The progress of students under 21 years old at the United Kingdom's Open University (OU) was compared with a sample of mature students, using sociological and psychometric research methods. The research goal was to consider whether the OU's teaching system originally designed for adults is suited to the needs and circumstances of students in the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The nine titles deal with the following topics: (1) small group interaction within effective and ineffective decision making groups; (2) vertical communication as perceived by administrators and teachers; (3) communication roles as…

Classroom teachers need to make sound judgments and decisions concerning curricular and instructional issues. The teachers who wish to become more effective in the classroom should learn to develop their own research designs since educational research reported in journals is often inconclusive, conflicting, or not relevant to the classroom…

Research which has investigated factors affecting pupils' attitudes toward school subjects is reviewed, examining descriptive, correlational, and experimental research on students' attitudes toward several different school subjects at various grade levels. Although many weaknesses exist in the methodology and theoretical basis of much of the…

A theory, which proposed a hierarchy of determinants of student ratings of instruction, was tested. Situational variables such as class size, elective enrollment, and grade expectancy were hypothesized to be only indicators of more potent determiners. These motivational constructs were diversity of enrollment motives and subject matter interests,…

In a study of reading achievement in the Chicago schools, regression and factor analysis were used to discover which school measures were associated with the reading comprehension scores of students ages 7, 10, and 13. Achievement data from three successive years (1974-75, 1975-76, and 1976-77) were averaged from the results of the Iowa Tests of…

In order to facilitate efforts to evaluate the progress of black students currently enrolled in several selective colleges and/or to develop rationales for extending educational opportunity to racial minorities, a study was undertaken to focus on (1) selected characteristics of black female students entering several selective liberal arts…

The process of withdrawal from two- and four-year institutions of higher education was studied. Data were drawn from the base year and the first and second follow-ups of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Results indicated that: (1) women students were more likely to withdraw only in two-year colleges; (2) white…

This paper develops and estimates a model of the educational process. Most researchers have relied on a single equation, educational production function, which is an unrealistic formulation. A pupil's achievement, motivation, expectations, self-concept, and his perceived parents' and teachers' expectations are determined jointly, not…

The study examines trends among students and graduates of the Minnesota Area Vocational Technical Institutes (AVTIs). Some of the data were gathered yearly between 1970-71 and 1973-74; some were gathered yearly between 1971-72 and 1973-74. Seventeen selected variables were reviewed. Relatively minor changes occurred over the years on seven of the…

The effect of class size, course level, instructor rank, campus, and subject area on 14,366 student ratings of 488 science and mathematics classes at a main university and 18 branch campuses was investigated. Class means were factor-analyzed and four resultant components of teaching performance were submitted to a 2x2x2x2x3 MANOVA. Discriminant…

The prediction of achievement provides teachers with necessary information to help children attain optimal achievement. If some skill prerequistites to learning which are not fully developed can be identified and strengthened, higher levels of achievement may result. The Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT) are routinely given to all University City…

This paper uses ordinary least squares regression to obtain probabilities for the post-graduation choices of high school seniors, and it presents an illustration of the use of these probabilities in calculating future income. Problems raised by the use of the least squares regression are discussed. The benefits of higher education and ways in…

A science education game, called "Challenge," was developed and tested. In a course designed to review the concepts that are useful in teaching elementary school science, one group of black graduate students used the game while a control group used the conventional lecture-discussion format. The game was designed to allow the player an opportunity…

As the second report on a cohort of 5,083 women between 32 and 46 years of age who were first interviewed in mid-1967, contacted by mail in 1969, and reinterviewed for the first time in 1969, three topics are considered in this longitudinal study: (1) changes in labor force participation, (2) interfirm mobility, and (3) changes in job satisfaction…