The "Current Insights" feature is designed to introduce life science educators and researchers to current articles of interest in other social science and education journals. In this installment, I highlight three diverse research studies out of psychology journals that address student study strategies, faculty change, and the influence…

This article presents a study of academic procrastination and associated motivation variables in 508 adolescents from a general secondary school in central Turkey. Girls reported higher levels of self-efficacy for self-regulation and predicted higher Turkish grades than boys, but there was no difference in levels of procrastination. Academic…

The study reports on the first of several investigations into the antecedents and consequences of students' study activities across junior high school through college years. The development and validation of a self-report instrument, the "California Study Activities Inventory" (CSAI) is described. The principal features of the instrument…

The study was conducted utilizing the instrumental approach to the development of study behaviors. The hypothesis was that a pupil's academic performance, study motivation, and creativity can be improved by encouraging his/her study skills. The practical aims were delineated and explained. The research was conducted in stages. These included…

Describes cognitive style in terms of field dependence-independence, and five tests of cognitive style for young children. Discusses the relationship between cognitive style and academic achievement in young children. (RJC)

The measurement of college impact on students has received much attention over the past two decades. To examine stability and change in personality, vocational orientation, study habits, and attitudes of college students from freshman to senior year, two samples of undergraduates (N=51) were tested as freshmen and as seniors. Students completed…

Promotes the advantages of qualitative research methodologies in distance education; outlines the work of Ference, Marton, and the Gothenberg Group and discusses how this work has related to research with distance education; and describes some insights into how students learn which can be gained through qualitative methodologies. (MBR)

Recently, research into gender differences in achievement has mainly concentrated on the underperformance of boys in comparison with girls. Qualitative research in particular points to the importance of the gender-specific cultures adolescents experience. The purpose of this article is to test quantitatively the explanatory value of academic…

The Information Acquisition Preference Inventory was used to examine cognitive styles in relationship to students' use of study tasks and to assess subjects' preferred ways of learning and problem solving. The inventory, which has students rank words describing their own learning behavior, identifies four distinctive learning preference modes:…

A correlational study of 62 8th grade, 60 11th grade, and 58 college students investigated developmental differences in learning goals, study strategy beliefs and their inter-relationship for science classes. Questionnaires measured levels of task orientation, ego orientation, and work avoidance, as well as belief in the utility of two types of…

This study examined the relative effectiveness of two variations of an elective course on self-control and study behavior in modifying academic performance of freshmen undergraduate students enrolled in the independent studies program of the Universidad Simon Bolivar, in Venezuela. Of the 29 freshmen students selected to participate in this study,…

Evaluation of a checklist by teachers to rate 60 secondary level learning-disabled and nondisabled students for mainstream competencies found no overall mean group differences and no inter-rater reliability, though ratings on work habits did predict course grades for all three groups (fully mainstreamed, partially mainstreamed, and nondisabled).…

Reports on college-level microeconomic classes to compare learning in short-term intensive course with traditional semester-length course. Found students in three-week courses performed better on achievement tests than those in traditional semester courses but this advantage disappeared when knowledge retention was measured. Raises policy…

This study examined cognitive, academic, and attitudinal predictors of college grade point average (GPA) among 84 college students with learning disabilities (LD) attending a large midwestern university. Results indicated that Full Scale IQ and one factor (delay/avoidance) on the self-reported study habits scale accounted for a significant amount…

This paper develops a conceptual model involving curricular, instructional/guidance, and assessment perspectives on the promotion of study skills and test-taking techniques among secondary school students. From the curricular standpoint, consideration is given to a recommended range of topical coverage and a diversified array of printed/mediated…