Describes a study of factors related to student attrition at the University of Akron's General College and Community and Technical College. Analyzes data on persisters/nonpersisters, males/females, and traditional/nontraditional students with respect to major, full-/part-time status, time of attendance, goals, and satisfaction with the college.…

Recent literature indicates sex is related to retention with more men persisting to graduation. In this University of Tennessee (Knoxville) study, analysis according to sex classification produced results contrary to the latest research findings: rather than males, females tended to graduate earlier or on schedule proportionately more frequently…

Examined the differences between the home environment and college environment and the personal and academic characteristics of persisting (N=201) and nonpersisting (N=165) students at a major midwestern university. Develops recommendations and guidelines for colleges and universities to help curtail the college dropout problem. (PAS)

The effects of social reinforcement on two motor tasks by 40 retarded adolescents with high (8.09 yr.) and low (5.45 yr.) mental ages was investigated. Social reinforcement influenced persistence but not speed of performance. The effectiveness of praise on retarded subjects' performances varies with the type of motor task used. (Author/RD)

A study is reported that found marital status to be an important predictor of community college graduating quality point average in the following programs of study: Business Administration General, Business Administration Transfer, Executive Secretarial, and Nursing Education. (Author/MLW)

A state survey of all two-year colleges in New York focused on the assessment of academic advising in order to facilitate recommendations for institutional policymaking. Questions were asked about preservice and inservice training of advisers, and the evaluation of advisers and the advising process. (Author/MLW)

Research on the effects of self-determined performance standards and locus of control beliefs on children's self-regulation of academic behavior suggested that: (1) the effects of self-regulation are task specific; and that (2) effective academic performance is a function of both motivation and skill. (Author/MJL)

Presents a model of the relationship between social background and school continuation decisions among White males born between 1900 and 1950. The model predicts a decline in the effects of social background by the last school transition. Reprint available from Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. (AM)

Describes some obdurate problems and issues in personality theory and research and the shortcomings of attempts to resolve them. Assesses the trans-situational consistency of behavioral persistence of 22 second graders (10 males, 12 females) in east Vancouver by intercorrelating the rank orders of their behavioral persistence scores from three…

This study developed an approach to evaluating the appropriateness of student effort within a mastery instructional system and then investigated the interrelationship of achievement motivation, effort, and achievement in two college courses. Appropriate effort was strongly correlated with student achievement. (Author/RL)

Identifies negative aspects of recent educational initiatives as they affect teachers, emphasizes resulting teacher "burnout," and offers suggestions for making teaching more exciting and effective. (Author/RH)

Numerous studies describe dropping-out behavior, but few explain it. Examines the themes of retention literature within the context of a theoretical framework and seeks to identify research problems which may be encountered by investigators seeking to examine the phenomenon of persistence in higher education. Further work is suggested. (Author/BEF)

Male and female college students experienced either partial reinforcement (persistence training) or continuous reinforcement on either of two instrumental tasks as therapy for failure-induced depression and subsequently were exposed to protracted failure (extinction). Durable and partly generalizable persistence training effects were shown.…

The congruence between mothers' and teachers' ratings of master motivation among 81 children (age 3) with mental retardation was investigated. Mothers rated children's task persistence behaviors higher than did teachers, and maternal ratings of the child's master behaviors were predictive of the child's task mastery performance two years later.…

This study examined the effects of three reinforcement histories on the persistence of task engagement by two students (ages 9-10) who were off task during independent seat work. Results found the reinforcement history that contained an instructional control component produced the greatest persistence in student engagement. (Author/CR)