Grade 5-6 boys worked on a discrimination task under one of five conditions: no feedback; positive feedback following successes; positive feedback following failure; negative feedback following successes; and negative feedback following failures. Boys persisted longest on the task when they received either positive or negative feedback following…

The study found that although field independent and field dependent sixth grade students had equal prior knowledge of economic concepts, field independent students learned more than field dependent students from "Trade-Offs." Males were more field independent than females. Although males scored higher on the posttest, the difference was…

The study attempted to further clarify the relationship between speed and memory span by directly examining whether slower identification of item information is the source of span difficulties in learning disabled (LD) children. Forty-eight sixth grade boys participated in the study, 24 LD and 24 non-LD. The method involved pretesting each subject…

Concludes that, if sex role stereotypes have developed prior to school entrance, they have partially diminished by grade six. (FL)

The relationship between intelligence, field dependence, leadership, and self-concept was studied in 88 sixth grade boys. Field independence, as measured by the Group Embedded Figures Test, was related to intelligence and self-concept. Analytic subjects exhibited more leadership than global subjects, while IQ did not differentiate subjects on any…

In a newly desegregated school, sixth graders with varying degrees of previous interracial contact were asked to rate their classmates as preferred work or play partners. Results indicated that: (1) there were no differences in cross-race ratings made by students with a great deal of prior interracial contact and those with little prior…

The scores of fifth- and sixth-grade students on the "Survey of Reading Attitudes" revealed significant gender differences. (FL)

This study examined care-based moral reasoning in 23 white females and 23 white males, ages 11 through 12 years in a small Canadian eastcoast town. Subjects were administered the Ethic of Care Interview (ECI), a measure administered in a structured interview format consisting of four dilemmas. In addition to three standardized, interpersonal…

The challenge that middle school age youngsters' rapidly changing sexual, emotional, and physical characteristics present to educators, has made these educators concerned with factors that have a bearing on instructional programs. A study was developed to assess the attitudes of middle school children toward reading and to determine whether there…

A study investigated (1) the effectiveness of giving instructions to form mental images prior to reading a text and at the conclusion of the text, and (2) sex differences in the ability of below average readers to form mental images. Subjects were 47 sixth grade students who were below average readers. The subjects were randomly assigned, by sex,…

A study was conducted to discover if the stated reading attitudes and interests of sixth grade students were relevant to their self-selected reading materials. Fifty students completed questionnaires concerning their reading attitudes and interests and used log sheets to record information about their self-selected reading materials. The results…

Describes research concerning achievement differences between sixth grade boys and girls in individualistic and cooperative-learning situations. Reports that cooperative learning produced greater retention and higher level learning. Found no differences in achievement, verbal participation, perceived leadership, and status between the sexes at the…

A practicum was designed to employ multiple intervention techniques in an effort to improve the negative self-concept of sixth-grade black male students who were involved in rampant acts of verbal and physical aggression that disrupted the flow of class activities. Peer facilitator training was provided for the boys. Other components of the…

This paper reports on the development of a school-based Afrocentric intervention for middle school male adolescents who are at risk for academic failure or underachievement. The intervention combined the principles of the rites of passage movement within African American communities and current thinking on the process of second culture acquisition…

The attitudes and beliefs regarding gender, achievement and self-concept of sixth-grade students from a rural Kansas elementary school were assessed. Research consistently demonstrates females' superior verbal ability over males and males' stronger quantitative skills when compared to females. Explores the development of these differences in rural…