This study evaluated the psychometric properties of an observational rating system for assessing preschoolers' peer entry and play skills: Observed Peer Play in Unfamiliar Settings (OPPUS). Participants were 84 preschoolers at risk for psychopathology. Reliability and concurrent validity are reported. The 30-min paradigm yielded reliable indexes…

This article uses a resources and demands approach to examine the extent to which work, community, and parenting resources and demands are related to adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems and grades in school. The analysis is based on data from 489 married two-earner couples and adolescents aged 10 to 17 interviewed for the…

This paper examines the stereotypical view that Asian students cannot think critically. Although critical thinking is often presented as a generic skill, crucial to success at university, definitions of the concept vary widely. Critical thinking can therefore only be understood by placing it into the context in which it is used. This disadvantages…

The UK reading literacy data from the OECD PISA 2000 study are analysed using multilevel methods. The main analyses focus on the composite reading literacy scale resulting from the study and the explanatory variables used are 16 of the scales derived from answers given to the pupil questionnaire administered as part of the survey, together with…

This qualitative study provides insight into the first-year university experiences of students in a problem-based learning context an area that has received little attention in the literature. Data collection consisted of one-on-one interviews with students throughout their first year and of participant observation of students in the classroom at…

This paper reports the results of a telephone survey of 151 undergraduates who withdrew in their first year of study at a post-1992 institution. It focuses on the negative experiences which they reported during their time at the university and the ultimate reasons for leaving, exploring in particular issues around choice of course, academic…

Various issues related to the undergraduate education of adults are addressed. Adult learners comprise an increasingly greater proportion of the college student population, and these older students differ from traditional college students in significant ways, including their stages of development in life, value systems, outside responsibilities,…

The National Transition Demonstration Study was conducted to provide information about the implementation and impact of a federally funded program to enhance early public school transition of former Head Start children and their families by extending Head Start-like supports through the first 4 years of elementary school. The study design involved…

The Faculty Mentoring Program (FMP) at California State University, Dominguez Hills, provides faculty mentors to students defined as "at-risk." FMP aims to encourage faculty-student interaction through a mentoring relationship that will lead to improved student achievement, retention, and graduation and to better faculty understanding of…

During 1998 and 1999, the Starting School Project at the University of Western Sydney-Macarthur conducted a survey across New South Wales (Australia) of parent and teacher opinions about children's successful transition to school. Survey responses were received from 240 teachers and 243 parents of young children. Respondents were grouped according…

Describes and evaluates the University Seminar Program for incoming freshmen students which focuses on aspects of university, academic, and cultural life. Extensive evaluation of the program indicates that the seminar has been successful in providing new students with useful information and has influenced student retention. (RC)

The "Shadow" program at a middle school in Atlanta allows fifth graders to "shadow" sixth grade middle students to ease transition from elementary school. This study used questionnaires to compare the social adjustment of program participants and non-participants, as well as teacher attitudes toward the program. Results showed…

Changes in adolescents' perceptions of the family as they adapt to residential schooling were studied for 51 residential and 57 nonresidential tenth graders in a school in Israel. No differences in the perception of family climate were found between the groups, suggesting no change with the individual's act of leaving. (SLD)

In the context of the steady increase in foreign law students undertaking graduate study in the United States, some recommendations are made for helping foreign students bridge the gap between their home country's legal environment and that of the United States. A single-semester orientation course is outlined. (MSE)

A study of 20 first-year students at a small liberal arts college investigated the extent to which an adaptation of the Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire could predict student disillusionment with college. Results and implications for facilitating student adjustment are examined. (MSE)