This paper introduces the Learning Outcomes Study at the University of Virginia, an ongoing 2-year investigation of over 1,000 elementary school children who entered one of 16 different gifted programs (or no program) in the fall of 1990. The study will compare effects of four examples each of four types of program delivery arrangements: (1)…

Findings and recommendations of a University of Alberta task force study on the mature student are presented. Study objectives were as follows: to identify the characteristics of the mature student population at the university, to identify major concerns and needs of this population, to determine to what extent the university meets the needs of…

The influence of academic, demographic, and social characteristics of college freshmen on sophomore enrollment status was investigated, along with reasons for attrition. A total of 139 freshmen at St. Edward's University in Texas were surveyed at the beginning and end of the freshman year, using the Survey of Entering Freshmen and the End of…

The summary report describes a 5-year longitudinal study in Calgary (Alberta, Canada) of gifted and talented students from grade 9 through the post-high school year. Students had previously attended either a special school setting or were integrated with regular students in their home schools. The study examined: students' achievement; their…

Academic and social performance of 204 high school students who had attended one-teacher rural elementary schools in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Montana was investigated to determine if small school students were disadvantaged in a larger high school setting. Data gathered by questionnaires from students, school administrators, and counselors…

The transition to junior high school can be a positive step toward increasing maturity, and a stressful period of adaptation as well. To investigate the contribution of friendships to children's adjustment after the transition to junior high school, students (N=101) from four elementary schools were tested during the spring of sixth grade, in the…

This study examined school-related strains that elementary school students encountered during the transition to middle school. A total of 120 students from two elementary schools completed the Early Adolescent School Role Strain Inventory during pretransition in the elementary school fifth grade, during early transition at the beginning of the…

This paper summarizes an investigation of a specific set of findings from the Monitoring the Future project, an annual survey of the attitudes and values of high school seniors that has occurred since 1975. The findings investigated relate to indicators of anxiety among these students about the threat of nuclear war. The study developed two…

Educators are beginning to address the needs of children living in single-parent families and to recognize that the existing societal ideology of the family as a breadwinning husband and homemaking wife living with their children is problematic. However, single-parented children may suffer discrimination through school policies and teachers'…

The following hypotheses were tested in this study: (1) boys and girls have an even start at school entrance, but boys' performance and adjustment decline relative to girls by the end of third grade; (2) boys do not attach themselves to school and school tasks with positive affect as much as girls; and (3) thus, the factors related to achievement…

A study investigated the freshman year experience of exceptionally able students entering colleges at least two years early. Academic achievement and social adjustment were considered in relation to college type, student residence at home or away from home, degree and beginning of academic acceleration, and student adjustment mechanisms. (MSE)

A study of the adjustment of third-, fourth-, and sixth-year university students in the humanities, sciences, and medicine in a Dutch university is reported. The study examined mental health variables, satisfaction, interpersonal orientations, and assessments of the learning environment across sexes, majors, and cohorts. (MSE)

This paper extends the previously reported findings of the Starting School Research Project in Australia as to what various stakeholders see as important in children's transition to school; the current study considers responses from parents, preschool educators, and school teachers to 20 statements summarizing beliefs and expectations about…

This study compared the outcomes and experiences of 275 older and 442 younger liberal arts students who had transferred from California community colleges to a research I California university in fall 1994 and spring 1995. The study's conceptual perspective was that of "quality of effort," which considers both what the institution offers…

A survey of 16 rural students attending college in Perth, Australia, found that all of them felt disadvantaged because of issues specific to their rural status. These issues were emotional, social, and financial or a combination thereof. The emotional and social concerns were loneliness, making new friends, and learning to adjust to an urban…