This guide for educators who work with discouraged and defeated learners recommends ways to prevent problems and offers approaches to develop positive attitudes. The introduction dispels common fictions about discouraged learners. Part 1, "Profiles of Our Other Youth: Discouraged and Defeated Learners," describes behavioral and life situations,…

Two instructional techniques, Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT), and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD), contain a team component and a comparison-among-equals component. To separate the effects of these two components on academic performance, mutual attraction, and student attitudes, a 2 x 2 factorial design was used, varying reward structure…

These reports deal with language as a whole: its nature, its history, its relationship to culture, its acquisition, the immediate uses to which it can be put, and the development in students of an appreciation for the ability to use a foreign language. The book is divided into three main sections: Acquisition, Application, and Appreciation. For…

In order to gather opinions and data about the impact of Los Angeles City College's tutorial program, a two-part study was conducted in Spring 1979. Initially, the academic records of 477 students who had received tutoring in Spring 1979 were examined and compared with overall campus performance averages in the following areas: class(es) for which…

A study concerned with ways to increase occupational opportunities for women (but not intended as a study of sex discrimination) was undertaken to identify steps that can be taken to encourage young women to enter vocational areas that have been traditionally limited to males. Eleven vocational and comprehensive high schools were located that had…

Learner perceptions of online learning were examined in a study of the views of learners enrolled in online vocational education and training (VET) courses across Australia. Data were collected from the following sources: an online questionnaire completed by 356 students and 63 educators; case studies of 6 VET organizations; and interviews and…

This study compared the perceptions of teachers and their students about the frequency with which the teachers used motivational strategies that supported mastery goals with both high- and low-performing students. A sample of 47 middle school teachers and their students (314 high-performing and 243 low-performing) completed teacher and student…

A study examined individual student, institutional, and environmental factors influencing student non-completions and determined strategies that Western Australia's Central TAFE (technical and further education) might introduce to improve student retention. After completing a multivariate analysis of module completion rates, further data for a…

This report compares the thoughts and opinions of 106 National Scholars recognized by the Horatio Alger Association with those of a national sample of 2,250 adolescents 14 to 18 years old. The report summarizes findings "at a glance" in 11 categories: (1) schools; (2) student environment; (3) courses important for future success; (4) attitudes;…

Contends that, in the public's perception, much of adolescents' trouble today can be traced to deterioration in the quality of family life. Reports on a study of education completion and marriage. Finds that females living with mothers only, who complete their senior year in high school, actually have higher educational attainment and later…

Maintains that content-rich, meaningful curricula can provide learning opportunities to all students. Describes an informal, nonprofit community-based learning program that extends the school's curriculum beyond the classroom by providing access to multimedia resources. Presents an 11-step collaborative model for the project. (CFR)

A study involving 199 private liberal arts college freshmen found a weak but statistically significant correlation between high school grade point average and freshman grade point average (FGPA) but not between Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and FGPA. For academically underprepared freshmen, motivation-related noncognitive variables significantly…

Maintains that elementary teachers are encouraged to integrate the curriculum to motivate students. Describes an instructional unit in which students set up and run an "international store," in which the items are priced in foreign currency. Provides recommendations on designing the unit and operating the store. (CFR)

Describes a school-university collaboration that developed alternative teaching strategies for motivating inner-city, African-American middle school students (effort-based grading, multiple performance opportunities, increased student responsibility/choice, and validation of cultural differences). Observations, teacher journals, and student…

The Instructional and Performance Technology Department at Boise State University (Idaho) offers a master's degree program via distance education to prepare adult students for careers in the areas of instructional design, job performance improvement, human resources, organizational redesign, training, and training management. Most students attend…