Three longitudinal studies investigated the usefulness of distinguishing among employees' affective commitments to the organization, the supervisor, and the work group. Study 1, with 199 employees from various organizations, found that affective commitments to these entities were factorially distinct and related differentially to their theorized…

Contemporary American culture has taken on protecting children from the consequences of their own actions so much that parents are raising children for whom being responsible for one's own actions and one's own work is anathema to "good parenting." Unlike the culture of the past, many parents spend hours on end with their children under…

This study examines the mediating effect of teacher empowerment on the relationship between teachers' participation in decision making and their professional commitment. The data were collected through quantitative questionnaires from a sample of 983 teachers in 25 junior high schools and 27 high schools in Israel. Hierarchical regression analyses…

Over the past twenty years, the attention that colleges and universities have paid to students' first year experience has grown exponentially. The reasons for this phenomenon include changes in demographic characteristics of the students themselves, concerns about the high dropout rate that peaks between the first and second year, and recognition…

Purpose: This paper focuses on the determinants of student satisfaction and retention in a college or university that are assumed to impact students' college experience. Design/methodology/approach: Using empirical data and Herzberg's two-factor theory, a modified version of the questionnaire developed by Keaveney and Young was administered to…

This paper examines a data set that has its origins in European Social Fund Objective 4 financed training programmes in small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Britain to examine the extent to which three different personal development outcomes are attributable to different types of skills acquired during the training process. The three…

This paper focuses on two components of a model for online teaching and learning--"teaching presence" and "community". It is suggested that previous research points to the critical role that community plays in academic success and persistence in higher education. Through a review of recent literature it is proposed that teaching presence--viewed…

While there are hundreds of studies reported for general education, few researchers have focused on the impact of class size on the academic achievement of students with special needs. Despite escalating special education costs and increasing student needs, policies governing special education remain inconsistent. We examine the effect of class…

Purpose: Investigating the social structure in online courses helps in designing for and facilitating student support and retention. Aims to provide data showing how course design and use of social software technologies provided social and collaborative learning opportunities for online students. Design/methodology/approach: A study of…

In this study, the authors sought to examine the determinants of psychological well-being and risk in First Nation students residing in their home community. The participant sample was drawn from students who resided in a First Nation community and were served by their tribal council in a central western province. All students, Grades 1 to 12, who…

To better understand causes of attrition from a limited residency doctoral program, this paper describes the results of a seven-year study wherein the author collected data reflecting a given student's preference for information perception and focus. These constructs, based on Jung's theory of psychological type, have been hypothesized to be…

This paper presents a report on students who decided to drop out of the BSc program offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). This study was designed to determine the reasons leading to students' decisions to withdraw from the program. Identified and reported in this study are nine major reasons leading to drop out. Results of…

This article reports research concerned with understanding the factors that influence the decision of young males to withdraw from their studies in certificate courses at a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) College in Western Australia. The research focused on males aged between 17 and 21 years and their reasons for either dropping out of or…

This article discusses Native American urban adolescents' construal of social skills, and relationships between these skills and proactivity behaviors as identified in the Integrative Contextual Model of Career Development (Lapan, 2004). Recommendations that build upon the social skills strengths of Native American young people are included.…

Tech Prep is a high school program of study. The student outcome objective is to prepare students to make the transition from high school to postsecondary pre-baccalaureate technical education, complete the postsecondary program without the need to take remedial academic courses, and then transition to commensurate employment. While the concept is…