Describes a study conducted at four North Carolina community colleges of the relationship between completion of an orientation by new students, higher retention, and grade point averages. Indicates that completing an orientation course during the first term of enrollment promotes and improves student performance regardless of age, gender, race,…

Interviewed teachers and parents concerning newly developed school services for 6-year olds in Stockholm, Sweden, where the traditional age for starting school will change from 7 to a flexible 6 or 7 in 1997. Results from ratings done by teachers indicate that the new services have had a positive influence on the children's adjustment and peer…

Explores the impact of sensitive caregiver relationships on a child's emotional, social, and cognitive development. Includes suggestions for emphasizing such relationships in early childhood programs, including planning routines and activities that focus on relationships. (HTH)

Examined the social behavior, social adjustment, and school adjustment of a sample of elementary school students in Shanghai, China. Found that, consistent with studies of Western children, sociability-leadership was associated with and predictive of indexes of adjustment. Inconsistent with Western studies, shyness-sensitivity was positively and…

Following 180 African-American and 332 white students in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) as they entered junior high school reveals that African-American males differ from other racial/gender groups in having earlier adoption of behaviors and attitudes consistent with the stereotype of adolescence. Many other changes were similar for white and…

Stresses the central role of academic advising in student retention. Reviews Tinto's model of retention stressing the importance of student academic and social integration. Describes studies demonstrating the predictive validity of integration for retention, and identifying attitudinal and behavioral correlates of attrition. Reviews obstacles to…

Examines effects of parental participation in work and family roles on perceptions of responsibility for their children's school adjustment for 129 female and 124 male college students. Results raise concerns about perceptions of responsibility for divorced working mothers, who were given less credit and more blame than other groups. (SLD)

Applies a path model previously used for Anglo youth to the relationships among family strengths, religious identification, school adjustment, family sanctions against drug use, and peer relationships and youth drug use for 477 American Indian high school juniors and seniors. Discusses differences in findings from those for Anglo youth. (SLD)

This study evaluated whether personality and family characteristics could predict socioemotional adjustment of 44 adolescent girls enrolled in a residential early college entrance/acceleration program. Results indicated predictive relationships between staff, student, and peer assessments (such as Jackson Personality Inventory and the…

Three construct scores (academic skills, parent discipline, and parent involvement) and 2 discrete code category measures (positive responses and total positive behavior) were recorded for 39 antisocial and 41 at-risk grade-4 boys. Five resulting regression prediction models produced strong effects in accounting for school achievement, adjustment,…

Examined contributions of different risk factors to predicting children's psychological and academic outcomes at end of first grade. Found that each analysis level contributed to prediction of most outcomes; 18 to 29% of outcome variance was predicted; a common set of predictors predicted numerous outcomes; ethnicity showed little unique…

A survey of 117 freshman and 113 junior women investigated their perceptions of the personal adjustment issues they faced and the solutions they arrived at during their experience at a university. Four areas of adjustment are discussed: underestimation of financial expenses; unfamiliar teaching techniques; large classes; and disillusionment with…

Examined how young adolescents perceived the opportunities provided by middle school teachers and staff and how such opportunities related to changes in academic and social-emotional functioning over time. Found that specific instructional, interpersonal, and organizational dimensions of middle school life were associated in important ways with…

Describes the Language and Learning Seminar, a college course at York University, Ontario, that is designed to help students with learning disabilities grapple with learned helplessness issues. The supportive group process of learning therapy is embedded into the writing course, helping students address the emotional concomitants of failure and…

Examined effects of normative school transition during early adolescence on self-esteem and perceived school and peer social contexts. Subjects were 580 black, white, and Latino youth from low-income families. Found that the transition from elementary to middle or junior high schools led to declines in self-esteem, class preparation, and grade…