In this longitudinal study of African American and Caucasian students from 18 4-year institutions, objective tests were used to estimate the cognitive effects of race in college, while applying statistical controls for an extensive set of confounding influences. Found that Caucasian students scored higher than African Americans on standardized…

This study sought to estimate net differences between first-generation and other college students in their academic and nonacademic experience of college, and to estimate the net differences between first-generation students and their peers after two years of college in select cognitive, psychosocial, and status attainment outcomes. (Contains 16…

Longitudinal study compared matched groups of college freshmen (N=30) and high school graduates who did not attend college (N=17) on changes in critical thinking over a one-year period. The results indicated that the students who attended college for one year scored higher in critical thinking than did nonattendees. (Author/NB)

This paper presents the results of eight analyses based upon data from the National Study of Student Learning (NSSL), a 3-year longitudinal research project begun in 1992 to examine the influence of academic and nonacademic experiences on student learning, student attitudes about learning, student cognitive development, and student persistence.…

This study investigated the accuracy with which administrators describe the college environment as it appears to students. Student personnel administrators projected students as viewing the environment significantly higher in terms of "intellectual stimulation" and significantly lower in "bureaucracy" than students actually did. (Author)

Proposed a causal model to examine the impact of resident living on student development. Tested the model with 4,191 college students. Secondary analysis indicated that the influence of on-campus living on intellectual and social self-concept is indirect and mediated through interactions with faculty and peers. (Author/BH)

We examined the correlation between sex and cognitive outcomes of a national sample of students at four-year institutions. Outcomes data included objective tests and self-reported gains. In the presence of controls for a wide variety of potentially confounding variables, significant differences were found between women and men in outcomes and in…

Using multi-institution data and a longitudinal, pretest-posttest design, this study investigated the impact of honors programs on student experiences of good practices in undergraduate education as well as cognitive development in the first year of college. We found students in honors programs advantaged in terms of the good practice measures…

This study estimated separately the unique effects of three dimensions of good practice and the global effects of a composite measure of good practices on the cognitive development, orientations to learning, and educational aspirations of students during their first year of college. Analyses of longitudinal data from a representative sample of…

Originally published in January 1989, reviews a longitudinal study that compared changes in critical thinking over a one-year period between matched groups of college and non-college students. Results indicate that students who attended college for one year scored higher in critical thinking than the matched group of students who did not attend.…

Investigated differences among student self-perceptions, administrator ratings of students, and student projections of how they are seen by administrators. Student personnel administrators, as well as the other administrators sampled, significantly underestimated students' self-reported intellectual orientations. Students projected administrators…

This document presents the variable definitions utilized in a study of the impacts of two- and four-year college attendance on learning orientations. The authors identify the specific survey items that compose the four orientations to learning explored in this study (i.e., openness to diversity/challenge, learning for self-understanding, internal…

With statistical controls for confounding influences, including precollege learning orientations, attendance at a two-year versus four-year college had modest but significant positive effects on student growth in first- and second-year Openness to Diversity, second-year Learning for Self-Understanding, and first-year Internal Locus of Attribution…

A longitudinal study of 23 colleges and universities sought to estimate the impacts of on- and off-campus work on standardized measures of student cognitive development across three years. Findings suggest that, for the most part, work that does not exceed 15 or 20 hours a week does not seriously affect student cognitive development. (SLD)

Researchers examined three issues: gender and ethnic differences in terms of preferences towards collaborative learning; effects of collaborative learning on student outcomes; and determinants of openness to diversity. Results showed that exposure to collaborative learning practices influenced positively each of the outcomes under study. (Contains…