The purpose of this study was to portray the manner in which teachers informally recruit academically talented young people to the teaching profession, or to ascertain whether they do that at all. The underlying assumption was that one of the most effective ways to upgrade teaching over the long term, and provide for the best learning in American…

This paper describes the purposes of educational evaluation with particular emphasis on school improvement. The evaluation process used was based upon the analytical tools developed and tested by the Educational Productivity Council (EPC) of the University of Texas. An early form of this model and reporting system was introduced to a group of 68…

Although social gerontologists recognize the heterogeneous nature of elderly populations, they have relied on the use of aggregate data and chronological age rather than sociological variables in their research. The notion of stigma, as developed by Goffman (1963), applied to the elderly focuses on social relationships rather than individual…

Historically, two commonly held stereotypes of genius have been that precocity was associated with social failure, and that precocity bred early burnout. Later research on the gifted has refuted these stereotypes. The two studies in this paper investigate whether the stereotypes have changed in light of this new knowledge. In the first study, 66…

Examining the translation of mastery learning theory into the practice of reading programs, this paper challenges the appropriateness of mastery learning for reading instruction. Noting that the use of the term "mastery" is arrogant, conservative, and dogmatic, the paper explores the ramifications of translating mastery learning theory…

Recently, research has been conducted using an interactional understanding of depression, which views depression as a disorder exacerbated by a pathogenic social system. The interaction between intimate social partners seems especially relevant. Couples (N=26) participated in a study of depressed out-patients and their spouses and a matched…

The Equal Opportunity Program of the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin at Madison has, in the past, had the problem of low graduation rates. Attempts by the staff to develop better methods for retaining students have resulted in a program that offers one-to-one tutorial help in basic communication skills. Skills training that is…

Recent research has argued that negative stereotypes of older people are most likely to be found when age is a salient dimension for the judgements being made, e.g., when subjects' judgements of the elderly involve a comparison with younger people. When judgements of the elderly are made without an external reference group, such negative…

Research into attitudes toward writing, still in its infancy, indicates that attitudes definitely influence growth in writing, that a writer's degree of apprehension toward writing can be measured, and that certain teaching strategies can lessen students' writing anxiety. Researchers have identified the following characteristics of writing…

Students from grades one through five participated in a study to investigate whether elementary school children stereotype older people and, more specifically, whether they stereotype older people by sex. Photographs of a young woman, a young man, an old woman, and an old man were shown to the subjects, who were then asked to select from each of…

Heterosexism, as defined in this paper, designates those central social structures that advocate heterosexuality as the only natural sexual interest. The cluster of social mores that constitute heterosexist attitudes is defined and described, with illustrations from various contexts showing both the subtle and the overt ways in which these…

This research study was designed to examine the attitudes of preschool children toward the disabled, evaluate the children's awareness and understanding of physical impairment, and examine the possibility of modifying preschool children's attitudes towards disabled children. Subjects were 102 children, 3-5 years of age, enrolled in preschools or…

Adding to prior literature on adults' and children's appraisals of stressors, this study examined relationships among children's negative cognitive errors regarding hypothetical negative divorce events, positive illusions about those same events, the actual divorce events, and children's post-divorce psychological adjustment. Subjects were 38…

This paper argues that graduating business students from institutions of higher education must be better equipped to deal with a changing world and be provided with the skills necessary to compete in a world moving towards market globalization. To do this, it is suggested that direct alliances with business and government sectors by means of…

Homophobia is a term used to describe irrational fears about, prejudice, and discrimination against homosexuals. Past research has shown that religious people were more homophobic than nonreligious ones and that these same individuals were more likely to have a high level of sex anxiety. In recent research, it has been found that with the onset of…