A survey of 1,250 foreign and local students enrolled at 3 South Australian universities investigated their attitudes about study-related and personal experiences, and issues in student choice of university and subsequent evaluation of the institution. Results indicated that while foreign students experience more problems and more severe problems,…

A sample of 333 8th, 10th, and 12th graders completed a questionnaire measuring their academic motivational orientations through items investigating perceptions of causal attributions and actual causal attributions. Results show a number of gender differences, with girls more likely to attribute failure to lack of ability and lack of effort. (SLD)

This study examined the characteristics of 280 adults who came to an inner-city adult literacy program. Participants were characterized by a wide range of cognitive, academic, and social difficulties; the extent of these difficulties increased dramatically as literacy level declined. Results support the need for comprehensive educational, social,…

Investigated the development among fourth-graders of two-dimensional space concepts within a mathematics unit on grids, coordinates, and rectangles. Found that students' knowledge of grid and coordinate systems related to levels of competence in number sense, spatial-geometric relationships, and the ability to discriminate and integrate the two…

Examined the relationship between maternal psychological functioning and child competence and psychological adjustment among black families with 11-year-old children. Found a chain of influences over a 3-year period in which maternal education and income were linked with maternal psychological functioning, which predicted competence-promoting…

Describes a classroom exercise that uses a computer simulation to give students a rat's-eye view of a maze. The students call out instructions for navigating the maze. A follow-up presentation examines two theories of learning that explain why the students' are successful in their second navigating attempt. (MJP)

Investigated the relationship between Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire scores and kinesthetic acuity--the sense of body position and movement--among 10- and 14-year-olds. Found that in the older group, those with high levels of visual movement imagery performed better on measures of kinesthetic acuity; no such effect was found for…

This article reviews factors affecting the persistent underrepresentation of black students in gifted education and offers suggestions for recruiting and retaining these students. It is argued that a deficit orientation held by educators hinders access to gifted programs for diverse students, and that too often educators interpret differences as…

Investigates two questions: (1) the sex-related differences in Landsat Mastery, road map reading, and map drawing among adolescents and (2) the relationship between spatial ability and mapping skills. Replicates significantly lower female performance on parts of the Landsat tasks. Concludes that spatial ability correlations with mapping are too…

A comparison was made of ability and achievement test results and school grades for 323 pairs of Swedish male and female twins and 740 controls in relation to social background. An interaction effect of sex and social background was found for verbal ability and mathematics test results. (SLD)

The effects of domain-specific and strategic knowledge on analogy performance were studied for 64 gifted and 64 non gifted sixth grade and high school students. Males (n=66) and females (n=62) performed comparably on almost all dependent measures. Implications for instruction and assessment of both types of knowledge are discussed. (SLD)

Discussion of individual learning styles focuses on a study of 13-year-old students in the United Kingdom that investigated the development of a computer-presented test of verbal-imagery learning styles. Ability grouping and test performance results are described, and implications for computer-based training (CBT) are discussed. (six references)…

Examines predictor variables involved in the performance of 152 male and 143 female gifted high school juniors on the Scholastic Aptitude Test in mathematics (SAT-M). Concludes that males demonstrate greater visual-spatial ability which plays a dominant role in SAT-M performance. (FMW)

For 241 normal and 132 gifted fifth graders and 113 normal and 117 gifted seventh graders in Ottawa (Ontario), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses investigated the factorial validity of the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (PCSC). Overall, the PCSC demonstrated sound psychometric properties. (SLD)

The relationship between gender and performance on mathematics items varying in level of cognitive complexity and content was assessed, using 1,789 female and 1,951 male Thai adolescents and 2,040 female and 1,884 male American adolescents. Data suggest that performance relative to both cognitive complexity and content is related to gender. (TJH)