Results of a study of trends in college-going decisions of new high school graduates between 1972 and 1980 are presented, along with a model of college choice. The focus is the choice between college and noncollege options. Based on a review of empirical and theoretical work on college choice over the past 25 years, information is provided on key…

The National Research Council's Panel on Engineering Interactions with Society was formed to examine the functioning of the engineering profession in the context of, and in relation to, American society. This document presents the findings of the panel. The panel's inquiry was twofold. First, it examined the impact that engineering and technology…

This collection of conference papers addresses selected philosophical and educational questions being raised by the contemporary teaching community. Papers and presenters are: "Moving toward an Educator's Zero" (Conrad P. Pritscher); "Metaguessing" (David E. Denton); "Teaching and the Role of the Resisting…

While not an instructional panacea, peer involvement in second language learning can provide a rich and productive supplement to the second language classroom experience. It casts learners and teachers into new roles that may lead to a variety of benefits, enriching the total educational and social environment. The systematic use of peer teachers…

In order to determine the reasons for student attrition at Butler County Community College (BCCC), a questionnaire was sent to each of the 188 students who were enrolled in the fall 1984, spring 1985, or fall 1985 semesters who did not return the following semester. After phone and postcard followups, an 80% response rate was achieved. Study…

In spring 1986, a study was conducted at Fayetteville Technical Institute (FTI), North Carolina, to determine why students decided to continue their education, what factors triggered their enrollment, and what factors influenced their decision to attend FTI. A questionnaire was administered to 119 students enrolled in randomly selected day and…

A large-scale sociological study of teacher burnout in the public schools is summarized. Data presented in the study consist of: a sample of 3,500 teachers in Houston, whose attitudes were monitored in 1977; exit interviews of every teacher in the initial sample who subsequently quit teaching over a 5-year period; achievement and attendance…

The contributions of peer interaction to the development of social competence in kindergarten children are discussed in terms of research findings and implications for teachers. Using naturalistic methodology, social behavior was studied by observing interactions among children in classroom settings without direct adult supervision. In peer…

Intended for college-level basic writers, this booklet integrates training in selected oral communication activities with writing instruction in order to improve students' academic writing. The first section discusses oral communication theory, emphasizing the underlying rhetorical abilities of invention, audience adaptation, and argumentation, to…

The design and development of an enrollment management database at the State University of New York College at Oswego are described. A basic premise is that the concept of enrollment management has begun to replace the traditional admissions model. Enrollment management helps the college identify existing and potential markets; determine resource…

In many classrooms, there are a few students who become bored and indulge in reverie. They tend to be apathetic or indifferent to course activities, and attempts to get them interested via invitational approaches are often not successful. Some of these students are not aware of how their instructors view them or that there is a problem, and the…

This paper suggests that the upcoming transfer of Hong Kong from Great Britain to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1997, offers a unique opportunity to observe how changing configurations in the political environment influence mass media. The article investigates how the Hong Kong press, which spans the entire left-center-right ideological…

A study was conducted to determine the strategies used by 145 community colleges in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas to meet the educational needs of Hispanic students and to investigate the relationship between these strategies and Hispanic student retention rate. Questionnaires were sent to the presidents of Southwestern community…

This paper examines relationships between measures of educational interest group strength, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA); characteristics of state education agencies (SEA); and selected indicators of educational policy centralization. The more specific purpose of this study is the discovery…

The papers presented at this conference review current research on effective educational practices for low-achieving students and identify those that might be applied to programs funded under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. A function assumed by several conference participants was to act as reactor to papers…