Research reveals that high school students in small schools participate more in extracurricular activities than their peers in large schools; that a high degree of student participation provides opportunities for enhancing leadership, responsibility, and motivation; that students in small schools feel needed; and that the benefits of…

Reports on a study of students' preferences for social studies, English, and science courses among 888 secondary students. Finds that seventh graders preferred social studies over science, but this preference weakened substantially as students advanced into high school. Finds that boys preferred social studies over English throughout high school.…

Reports on a study of 70 secondary female students in mathematics classes over a period of 7 weeks. Finds that self-efficacy was the best predictor of learning intentions. Recommends further research on the relationships between perceived learning environment, self-efficacy, and learning intentions. (CFR)

Reports on the effects of expressive variation in dynamics on the musical preferences of 45 middle school students. Finds that students preferred the expressive version of 10 folk songs. Concludes that expressive interpretation and performance may stimulate a wide range of positive student responses. (CFR)

Research review examines whether student thought processes mediate achievement in physical education. The paper offers the mediating process paradigm to explain unexpected, inconsistent research findings on teaching and describes problems associated with measuring cognitive processes, suggesting they play an active role in student motor skill…

Assesses differences in academic and athletic motivation levels among white and black student-athletes, and probes two possible causal variables for graduation rates by examining postgraduate expectations of student-athletes and aspects of their social, cultural, and personal orientations. Survey responses from 327 college athletes reveal…

Offers an alternative, structural-based explanation regarding American Indians' lower academic performance compared to their white counterparts. Findings from a sample of 352 American Indian and more than 1,000 white high school students show that perceived structural constraints play a significant role in reducing academic performance among…

Reviews theory and research on mastery motivation in young children. Discusses Piaget's and White's perspectives on motivation, changes in mastery motivation during early childhood, how motivation relates to cognition, how caregivers influence mastery motivation, motivation in children with disabilities, assessment of mastery motivation, and how…

This report addresses the underrepresentation of Mexican-Americans in the faculties of U.S. universities. During the 11-year period from 1980 to 1990, a total of 91,837 women received doctorates from U.S. universities, and of these, 751 (0.7 percent) were Mexican-Americans. Of the 148,352 men who received doctorates during this period, 1,189 (also…

The question examined in this paper is: what is known exactly about variables that affect long-term retention of knowledge learned in school? U. Neisser (1982) asserts that "it is difficult to find even a single study, ancient or modern, of what is retained from academic instruction." Further, popular belief holds that much of the knowledge…

This paper reviews research on: (1) the significance of black colleges; (2) characteristics of white students attending black colleges; (3) barriers to recruiting white students on black campuses; and (4) strategies for recruiting white students. Reasons why white students attend historically black institutions and their levels of motivation, the…

Effective schools research has delivered some relatively concrete findings on important issues facing this country's educators. The result has been an extensive collection of effective schooling practices which have potential for increasing performance in young people. In reviewing effective schools literature, implications of the data were found…

Intended for teachers at all levels involved in composition instruction, this revised edition reflects the dynamic growth occurring in the discipline of writing, and consolidates advances made in teaching methodology. The 38 articles, written by such researchers and theorists in the field as James Moffett, Maxine Hairston, Janet Emig, Donald…

During the last two decades of work in predicting and explaining school achievement, much research has emphasized the identification and measurement of student cognitive and affective processes which predict and also promise to help explain and facilitate school achievement. This review focuses on modifiable cognitive and affective processes, as…

Research was reviewed to identify the characteristics of effective university and college-based programs for educating prospective teachers. Programs were considered effective to the extent that they enhanced the capability of teachers to contribute to student learning. The research reviewed was almost exclusively concerned with the learning of…