This paper examines a broad set of beliefs about achievement and the relationship of those beliefs to performance and future plans in mathematics and English. The two main purposes of the analysis are (1) to assess gender and grade-level differences in children's achievement beliefs as they proceed through junior and senior high school, and (2) to…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 34 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: an evaluation of college-level dictionaries for use in freshman composition; peer feedback during the writing process; the effects of formal, traditional grammar…

This report presents an overview of the history of the Junior High Classroom Organization Study, designed to answer questions concerning effective instruction in junior high school English and mathematics classes. Nineteen trained observers were sent to 52 classrooms in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. Observers kept written records…

This paper describes a study which evaluates two classroom innovations directed at the problems of student motivation, academic performance, and social perceptions. These innovations, "Student Learning Teams" and "Academic Divisions," are evaluated in a two by two factorial field experiment in eight seventh grade English…

Two problems which the language arts teacher encounters are the effect of science on language teaching and the nation's commitment to "excellence for all" as measured by objective examination. Scientists, who value exactness, objectivity, and control, have imposed their values on language and have attempted to construct machines that will use and…

This research study deals with the relationships of personality and intelligence to English school achievements in the seventh grade of Finnish secondary school. Emphasis is placed upon student factors in learning and teaching a foreign language, particularly upon those student variables which the teacher can influence. A literature review…

The working party was first set up in December 1965. In the spring term of 1966 some 22 primary schools with large numbers of immigrants were visited and long discussions held with head teachers and staff. It was then decided to collect written information from all the Authority's schools containing juniors and with more than one third of their…

This paper attempted to determine whether increasing technology, specifically a computer-based instructional approach, into the curriculum increases student learning, focusing on effects on student attitudes and self-efficacy. Participants were 47 fifth graders in a private school. One group received computer-based instruction in English grammar,…

One of the aims of Maori-medium education is to address Maori language loss. One of the challenges facing Maori-medium educators is to identify configurations that acknowledge the substantive importance of English language instruction without detracting from the priority that must be given to the regeneration of the Maori language. Issues…

According to Columbia University social psychologist Carol Dweck, teachers may find some answers to students' ways of thinking if they consider students' views of "intelligence." In "Messages That Motivate: How Praise Molds Students' Beliefs, Motivation, and Performance (in Surprising Ways)," Dweck maintains that academic motivation and…

Given the cost of running second or foreign language teacher training programs with a high number of in-school placement hours, the selection of candidates who are likely perform well academically and complete their studies is an important consideration. The purpose of the present study was to examine the potential offered by vocabulary profiles…

This paper describes a qualitative study of asynchronous electronic conferencing by three tutorial groups on the same postgraduate course ("Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Worldwide"), forming part of an MA in Applied Linguistics (via Distance Education) at the Open University, UK. The groups varied in the degree to which…

It is time for high school and college educators alike to come to grips with the fact that high school and college are not nearly as well aligned as they need to be. As a result, many high school students who have set attending college as a goal never get there, and many who do make it struggle to succeed once they arrive. Merely taking…

The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) is designed to provide assistance to low income students. The program provides discretionary grants for the purpose of increasing the readiness of low income students to attend and succeed in postsecondary education. The grants are up to six years in length and provide…

THE EFFECTS OF A PROGRAMMED TEXT IN REVIEW ENGLISH CLASSES WERE STUDIED BY COMPARISON OF FINAL EXAMINATION SCORES ACHIEVED BY TWO GROUPS OF 58 STUDENTS WHO HAD BEEN MATCHED ON THE BASIS OF SCORES ON THE ENGLISH SCREENING TEST. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP RECEIVED INSTRUCTION BY MEANS OF A PROGRAMMED TEXT, AND THE CONTROL GROUP USED A CONVENTIONAL BOOK.…