Examines the similarities and differences in the socialization of activists who participated in two sets of 1960s-era movements: the antiwar, student, and civil rights protesters; and community environmental movements. Findings show that social class, social-psychological orientation, and religious socialization are predictors of participation in…

Compares the science locus of control and the past science experiences of a group of preservice teachers who had declared an academic concentration in science with elementary education majors in general. Finds that the science-concentration group reported more favorable science experiences from kindergarten through college. Contains 14 references.…

Examines the effects of previous experiences in science learning on prospective elementary teachers' interest and confidence in teaching science. Reports on the effect of an inquiry-based science methods course on teacher interest and confidence. Finds that elementary school experience, plus the number of science courses taken in college,…

Examined technical and adaptive competence in coping among 97 African-American adolescents with learning disabilities. Findings indicated that short-term, reactive, technical competence was a better predictor of feelings of efficacy, and longer-term, developmental adaptive competence was a better predictor of behavioral problems. Gender subsample…

Analysis of questionnaires completed by 69 parents of children, birth to age 5, with disabilities or at risk for poor developmental outcomes found that parent and family characteristics showed no relationship to either help-giving practices or perceptions of personal control and self-efficacy. However, program characteristics were associated with…

Data collected for this study (n=88) of fourth- and fifth-grade students targeted the status of relationships among sociocognitive factors (confidence in writing, metacognition, academic motivation, and self-efficacy) with selected group dynamic features of task structure preference and audience awareness. Study and discussion of results are…

A study (n=397) examined gender differences in self-efficacy beliefs for social process skills important in academic careers, and the relationship of social process self-efficacy to career achievement. Males were found significantly more confident than females for social process skills, before controlling for experience, academic rank, field, and…

A field test was conducted of a student-directed transition planning program designed to enable 53 high school students with mild mental retardation and learning disabilities to participate more meaningfully in their transition planning process. Following training, significant changes in students' scores on self-efficacy and outcome expectancy…

Because school success is predicted largely by emotional and social measures, teachers and parents cannot start too early in helping children develop their emotional intelligence. The paper describes emotional intelligence, discusses how to teach it, and presents resources for learning how other schools are helping students build emotional…

Tracked a cohort of preservice teachers to determine the effects of coursework and experiences on efficacy and knowledge of mathematics and assessment reforms and extent to which classroom practices aligned with knowledge of reforms. Pre- and post-course and post-internship evaluations indicated that sense of efficacy and classroom practices did…

A study involving 22 students with learning disabilities (LD), 42 students with comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (LD/ADHD), and 86 controls, found students with LD and LD/ADHD had significantly lower scores on academic self-concept, academic attributional style, and academic self-efficacy beliefs than controls. Students with…

This study examined the relationship between widowed persons' baseline assessments of self-efficacy beliefs and their ratings of perceived health-related quality of life, life sanctions, and self-esteem obtained in an 18-month follow-up. Results revealed widows and widowers differ significantly with respect to self-efficacy and perceived quality…

Describes the development of Building Family Foundations, 10 competency-based interactive multimedia modules for preparing social workers for child welfare issues they may encounter in professional practice. Discusses results of pre- and post-tests that evaluated the program in terms of students' content knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitudes…

This study examined relationships between faculty computer self-efficacy and integration of electronic communication when teaching. Results showed computer self-efficacy scores differed on age, gender, college, integration, and computer experience. Recommends faculty development efforts to increase self-efficacy by providing hands-on experiences…

This article details how an action research/reflective practitioner approach added value to the efforts of participants who were engaged in developing their practice and working together within a New Labour area-based policy initiative. The process of reflecting and learning together in the project supported practitioners in thinking, learning…