The effects of the presence of others on 120 young children's performance of balancing skills were tested. The boys and girls, aged four, six, and eight, were tested under three different conditions: while acting "alone," in coaction (pairs), and alone before an audience. The tests were divided into simple and complex balance tasks, consisting of…

Research has suggested that both teacher expectations and student expectations can affect the individuals' own attitudes and behavior, as well as the behavior of those with whom they are interacting. The joint effects of teachers' expectations about students and students' expectations about teachers on the performance and attitudes of both…

Contracts that base the compensation and job security of teachers on seniority may promote the goals of public education more effectively than performance-based contracts. Public school teaching is a very complex process requiring constant adaptation to changing students, situations, methods, and dynamics. Measurement of teacher performance under…

Results of a survey using norm referenced tests of reading and mathematics for a large sample of sixth grade students throughout Texas are reported in detail. Statewide results are reported in terms of percentile ranks of average partial and total scores and in the percentage of students in each quarter of the norms. For each of 20 districts in…

This Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP) report describes two studies on the effects of student-teacher interaction on student performance. Study I explored the relationship between three kinds of teacher behaviors (modeling, teacher attention to individual students, and praise-giving to individual students) and the pupil's academic…

A five-year study of effectiveness in work roles had four general objectives: (1) to assess associations between aspects of working conditions and indicators of employees' work role effectiveness; (2) to identify personal and situational characteristics that limit associations between working conditions and effectiveness; (3) to begin to map the…

Psychological literature seemingly provides contradictory answers to the question of whether women and men are equally effective as leaders. There are generally two approaches used to answer this question: assign males and females the role of leader, keeping certain extraneous factors constant, and then compare leader or group effectiveness; or…

The number and characteristics of ninth grade students who ran a high risk of not successfully completing their ninth grade program were investigated. With the assistance of the school guidance counselors data were collected with two forms, one which contained information from teachers about students identified as "high risk" in the…

A review of theories of expectation as related to behavior shows a high correlation between educational leaders' perceptions of their faculties and the climate and quality of instructional programs. Thus, effective faculties and high quality educational programs could be linked to a particular type of leadership. Leaders who hold high expectations…

Findings are summarized from the statewide assessment of Texas students' achievement in mathematics, reading, citizenship awareness, and writing skills. For reading and mathematics achievement, criterion-referenced tests were developed. Test items from exercises developed by the National Assessment of Educational Programs (NAEP) were used to…

This booklet discusses the many psychological factors involved in the learning process. The author offers suggestions on the following problems: (1) the technology of teaching and the psychology of learning; (2) programs and rewards; (3) motivation; (4) learning and behavior control; (5) the role and responsibility of the teacher; (6) standards of…

The role of perceptual organization in motor learning is discussed, the literature is reviewed, and research findings are summarized. Measurement problems are discussed, including observations about motor skill learning. Four experiments are described which compare organized and random movement sequences. It is shown that organization (whether…

The charge that minimum competency testing provides diagnosis without treatment is refuted. The movement has made no attempt to dictate course content or teaching methods; it leaves treatment decisions to individual teachers. Treatment can be defined only in relation to a problem. The problem, as minimum competency advocates implicitly define it,…

Research indicates that boys perform better on mathematics tests while girls perform better on reading tests. An investigation of why boys' and girls' performance differs was made by coding teacher interactions with second grade students during reading and mathematics instruction. Results reveal that teachers: made relatively more academic contact…

The Competency Based Teacher Education (CBTE) effort in science methods has been responsible for generating a different approach to university-level instruction. Student achievement of specified goals is greater than in the traditional program, and study perceptions of the instructional experience suggest that competency-based instruction…