Detailed methodology used to evaluate a causal model of school environment is presented in this report. The model depicts societal features that influence school district values and organizational characteristics, which in turn influence school operations and personnel attitudes and values. These school variables affect school community members'…

Regression-based adjustment of student outcomes for the assessment of the merit of schools is considered. First, the basics of causal modeling and multiple regression are briefly reviewed. Then, two common regression-based adjustment procedures are described, pointing out that the validity of the final assessments depends on: (1) the degree to…

Background: Although there are many high-quality models for program and evaluation planning, these models are often too intensive to be used in situations when time and resources are scarce. Additionally, there is little added value in using an elaborate and expensive program and evaluation planning procedure when programs are small or are planned…

The longitudinal changes in the causal attributions, academic self-concept, and learning approaches of 549 university students in Hong Kong were studied. Students were enrolled in two different disciplines: language/health studies (n=272) and construction/engineering (n=277). Measurements of causal dimensions, academic self-concept, learning…

The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between elements that are important for the tutorial group process and the individual learning process in a problem-based curriculum. The variables under investigation were: (1) student-generated learning issues; (2) individual learning process; (3) reporting in the tutorial group; and (4)…

Examines two classes of production functions in which the long-run competitive equilibrium scale of the firm increases when the relative price of the dominant factor decreases. Compares these with a third class of production functions where the equilibrium scale is independent of the relative price of the dominant factor. (MJP)

Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care were examined to explore five propositions that would support a causal relationship between child care quality and child outcomes at age 4.5 years. Three propositions were supported, particularly in the cognitive domain. Associations between quality and outcomes remained even with child and family…

Longitudinal studies in two countries investigated impact of father absence on girls' early sexual activity (ESA) and teenage pregnancy. Findings indicated that greater exposure to father absence strongly related to elevated ESA and adolescent pregnancy risk. Elevated risk was not explained (U.S. sample) or only partly explained (New Zealand…

This study highlights the correlation between seventh grade students' (n=429) beliefs about how mathematics is learned and their achievement in mathematics. Results from structural relation modeling indicate that, when beliefs are considered as a single construct, the relationship between beliefs and achievement is much stronger than when beliefs…

Causal attributions of 96 college students' performance in cooperative group assignments, and students' perceptions of the underlying dimensions of causal attributions (including relationships among performance outcomes, attributional dimensions, and attributional consequences) were examined. Locus of causality was related to affective reactions.…

An experiment in which 90 undergraduate students were tested on simple and complex versions of a word-span task with high and low frequency words suggests that both word knowledge and a content-free working memory play causal roles in the relationship between word span and higher level cognitive tasks. (SLD)

Contends that recent developments in historical sociology emphasize the centrality of temporality to analysis and explanation. Illustrates how computer-assisted analysis of qualitative narrative can be used to develop generalizable causal interpretation of events. (CFR)

Derived longitudinal causal models of growth in mathematics and English constructs using three waves of data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (n=24,599). Results indicate that the contribution of prior variables in English and mathematics to subsequent outcomes in both subjects was similar for females and males. Contains 68…

Summarizes the main theoretical frameworks attempting to explain the causal mechanisms connecting marital conflict to child adjustment. Outlines the implications of accumulated gender-related research findings for each theoretical framework. Argues that gender may be a moderator of many of the mechanisms outlined in existing theoretical frameworks…

Two studies tested a model relating social competence to social support and child-parent attachment for Head Start children. Results supported the conjecture that social competence should be viewed as hierarchically organized. A model consistent with causal pathways from attachment security to support networks and social competence, and from…