This paper discusses the difficulties that rural students on a Maine island encounter as they make the transition from a small local elementary school to a large distant high school. The elementary school is characterized by small class sizes, close nurturing teacher-student relationships, and the involvement of parents and families. When students…

Ninth grade poses unique academic, physical, social, and emotional challenges to students; in fact, it may be the defining year for predicting high school success. It could also be the last chance to catch pupils who are in danger of dropping out of school. The Freshman Center program attempts to give ninth graders the opportunity to succeed. This…

This study investigated self-esteem factors related to the transition between sixth and seventh grade for students in teamed and nonteamed instructional organization. Two elementary schools of identical structure, facilities, number of faculty, and student characteristics serve as feeder schools to the junior high school. Site 1's sixth grade uses…

Three outcomes of the college experience for black students in U.S. higher education (student academic achievement, student social integration into campus life, and student occupational aspirations) are discussed with a theoretical emphasis on connections between institutional and individual characteristics in the explanation of student outcomes.…

Demographic characteristics, interpersonal and academic problems, underlying motives and needs, and ultimate goals of nontraditional students at a four-year liberal arts college were evaluated based on survey responses. The students were enrolled in the spring semester 1981 at a suburban publicly-supported, commuter college, located in the…

Results of a study to determine the impact of transition from elementary to junior high school on students' self-esteem are reported. The study, conducted from 1974 to 1976, followed 798 students from 18 elementary schools in Milwaukee from grade 6 to grade 7. The students represented K-8 schools which involved no change of school and K-6 schools,…

A project in which seasoned immigrant students developed guidelines for the use of incoming non-English speaking immigrant students for a bilingual Korean and English text is described. The guidelines were used for orientation and follow-up discussions about school and language attitudes. (SW)

The longitudinal analysis population of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) is used to produce descriptive findings about the transition to high school of eighth grade students. An overview summarizes some of the policy issues of the study and sketches the research design and samples. First, longitudinal data are used to…

The Fundacion Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho, a large Venezuelan scholarship program that sends students to study in the United States and other countries, is discussed. Information on program objectives, issues, and problems was obtained from work with students at the University of Pittsburgh, the literature, program records, and interviews with…

Conceptual models developed from dropout research on traditional, residential college students were applied to the study of nontraditional students (older, mostly minority women on welfare) enrolled in a postsecondary, nondegree program (the federal Work Incentive Program). Factors that differentiate persisters from those who withdraw were…

A multivariate model to explain student success and failure at the Open University of the United Kingdom is outlined. The model is based on the results of an evaluation study that explored the suitability of this teaching system for young people under 21 years old. Twenty-three characteristics were designated as social and psychological problems,…

To determine the factors that have contributed to persistence in successful Native American students, this study investigated student expectations, life experiences on campus, perceptions of support and lack of support for cultural identity, difficulties encountered, perceptions of how the Native American's college experience differs from that of…

The University of Minnesota, Morris campus, developed a bridge program called the Gateway Program to meet the special concerns of African American and American Indian incoming freshmen. The program initially prepares students for higher education through a 4-week summer program that includes an umbrella course in math, computer literacy, and…

The Rural Special Education Program (RSEP), a partnership between Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD), provides training for preservice special education teachers to work with Native American students and their families. To date, the program has provided training for 63 preservice special education…

Changes in students' (N=313) present and possible "good student" selves over the transition from elementary school to middle school are examined by this study. Findings indicate that both present and possible selves decline over the transition, and that the decline is greater for males than for females. Holding mastery goals is related to…