A peer nomination assessment of 5 domains of children's competence was administered to 1,249 elementary school students. Factor analysis revealed two positive and two negative factors. Results indicate the structure of peer's perceptions of children's competence, and justify use of the measure to complement other methods of evaluation. (SLD)

An epistemological questionnaire assessing student beliefs about simple knowledge, certain knowledge, quick learning, and fixed ability to learn was administered to more than 1,000 high school students. Results demonstrate some epistemological development during high school and suggest that epistemological beliefs predict grade point average. (SLD)

Used new administration procedure of Self Description Questionnaire to assess dimensions of young children's self-concept in a multicohort-multioccasion study. Found that the scale's reliability and stability improved with age and from one year to the next. Gender differences were stable over age. Time 1 teacher ratings contributed to the…

Discusses the major findings of the 1988-89 study that investigated the impact of school library media centers on academic achievement in Colorado public schools. Highlights include research methodology; the effects of staff size, collection variety, funding, and library media specialists' instructional role; and suggestions for further research.…

Examined the underlying factor structure of a rating scale to assess perceived barriers and supports for early childhood inclusion. Identified a single support factor and three barrier factors with adequate internal consistency: (1) program quality; (2) community resources; and (3) coordinating and integrating services for children with…

Two studies of second graders at risk for reading disability, which were guided by levels of language and functional reading system theory, focused on reading comprehension in this population. In Study 1 (n = 96), confirmatory factor analysis of five comprehension measures loaded on one factor in both fall and spring of second grade. Phonological…

The relations between motivational constructs, effort, self-efficacy and worry, and statistics achievement were investigated in a sample of 360 undergraduates in Malaysia. Both trait (cross-situational) and state (task-specific) measures of each construct were used to test a mediational trait (r) state (r) performance (TSP) model. As hypothesized,…

The relationship between university students' perceptions of their academic environment, their approaches to study, and academic outcomes was investigated for first and fourth-final year students. The responses of 88 first and 92 fourth year students were analysed using a path analysis model. Students' perceptions of the learning environment were…

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a team-referent attribution scale. Conducted over three studies, Study 1 modified items from McAuley, Duncan, and Russell's (1992) Causal Dimension Scale II by rewording items to reflect team attributions and adding one item per factor. This led to the development of a 16-item scale (Causal…

This study compared retrospective reports of childhood sexual and physical abuse as assessed by two measures: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which uses a Likert-type scaling approach, and the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI), which employs a behaviorally specific means of assessment. Participants included 1,195…

To examine the utility of a self-report scale of sexual assault trauma, 223 female victims were interviewed with the 43-item Sexual Assault Symptom Scale II (SASS II) at 1, 3, 7, 11, and 15 months postassault. Factor analyses using principal-components extraction with an oblimin rotation yielded 7 common factors with 31 items. The internal…

The purpose of this study was to describe the practice motivation and regulation of sixth-grade instrumentalists (11-12 years of age). A sample of 224 US band and orchestra students, representing 85 elementary schools, completed a 36-item practice inventory and produced two narratives depicting a typical practice session and a practice episode…

This article reports the validity and use of a new form of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES). As part of a larger study, a comparative student version (CLES-CS) was developed to evaluate the impact of an innovative teacher development program (based on the Integrated Science Learning Environment, ISLE, model) in school…

In this study, the author tested the reliability, concurrent validity, and predictive validity of three hemispheric cognitive style instruments: (a) the Preference Test (PT; R. Zenhausern, 1978), (b) the Polarity Questionnaire (PQ; B. E. Morton, 2002), and (c) the Wagner Preference Inventory II (WAPI II; R. F. Wagner & K. A. Wells, 1985).…

Background: The paradox of relying on routines and standard practices, which protect institutional functioning from the vagaries of personality, often comes at the cost of thoughtful adaptability. Purpose: The objectives are to conceptualize and apply the construct of mindfulness to schools and to explore trust as a school condition that fosters…