This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 23 titles deal with the following topics: sex appropriate and sex inappropriate language; lexical retrieval and perceptual errors; naming deficits in anomia and aphasia; developmental discourse; pragmatic information and…

The main concern of this report is the nature of the reliance by children on prior native language (L1) knowledge in naturalistic, untutored second language (L2) acquisition. It is suggested that L1 reliance is systematic, in that specific conditions have to be met within the child's L2 development before he or she will, or can, draw on previous…

The demographic characteristics of a sample of New York employed women who perceived that financial barriers would affect their participation in postsecondary education were examined. Reasons these women sought learning experiences, the prices they were willing to pay for the course of interest, and the counseling services wanted were also…

A discussion of current academic issues relevant to general education programs in the State of California is presented in this final report from the Task Force on Education. The history of the Task Force and its mission are included in the introductory statement. A series of brief comments and related recommendations for general education in the…

Narrative text, tables, maps, and photographs present an overview of the Appalachian Regional Commission's (ARC) activities in fiscal year 1978, their past achievements, and goals for the future. The report discusses major accomplishments of 1978: nearly 56% (1700 miles) of the Appalachian Development Highways System was completed or under…

The Alberta High School Social Studies Achievement Tests are described in terms of the procedures used for test construction and analysis of the norming data. The test construction is explained according to a model for the values clarification process in the social studies, and the evaluation models appropriate for assessing the values…

A five-point school subjects attitude scale, based on the semantic differential technique, was developed after two rounds of factor analysis; it contained 24 bipolar adjectives, each representing one of three factors: evaluation, usefulness, and difficulty. The scale was administered to Alberta (Canada) students in grades 5 and 8, who were…

The Educational Forces Inventory (EFI) charts the relative influence of 13 factors on teacher morale and classroom effectiveness. Ten general factors are: school principal; central office administrative personnel; other teachers in the school; parents; prescribed curriculum; testing programs; state legislation; physical facilities; community…

The Swedish-English Contrastive Studies project was begun in 1972 in the English Department of Lund University. The project began with an analysis of errors, of which this is the first report. The approach to error analysis is primarily an attempt to: (1) establish the areas of English grammar, lexis, and phonology which cause difficulty to…

Studies conducted with middle-class balanced bilinguals in "additive" environments, where both languages are prestigious, have generally reported that bilinguals showed a higher level of cognitive performance than monolinguals. In these studies, bilinguals showed higher levels of general intellectual skills, higher levels of divergent thinking, a…

Are our colleges and universities worth what they cost? For generations the American people have thought so. Recently, however, the public has become more skeptical toward higher education and other social institutions. Current knowledge of the consequences of higher education is substantial and is found in a vast literature derived mainly from…

Assessment of the Career Development Credit Course (CDCC), a career planning course, instituted in twenty-one Ontario secondary schools to prepare students for further education or for the labor market is reported in this document. Data reported are based on questionnaires completed by 1,789 sample and control students who have taken the course…

Research suggests that a relatively stable, through small, percentage of children may be consistently conscientious helpers. What differentiates these children from others must become the focus of research in children's helping behavior. The available research on characteristics of helping children is relatively scarce. The purpose of this study…

Faculty from fifteen colleges developed open-ended questions to assess group competence in four areas of learning associated with general education--communication skill, analytic thinking, synthesizing ability, and social/cultural awareness. A secondary purpose was to determine faculty expectations for learning in the general education component…

Results of New Hampshire's first biennial Educational Assessment Program involving 7,500 public school students in grades 5, 9, and 12 are reported. Multiple choice and essay tests were administered in reading, writing, mathematics, state and national history, and government. Instructional assistance--including workshops, suggested classroom…