Discusses the use of personal journals in a social psychology course, the benefits of this technique, the challenges confronted by the students and instructor, and ethical considerations. Students revealed that the journals helped them apply course materials to everyday life, facilitated self discovery, and created a bond between teacher and…

A survey of 724 freshman engineering orientation students investigated the significance of 5 literature-cited barriers to women's success in engineering--sexual discrimination, financial concerns, academic comfort, career awareness, and locus of control. Significant main effects were found for gender but not ethnic group. The instrument is…

Provides background on the development of field experience in library education, and defines "practical learning" for librarians. Field experience and internship requirements for school media certification in the United States are summarized, and the results of a national survey of library education programs to determine the nature and mechanics…

Discusses a survey conducted to assess the correlation between student concepts of an ideal graduate linguist and actual language ability. Little agreement exists among students about what skills an ideal graduate should possess. There is a high level of complacency among respondents regarding their own language ability. (three references) (CK)

Determines how academic ability, music experience, and musical aptitude contribute to grade prediction in the written-work, ear-training, sight-singing, and keyboard-harmonics portions of two college freshman music theory courses. Finds Scholastic Aptitude Test mathematics scores the best predictor of grades in written work and ear training.…

A study examined the socialization experiences of 25 majority and 37 minority women doctoral students using 4 indices of social opportunity: recruitment of student by department; participation in apprenticeship and mentoring experiences; perceptions of department as either competitive or cooperative and offering support networks; and experience of…

A study investigated the relationship of role strains, life events stresses, and minority status (Arfican American, Chicano, Latino, or Pillipino) on the psychological and academic adjustment of 163 minority first-year students at a major university. Results confirmed the hypothesis that minority status confers additional stress and is associated…

Research examined the experiences of 14 student teachers living in isolated areas who completed the University of Ottawa's 2-year community-based Native teacher education program. Factors contributing to successful completion included a personal support network, program elements that fostered a sense of social and institutional integration, and…

A Native American literature professor's account of college students' cross-cultural field experience on two Indian reservations near the Grand Canyon shows how the experience enhanced student understanding of the Native American belief in the people and land as one, storytelling and a sense of the sacred, and the history and impact of…

It has been proposed that situated cognition theory, in which learning is conceptualized as induction into a community of practice through the activity of legitimate peripheral participation, offers an appropriate theoretical perspective for examining issues of gender in science education. This study critically engages with this proposal by means…

Critical race theory requires the examination of institutional policies, programs, and practices that interfere with Latino students' rights and abilities to receive the best educational opportunities available within higher education. With attention to an ethic of caring and social justice, student services staff can work to undo the effects of…

Research on student withdrawals has largely ignored the issue of stop-outs, those students who withdraw from a college or university but subsequently reenroll. As a result, student withdrawals have been seen as an attrition issue. However, this study suggests they should be viewed as a retention possibility rather than an attrition issue. This…

Whilst the potential of online Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in terms of access, immediacy and exposure is widely acknowledged, as yet remarkably little is known about its impact on the user population, be they language teachers or learners. Indeed, beyond its technological development, online CALL design is still affected by a dearth…

The major purpose of this study was to explore, in a phenomenological tradition, factors that lead some students to persist in foreign language study past the usual 2 years in high school. Factors that have been prevalent in the literature include language aptitude, motivation, grades, intellectual and cultural curiosity, language learning…

Research on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students indicates that only about 47% persist to complete their freshman year, meaning that one of out two students drops out before the sophomore year. Using a focus group methodology, the study reported in this paper examined the extent to which in- and out-of-class academic, social, and…