Since the mid-1990s, increasingly fewer French students have been enrolling for science subjects at university. Speaking of a "loss of interest in science among young people" is nevertheless premature. The phenomenon is primarily due to socio-demographic changes. As a result of their position in French higher education, universities,…

In this article the author describes and explains the development of the distribution of ethnic groups between schools in the Dutch school system. Three mechanisms steer this distribution: (a) founding and maintaining schools along "religious" lines, (b) the academic selectivity of the school system, and (c) the distribution of…

This study provides a comprehensive profile of all types of "minority-serving institutions" (MSIs), in the United States and to examine the characteristics of minority students who attend these institutions. The report adds to earlier research focusing on single types of MSIs--primarily Historically Black Colleges and Universities…

Many, but not all, of the admissions selection criteria favored by U.S. colleges and universities unwittingly create incentives for educational dysfunctional behavior by secondary students, teachers and administrators, and by voters in school budget referenda. These include nerd harassment, peer cultures that denigrate achievement, various efforts…

Discusses the predictive validity of commonly used tests for educational and employment screening and selection in affirmative action. Examines ways the development and use of psychological tests for educational and employment screening may contribute to the search for a politically feasible affirmative action to promote the inclusion in education…

Comments on the article by Marsh and Hau (see record 2003-06802-005), who tested the negative effects of attending academically selective schools; that is, a student will have lowered academic self-concept in a selective school than in a nonselective school, a big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE). The current author suggests that a major problem of…

In 2002 the Faculty of Information Technology at the University of Technology Sydney began a major initiative to improve the participation of Indigenous Australians in the Information Technology (IT) sector. This followed an initial study which showed that very few Indigenous students undertook studies in IT at university and therefore few found…

Describes a two-day selection process implemented by a counselor education department for screening doctoral applicants. Discusses assessment of each applicant in four areas: counseling skills, interpersonal effectiveness, level of professional knowledge, and credentials. (Author/ABB)

Schools of education, whose responsibility is to add skills in teaching to a student's repertoire, cannot remedy inadequacies in basic academic training. The California State University system is developing initiatives regarding student selection and knowledge and practice of teaching in order to improve its teacher education programs. (MT)

A state university program to admit a selective group of adult students in each of four semesters, from Spring 1976 to Fall 1977, is described, including the program rationale, the academic history of the program participants, and future directions for adult student admissions within the California State University system. (MSE)

This book examines the law and politics surrounding the Bakke case ("Regents of the University of California v. Bakke") and discusses the key arguments presented by both sides in the context of the current eroding public support for affirmative action. The goal is to elucidate the dynamics of U.S. Supreme Court decision making and…

Both critics and supporters of affirmative action cite the commitment of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to diversity in the undergraduate population as an example supporting their positions. Merit, diversity, and family income are weighed in applicant processing. (MSE)

The University of Virginia admits proportionately more blacks and children of alumni than other groups. Some other groups also get preferential treatment in admissions: athletes, musicians, artists, applicants from rural areas, children of faculty, female scientists, and other minority group members. (MSE)

An analysis of three decades of data from national samples of entering college freshmen reveals that (a) there are substantial socioeconomic inequities in access to the most selective U.S. colleges and universities and that (b) American higher education is more socioeconomically stratified today than at any time during the past three decades. The…

Student-athletes were studied over 4 years at a highly selective liberal arts college and an Ivy League university. Students spending 10 or more hours per week in athletic activities had lower entering academic credentials and academic self-assessments than non-athletes, but the academic performance of athletes was not below what would be expected…