The transition from the confines of the home to higher institutions means a different dimension of life for most students. These students need to feel supported and cared for by the new community or the school family to which they are now part. Students' perception of this condition leads to their connectedness to the school and the school…

Colleges throughout the country are bracing for a large influx of returning veterans over the next couple of years and the question is whether they can meet the needs of this population. There is a paucity of empirical literature on Iraqi and/or Afghan veterans' adjustment in the college arena and the factors that mitigate the attrition rate and…

This article reports on an empirical study that examines general academic difficulties, and academic reading and writing difficulties among Asian ESL (English as a Second Language) international postgraduate students who are completing a Master's Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at an Australian university. The…

This best practices piece is based on key research into high school transition strategies. It draws on two studies of high school reform models conducted by MDRC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization, which shed light on promising strategies to support ninth-grade students. Increasing the capacity of high schools to provide extra help…

The purpose of this research was to examine the extent to which urban community college students' experiences with validation by faculty contributed to their sense of integration in college and whether this, in turn, contributed to their intent to persist in college. This study focused on urban community college students' validating experiences…

To determine the status of emotionally handicapped children who had attended a psychoeducational intensive day treatment facility and to explore procedures for long term assessment, a followup telephone interview was undertaken with 37 parents or guardians of the elementary program clients. It was found that the children are for the most part…

This study surveyed the regional cluster doctoral students in Nova University's Programs for Higher Education to determine their orientation needs and then developed a comprehensive orientation manual. Needs assessment survey forms were received from 24 regional cluster students (out of 29 survey forms sent) as well as 9 South Florida local…

The paper describes the Coping Inventory, an observation instrument that provides an index of handicapped children's adaptive behavior by assessing the behaviors and skills they use to meet their own needs and adapt to the demands of their environment. Coping is defined as an active, adaptive process of using strategies to manage one's world.…

The purpose of this study was to examine how Asian students at Western Michigan University (WMU) have adjusted to U.S. culture and more specifically to life at a U.S. university. I. Owie (1982) found a high degree of social alienation among foreign students at two Midwestern U.S. universities. He recommended that universities continuously evaluate…

Foreign students frequently encounter problems adjusting to new social environments while attending institutions of higher education. The purpose of this study was to describe the level of social difficulty experienced by foreign students from different regions of the world while studying in the United States. The target population for this study…

Women who enter college after a significant interruption in their education often face obstacles or barriers that affect their success. These obstacles are typically classified into one of three categories: institutional barriers, situational barriers, or dispositional barriers. This study, conducted with 47 graduate women with a mean age of 34.7…

Results of evaluating the June 1987 orientation program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington are discussed and compared to findings of the 1986 orientation program evaluation. Items that were ranked as the four highest and four lowest aspects of orientation are identified. Orientation leader effectiveness is also assessed, along with…

The document describes a study which investigated the social adjustment of orthopedically handicapped (OH), mainstreamed, high school students by comparing their status with that of their nonOH classmates on several socioaffective measures. An introduction reviews literature on the assumptions underlying mainstreaming and research on the academic…

A survey completed by 105 incoming college freshmen at Arkansas State University evaluated the new student orientation program. The orientation program consisted of the following activities and sessions: President's Reception, Playfair (an icebreaker), Meet the Dean, Tips from the Professor, Greek Life Picnic, Student Services/Educational…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant difference existed in the pretest/posttest self-reported academic and social-transitional anxieties of first-year community college students (n=356) at the start and at the end of their first semester of college enrollment. The study was conducted in the absence of a formal…