The results of a path analysis revealed the following causal sequence or pathway of influence on the social status of educable mentally retarded children: from observed behavior and achievement, to teacher perceptions of these competencies, to student perceptions of the competencies, and finally, to social status of the handicapped students.…

Examined the influence of ethnic status, parent values, and parent perceptions and aspirations regarding their children's chances for future occupational opportunity. Specific attention was paid to the influence which Black and Mexican American mothers' perceptions have on children's aspirations. A causal model is analyzed. (Author/DB)

The extent of the direct and indirect influence of quality of instruction, motivation, quantity of academic coursework, and homework on academic achievement was investigated using path analysis. Data from the High School and Beyond Study of 28,051 high school seniors were used. (SLD)

Findings are reported from a study which compared the effectiveness of specialized and general fifth-grade science teachers (N=86). A causal model, derived from path analysis, was constructed to explain the apparent lack of effect on student achievement of the superior preparation and instruction of specialized teachers.(IAH)

Three models of achievement motivation in the classroom are contrasted. Results with 155 high school students suggest that the model of C. S. Dweck and E. S. Elliott offers a better explanation of the relationships among achievement motivation, attributions, emotional reactions, expectancies, and performance than do the other models. (SLD)

Indicates that measures of reflective reasoning skill are significantly related to initial scientific beliefs about evolution, as well as to gains in declarative knowledge about evolution; however, the same measures are not significantly related to changes in those beliefs. Interrelationships among the study's major variables and their educational…

This paper argues that efficacy of early intervention must be assessed in relation to both program and extra-program variables. A framework outlining five classes of independent variables and two classes of outcomes to be considered in efficacy research is presented, and regression and path analytic techniques are suggested as tools for addressing…

The work of J. Eccles and others (1983) in proposing an integrative theoretical model of achievement behaviors was extended using data from the Second International Mathematics Study. Strong support was found for the constructs identified by the model as determinants of the intention to take more mathematics courses. (SLD)

This overview of nonexperimental causal research methods focuses on latent variable structural equation modeling using the LISREL computer program. An extended example in special education is used to present LISREL as an extension of structural equations analysis (path analysis) and as a method of reducing the effects of error in research.…

A study using a path-analytic model compared first-year college students enrolled in remedial-type mathematics courses with counterparts enrolled in nonremedial coursework. Results revealed that students enrolled in nonremedial courses entered the institution with many advantages over those enrolled in remedial mathematics. Background variables…

Drawing from the Technology Acceptance Model, this correlational study was intended to determine student users' adoption of WebCT and its relationship to their final grade. In acknowledging the relevance of human-computer interaction, the author attempted to investigate a belief-attitude-behavior relationship in a WebCT setting. Given a social…

Video games have become one of the favorite activities of American children. A growing body of research is linking violent video game play to aggressive cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors. The first goal of this study was to document the video games habits of adolescents and the level of parental monitoring of adolescent video game use. The…

Using survey data collected from households living in the Brisbane-South East Queensland region, a rapidly growing metropolis in Australia, path analysis is used to test links between urban residents' assessment of various urban attributes and their level of satisfaction in three urban domains--housing, neighbourhood or local area, and the wider…

Detailed methodology used to evaluate a causal model of school environment is presented in this report. The model depicts societal features that influence school district values and organizational characteristics, which in turn influence school operations and personnel attitudes and values. These school variables affect school community members'…

The study examined whether embedding the linear equations and ratio and proportion strategies used to solve percent problems in the higher-order structures of proportional logic and group properties would aid achievement. Thus, it examined the interaction in differences in understanding fundamental structures in mathematics, and instruction…