This book, designed for teachers, parents and caregivers, discusses the development of self esteem, competence, and sense of belonging in children. The development of self concept is traced from early infancy through adolescence. Specific topics include reinforcement, imitation, the relationship between self-concept and achievement, sexual…

The empirical results of a multivariate regression analysis of data secured for Phase II of Pennsylvania's Educational Quality Assessment Project are presented. Regression equations are computed for each of ten goals at both the grade five and grade eleven levels. Restrictions which the method imposes on the interpretation of data are discussed,…

Changes in six measures of achievement-related motivation and confidence were tested in a longitudinal study of 138 women and 96 men during their first year at a midwestern university. Findings suggest that, for these measures, assimilation into the campus environment had a positive effect on men but not on women. (Author/BS)

Examines the extent to which variation in self-reported delinquency is explained by the seven containment variables (favorable self-concept, goal orientation, frustration tolerance, retention of norms, internalization of rules, availability of meaningful roles, and group reinforcement), and focuses on racial and sex differences in self-reported…

Motivational patterns and self-regulatory activities of 119 undergraduates were studied through a questionnaire examining perceived ability and goal orientation. Findings are generally consistent with the goal orientation theory of C. S. Dweck, although the predicted integration of dominant goal orientation and perceived ability did not appear.…

The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) was administered to 219 Czech adolescents, 132 of whom were mathematically gifted. Two distinct orthogonal constructs of perfectionism were identified, indicating that healthy and unhealthy perfectionism are not opposite poles on a single continuum but are independent constructs. Perfectionism was…

We present our recent research on children's learning goals and personal agency in the domain of learning in order to show the complexity of selves in Chinese culture. Our research poses challenges to the widely claimed collectivist self-concept in Chinese children and calls for reexamination of selves in specific domains across cultures.…

Placed in the current political context of growing liberalization within China, this essay describes the Shanghai Hotline for Sexual Minorities. Funded by agencies outside the government, these services target LGBTs toward self-acceptance and AIDS/STD education while seeking to reduce social prejudice.

Disruptive students are often perceived to be unmotivated, low in self-concept, and lacking in creative characteristics such as originality in thinking and imagination. A total of 99 students from 6th Grade classes of a primary school in Hong Kong completed a survey asking about their effort goal orientation in school motivation, academic…

This study sought to determine if there is a difference in the self-concept of students who are labeled or nonlabeled as having a disabling condition. Subjects in the study were 50 general education Chicago (Illinois) students (ages 12-15) and 50 special education students labeled as having learning disabilities, educable mental handicap, or…

A study of specific factors that a group of black students perceive as blockages to their occupational attainment suggest two blockage types, individual and structural. An examination of these factors and their relationships to sex and occupational aspiration variables indicates that there are no significant relationships between sex and…

AN EVALUATION WAS MADE OF THE SUCCESS OF A PROGRAM FOR DISADVANTAGED PRESCHOOL CHILDREN ESTABLISHED TO ENHANCE THEIR SELF-CONCEPT, INCREASE THEIR LEARNING ABILITY, AND FOSTER IN THEM A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD SCHOOL. THE PROGRAM FOCUSED ON THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF THE CHILDREN AND TEACHERS AND ON THE CURRICULUM IN THE 38 PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS.…

Recognizing the difficulties that first-time faculty face, the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) (Maryland) developed an extended orientation program for new faculty based on the principles of learning communities: shared knowledge, shared knowing, and shared responsibility. In 1998, CCBC committed to a 5-year strategy of becoming a…

A total of 284 first-year undergraduate business studies students in a post-1992 university in Greater London completed a questionnaire regarding their motives for deciding to participate in higher education. The questionnaire also queried whether the decision to enroll had been "marginal," or was something about which they had never had…

This small book is designed to be an easy-to-read, practical introduction for college freshmen to the college setting. Written by a college art instructor and designed to answer many of the questions that official college publications may not answer clearly, it presents information in short, direct, one or two paragraph items. The items are…