Suggests that the Catholic schools presents a very natural environment in which young black men and women can be encouraged to consider a life of service and commitment to the church and their community. (Author)

Jesse Jackson talks about the state of public schools. (Editor)

Causal attributions of a person actually experiencing a success or failure (the actor) and someone who read about the situation (the observer) were compared. Results supported Jones and Nisbett (1971). (Editor)

French instruction in Nigeria is plagued by lack of qualified teachers and a high dropout rate. A comparison of students' and teachers' views on dropout indicated several problems; poor examination results; lack of interest and opportunity to use French; poor language aptitude, poor teaching, and pressure of other school subjects. (CHK)

The viewpoints of Arrington and Jerry L. Modisette regarding Wilbert J. McKeachie's previously published article on grading are offered with a reply by McKeachie. Variations in standards, the motivational value of grades, and nonacademic influences on grades are considered. (LBH)

Examined whether supplemental instruction offered to first-year medical students reduced the number of examination failures. Significant increases in mean test scores were achieved by at-risk students admitted to the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1994 who participated in the Medical Scholars program, compared with similar…

Differences in the motivational beliefs of 154 Asian American and 372 non-Asian ninth graders were studied. Asian Americans' fear of the consequences of academic failure best explained their performance, but this variable least explained results for non-Asian students. Fear of academic failure was a better explanation for Asian Americans than were…

Difficulties with selecting a coordinator for Delaware's newly approved RE:LEARNING pilot project foreshadowed later obstacles to achieving planned reforms. Unlike other states, communities, and schools, Delaware schools were not seen as desperate enough to need comprehensive reforms. Affluent parents upheld the status quo, and state officials…

Identifies four causes of the public's skeptical attitude toward public education and needed remedies. The news media must paint a more balanced picture of public education. Educators must explain what they are doing and engage the public in productive conversation. Civility must be returned to educational discourse. We must agree as a nation…

The cause of school and marriage failure is that most people practice stimulus-response psychology. Choice theory helps nurture the warm, supportive human relationships that students need for school success and couples need for marital success. Satisfying four basic psychological needs (for belonging, power, freedom, and fun) helps humans create…

Discusses academic failure and the role of curriculum design in either intercepting or exacerbating learning difficulties. Evaluates changing student demographics and the diverse needs of students, and reviews the principles of effective curriculum design, including big ideas, conspicuous strategies, mediated scaffolding, strategic integration,…

A hierarchical linear model analysis investigated the effects of structural and normative features of schools on absenteeism and the probability of dropping out. Subjects included 4,450 sophomores in 160 Catholic and public high schools from the High School and Beyond 1980 cohort. (SLD)

Some segments of the business community have lost patience with schools that fail to prepare disadvantaged and low-achieving students for work. Critics cite declines in test scores, higher costs, and bloated bureaucracies. Offers 17 ways to improve school performance. (MLF)

Causal ascriptions for anticipated goal attainment and the emotional consequences of such ascriptions were studied in 731 college students answering questionnaires. Internal and external attributions were made for past outcomes. Subjects felt that internal factors accounted more for success, and external, for failure. (SLD)

An ecological-systems view is presented describing academic underachievement in highly verbal, gifted adolescents. It is argued that a unique pattern of interests, motives, and cognitive styles results in a differential pattern of achievement for these youth. Implications for psychoeducational assessment, pedagogy, and counseling are discussed.…