Discusses the outcomes of an investigation into the motives and appreciation of autonomous language learners among students and staff of the Department of Individual Foreign Language Studies at the University of Amsterdam. The results showed so much variety that any conclusions or correlations were hard to make. (Author/SED)

Discusses survey of 1,441 lower sixth-form Northern Ireland students which explored attitudes toward computing and computers, aspirations towards computer-related careers, and attitudes toward programming and game playing activities. Statistical tests were applied to results to identify overall trends and assess significance of boy-girl agreement…

This 12-article theme section addresses public relations (PR) in junior and senior high school libraries. Topics covered include effective PR events, library advisory board open to students, library patron questionnaire, newsletters, communicating with administrators, marketing ideas, Library People (a junior high school club), and promotion based…

Tested a model of uncertainty reduction derived from Berger and Calabrese's theory of initial interaction. Concluded that the model appears to be a reasonable fit to the data on communication in interpersonal relationships among college students in Japan, Korea, and the U.S. (PD)

This study was designed both to determine if patrons are able to discern differences in library performance and to investigate relationships between patron evaluation and use of public libraries. Highlights include study procedures, instrumentation, data collection, results of data analyses, and interpretation of results. Eighteen references are…

Some of the most commonly available and widely used tests and questionnaires relevant to campus assessment programs in subject areas, attitudes and satisfaction of students and former students, and other outcomes areas are listed. (MSE)

The differences between "persisters" and "leavers" in relation to their goals of attending college, and the effects of social and academic intergration, associated with institutional commitment is described. Implications of the research for student services are presented. (Author/MLW)

A form is presented for language teacher self-evaluation concerning attitudes and knowledge about learning theories, general linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, teaching methodology, the communicative approach, class activities, class management, instructional support, and evaluation. (MSE)

Describes a study in which 46 high socioeconomic status elementary and secondary children were exposed to Logo and Bank Street Writer at a computer camp. After exposure, children 12 and under minimally shifted toward an internal locus of control as measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children. (Author/MBR)

The TESOL (teaching of English to speakers of other languages) sector in New Zealand is rapidly developing into a major educational service industry. Despite their growing national importance, little is known about the performance of the English language centres (ELCs) that constitute the industry. This study investigated levels of client…

The chemical content knowledge of secondary science teachers is seldom measured directly in developed countries as there are practical, ethical and political problems involved that would be likely to be insuperable. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the author assisted in some of the work involved in the second IEA Science Study (SISS), where the PNG…

"ARL Statistics 2003-04" is the latest in a series of annual publications that describe collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities for the 123 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Of these, 113 are university libraries and 10 are public, governmental, and nonprofit research libraries. Data reported by…

Regardless of how well your students are scoring on standardized math tests, test scores can't tell you which aspects of your program are moving students from proficient to advanced and why some students are falling behind. To get a total picture of math learning, hundreds of schools in urban, suburban, and rural districts use the detailed,…

One of the most significant factors, determining effectiveness of any organization is an optimal management of the system, which is perceived as a social organization. Otherwise strategy errors in management potentially undermine the whole system of the organization. Assuming that management based on authoritarian relations may illusionary create…

What are the factors that made college studies easier or more difficult for students with and without disabilities? What are the obstacles and what are the facilitators? These are the questions we investigated in a sample of 74 students with disabilities (excluding students who only reported having a learning disability) and to 154 students…