Applied goal setting, responsibility training, and fixed ratio reinforcement to three classes of students with emotional disturbances in public elementary school. Data for 10 months indicated that goals were consistently earned at high levels; percentage of students attaining higher responsibility training levels progressively increased; and…

Research documents that attributions of failure resulting from lack of ability result in less punishment from others than do ascriptions to lack of effort. This paper provides a conceptual analysis of these empirical findings, guided by a taxonomy of causal thinking. Process and functional understandings of achievement strivings are distinguished.…

Secondary marketing students (n=144) completed the Group Embedded Figures Test and Educational Style Preference Inventory. Gender differences were found in information processing strategies and on 12 of 19 conative variables representing the way moods and emotions act as filters to produce selective attention. These differences could be most…

Advises beginning school financial officers to know their own limits and capabilities; review district records, prior years' audit reports, financial statements, and budget documents; examine board of education policy; establish a calendar of events; keep their staff informed; and develop information contacts. They should also pursue continuing…

Examined how the nature of spatial relations influences children's ability to remember relations between progressively larger landmarks and spatial regions. Found that when asked about the location of an object, children clearly understood that they should provide the landmark with which the object was positioned. However, referential…

This article offers suggestions from the University of Redlands (California) and other universities on improving Alumni Board Handbooks. Considered are seven basic elements of the handbook; possible additions (such as a glossary of alumni-related terms and sample fund-raising letters); and the need to consider format, method, and cost in handbook…

Examined moderating effect of goal instability on benefits of components of perceived social support on entering first-year college students' (n=198) academic and personal adjustment. Found significant interaction between goal instability and two components of social support: appraised and belonging. Findings have implications for the role of goal…

Investigated effects of sexual orientation similarity of counselor and client and counselor experience level on perceptions of counselors by 40 gay men and 40 lesbians. Results indicated that lesbians rated experienced therapists, both lesbian and heterosexual, as more expert; there were no other significant main or interaction effects. (Author/NB)

Four major areas (office traffic, the telephone, organization, and discipline) consume much of a school administrator's time. Because principals of small and rural secondary schools do not always have adequate personnel support, planning a daily calendar, setting priorities, and delegating to other administrators and staff are essential…

In many corporations, relocation specialists provide support services to families in transition because of job transfer. Helping teens and children with adjustment and orienting the family to the new community are among the services rendered. (SK)

Orientation programs can familiarize new teachers with their responsibilities and help them survive their first few months in the classroom. One such program involves six sessions, each devoted to a broad topic: key people, facilities, organizational structure and expectations, student policies, teacher policies, and resources. (MLH)

Beginning middle-level teachers face numerous challenges, including becoming productive team members, designing and implementing interdisciplinary instruction units, serving as effective student advisors, and developing consistent disciplinary models. A formal mentoring programs can help beginning teachers meet these challenges and develop…

Describes Dade County (Florida) Public Schools' evaluation of its 1991-92 Professional Orientation Program. Generally, the program's major components were being implemented appropriately. Beginning teachers were favorably impressed with the support teams and the program itself, except for the training videotapes and enrollment paperwork. The…

Describes a California high school English class's creation of various authentic learning activities to bring Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" to life. For any activity to be perceived as genuine, students must be able to apply what they are learning to their lives; there must be a goal worthy of students' and teachers' commitment and…

A high school student who won $74,000 in scholarships offers her peers five guidelines for finding, competing for, and winning college scholarships, including taking challenging courses; being involved in school and community activities; and having application essays proofread and critiqued. Thirteen scholarship programs in the areas of social…