs during their second…

Studies female engineers' characteristics, how they were socialized into engineering, and coping mechanisms for a male-dominated work world. Interviews with 29 women and 3 men suggest that women choose engineering because of the challenge, interest, and parental influence. Many female engineers experience gender discrimination and problems with…