In this study, we investigate the growth trajectory of 519 students in a vocational senior high school in Taiwan. The group-based trajectory model identifies 3 subgroups with distinct trajectories of academic achievement in Math and English. This study reveals baseline predictive factors associated with these trajectories as well as relationships…

Reasons school psychology students choose to pursue a specialist or a doctoral degree were examined. A survey was mailed to 350 school psychology students whose names were provided by the National Association of School Psychologists. Survey items were subjected to a principal components analysis and scores from the resulting 10 scales were…

This article presents a keynote address delivered by Al Gini, Professor of Business Ethics in the School of Business Administration at Loyola University in Chicago, at the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) 93rd Annual Conference, March 26, 2008, New Orleans, Louisiana, on the topic of "Liberal Education in an Interdependent…

The "Flexner Report" of 1910, which described 155 U.S. and Canadian medical schools, is discussed, along with its influence on later studies of academic quality. Scholars almost universally agree that the Flexner Report dramatically changed the nature of medical education in the United States, although they disagree about how this…

Prestige-suggestion, the effect that the prestige or reputation of a source has on a receiver, is the subject of this paper. Three research studies which have been done recently by researchers in reading are reported. These studies asked the following questions: If consumers evaluate products by means of reading store advertisements, will they be…

The way that students structure the colleges they choose among in a particular educational market is analyzed with a sample of 408 locally-college-bound high school seniors from 16 area schools. In January and February 1985, the College Image Questionnaire was administered to the seniors. The students judged the similarity (psychological distance)…

Case studies and historical notes are presented to suggest that the seemingly clear and familiar categories (including "college,""university,""public," and "private") carry legacies of complicated origins and connotations. According to conventional wisdom and popular belief, the typical state university is…

Behavioral correlates of social status and the relative importance of physical appearance, reputation, and current behavior in the assignment of social status by peers was assessed in 2 studies of elementary school students (68 and 119 students, respectively). Videotapes and photographs were used to compare popular, rejected, and neglected…

The publication rates of female versus male faculty and factors that influence scholarly productivity for women faculty are discussed, based on the research literature. The academic reward structure and the payoffs resulting from scholarly productivity are also considered, along with the impact of productivity on building the reputations both of…

Early psychological studies of "genius" are examined, and reasons why European studies of eminent people never developed into true academic quality rankings are considered. In Europe, and especially England, France, and Germany, the ecological origins of eminent men and women were assessed: where they grew up, where they attended school,…

The contribution of high school guidance counselors during the information and inquiry stages of students' selection of a college was assessed. A statewide population survey of all high school counselors in New York yielded 660 usable responses (20 percent). Attention is focused on quality estimations of four criteria for 15 institutions. Quality…

High school guidance counselors' perceptions of the quality of The State University of New York College at Brockport were compared for 1982 and 1985. Quality assessments were also made for two university centers, nine university colleges, two agricultural and technical colleges, and two private colleges. The 1985 sample consisted of 839…

Since educational statistics, which are relatively easy to obtain, can only attempt to measure "quality," this paper asks how quality in higher education is assessed and how educational rankings, which are defined as benchmarks or attempts to measure, contribute to this process. The paper notes that while attempts to rank institutions of…

Institutional image and desired goals for the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, were assessed using the Institutional Goals Inventory (IGI) of the Educational Testing Service. All faculty and administrators of the private college were administered the IGI, and their responses were compared to those of the faculty four years previously.…

Successful conduct of business in Saudi Arabia requires attitudes and skills significantly different from those needed in the United States. Distinct societal differences can turn winning practices in one culture into failures in another. Despite Saudi Arabia's recent emergence as a wealthy marketplace, traditional values and a unique lifestyle…