The purpose of the study described here was to examine gender as it affects elementary-school teacher attitudes towards teaching science. The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) was employed to measure the self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs of elementary preservice and inservice teachers. Due to the experience of females…

The focus of this curriculum is on prevention of spinal cord injury (SCI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The program is aimed at young children because it is during the early years that behavioral patterns are formed which become increasingly more difficult to modify as the child enters adolescence. The curriculum is based on principles of…

This paper describes the use of electronic journals (e-journals) and technology portfolios as an instructional strategy in preservice teacher education technology courses. Introduction to Media and Computers in Teaching is an introductory level, two-credit, preservice teacher education course offered at the University of Virginia. In this course,…

Pedagogical content knowledge is defined as the blending of subject matter knowledge, general knowledge of learning and teaching, knowledge about specific learners, and knowledge of instructional representations of subject matter such as activities, examples, demonstrations, analogies, and illustrations. This study was conducted to identify…

This study sought to determine whether the motivational patterns of first-year university students differed between courses of varying difficulty levels, and the nature of the interactions between self-efficacy, attributional style, and academic achievement. A total of 509 students majoring in history, physical education, mathematics, and private…

Educology is the fund of knowledge about the educational process, which obviously occurs within and outside of schools. Educology includes, at the least, the fund of knowledge about past education (historical educology), about current states of affairs in education (scientific educology), about effective practices within education (praxiological…

Current teacher educators are being challenged to find opportunities for their preservice teachers to develop both competence in, and confidence for, integrating technology into their curricula. Given the difficulty involved in trying to arrange successful classroom technology experiences for preservice teachers, this study was designed to examine…

A longitudinal sample of 242 predominantly white teacher candidates was studied to identify possible relationships between the candidates' academic abilities, the degree of their success in making the transition from student to teacher, and their development of concerns about teaching during teacher preparation as hypothesized by Fuller's model of…

Students exhibiting failure syndrome approach assignments with low expectations of success and tend to give up at early signs of difficulty. This Digest delineates the nature of failure syndrome, suggests strategies for coping with failure syndrome students, and discusses how teachers can help. Some students, especially in the early grades, show…

This paper examines the relation of cognitive and developmental-contextual variables to alcohol use in adolescence and early adulthood in an attempt to increase the understanding of alcohol use during this age period. Components for each of the rational decision making theories, specifically attitude, subjective norm, and self-efficacy, were…

Describes a study that examined various characteristics of undergraduate students enrolled in a computer skills course. Variables considered include gender, college major, high school computer courses, other prior computer experience, computer self-efficacy, computer attitude, computer anxiety, and cognitive style. (Author/LRW)

To improve instructional computer use by university faculty, an inservice program consisting of showcases, seminars, and workshops was funded, designed, and implemented. The program proved to be a cost-effective way for administrators to promote classroom use of computers by fostering faculty's confidence and computer self-efficacy. Seminar topics…

This study investigated middle school organizational patterns and their impact on teachers' efficacy and perceptions of the working environment. Analysis of survey responses by 81 eighth grade teachers indicated that teachers on interdisciplinary teams with common planning time were significantly more positive than were teachers on…

Describes a project guided by the resilience paradigm in which a team of 4 social workers and 17 prevention personnel collaborated on programs serving 2000 inner-city adolescents. The project team concluded that a modified consultation model is essential for implementing new techniques and that positive, supportive relationships are singularly…

This study examined the effects of child day care, evening care, and night care on the development and adaptation of young children in Japan. Caregivers completed a survey on the home childrearing environment, their feelings of self-efficacy, and the presence of child care support. Results of the discriminant analysis indicated that factors in the…