Examines the determinants of occupational and educational aspirations and expectations of adolescents. Dependent variables considered in the study included parents' occupational status and education, and students' grade level, sex, ethnicity, reading level, and knowledge of the work world. (Author/MW)

As subsystems within the stepfamily structure compete for limited resources, conflicts arise among subsystems and within subsystems among persons with membership in different subunits. Stepfamilies can become more unified through recognition of prior loyalties, negotiations to resolve conflicts, and techniques to redefine the boundaries between…

A meta-analysis of school-based substance abuse prevention studies revealed that the mean proportion of subjects retained dropped from 81.4 percent at the three-month followup to 67.5 percent at the three-year followup. Researchers should interpret their results in light of these normative data and adopt second-effort strategies to reduce…

Examined cohort replacement explanation of secular changes in parental socialization values, based on surveys of metropolitan area in 1958, 1971, and 1983 which revealed a significant change in parental values with greater preference for autonomy for children and less preference for obedience. Cohorts born since 1930 tended more to prefer autonomy…

Linkages between educational system and occupational structure were compared in 2 countries using data on matched male labor market cohorts. Despite substantial differences in educational systems and career mobility processes, societal openness (indicated by occupational status 10 and 20 years after first job) was similar. Contains 42 references.…

Effects of total extracurricular activity participation (TEAP) during the last 2 years of high school were examined using data for 4,000 students from the High School and Beyond Survey. Results support a commitment-to-school hypothesis in which identification with school and school values is enhanced by TEAP. (SLD)

Statistical methods for program evaluation with nonexperimental data are reviewed with emphasis on circumstances in which nonexperimental data are valid. Three solutions are proposed for problems of selection bias, and implications for evaluation design and data collection and analysis are discussed. (SLD)

Reports results of a study examining racism among young white adults using 12 racial policy questions. Evaluates cohort effects and events of the period in shaping racial attitudes. Discusses the effects of education and school desegregation on racial attitudes. Concludes that racial tolerance and liberalism are not decreasing. (DK)

Documents the longitudinal achievement growth of Chapter I students based on nationally representative data from the Prospects Study, which focuses on two- and three-year patterns of Chapter I participation for as many as 40,000 students in three grade cohorts. Overall, significant positive results generally were restricted to the more advantaged…

This paper conceptualises a basis for understanding learning in workplaces. This comprises a duality between how access to workplace activities and guidance is afforded, on the one hand, and how workers elect to engage with what is afforded to them, on the other. This reciprocal basis for thinking, acting and learning is referred to as…

A formative assessment task was developed to improve the scientific report writing skills of university students. Students undertaking this task typically possessed varying levels of scientific literacy and were drawn from a cohort of mixed abilities. The assessment task involved the construction of a scientific report that included feedback from…

The decision for psychiatric hospitalization after deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) is not well understood. This study, a longitudinal cohort study of 3,148 consecutive DSP patients found 920 (29.2%) subjects were referred for psychiatric hospitalization, 576 (18.3%) on involuntary basis. A logistic regression analysis showed increased risk for:…

Since the global item of subjective health has emerged as a strong predictor of important health outcomes such as mortality, there have been many attempts to uncover its correlates. In this study, we tested whether personality as assessed via the five-factor model of personality predicted subjective health when physician-rated health and…

This paper outlines the main substantive findings from the latest stage of a research programme which began in 1982. The most recent project was designed to provide an interim snapshot through a questionnaire survey of the progress of a group of young men and women whom we have been following since the start of their secondary education when they…

For more than 50 years, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has been conducting comparative studies of educational achievement in a number of curriculum areas, including mathematics and science. TIMSS 2011 represents the fifth cycle of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS),…