This study looked at patterns of relationship among motivational and effort variables for different classroom assessments, considering the assignments interest and importance, students self-efficacy for accomplishing the tasks, and the goal orientations and learning strategy use behind their efforts. A multiple case study design looked at the…

College student retention has become the area of research that has done the most to integrate various administrative factors and academic disciplinary concerns in the research agenda of higher education. V. Tintos model has long been cited as the major theory in explaining dropout behavior. As his theory is so intertwined with path analysis,…

A path analytic model of state test anxiety was tested in 169 college students who were enrolled in statistics courses. Variables in the model included gender, mathematics ability, trait test anxiety (trait worry and trait emotionality as separate variables), statistics course anxiety, statistics achievement (scores on midterm examinations),…

This review of the procedures involved in using path analysis provides guidelines for more effective future utilization of recursive path analysis in the field of family studies. (Author)

Used path analysis in two experiments to examine possibility that age difference in infants' long-term retention were artifacts of correlated differences in learning rates or learning opportunities. Found that developmental declines in forgetting rates between 12 and 18 months were independent of developmental differences in learning. Age…

Rated first through fifth graders' political knowledge and recall of a simulated news story. Used path analysis to determine relationships among grade level, political knowledge, recall of specific story information, and generation of inferences from the story. Results suggested that children's domain-specific knowledge is more influential in…

Six methods for fitting path models with weighted composites of variables replacing latent variables (of which five are easily implemented with conventional computer software) are introduced and related to "soft" modeling by Partial Least Squares. Criteria for comparing their performance are devised, and some evaluative remarks are…

Using responses of 90 undergraduate and graduate students, developed a model in which action-control belief variables have only an indirect effect on students' attitudes to writing a thesis mediated through two academic orientation variables. The model accounted for a large proportion of the repeatable variance in the two academic orientation…

Eight articles discuss Program Theory (PT) construction issues, administrators as applied theorists, tests of PT, using path analysis to develop/evaluate PT, using PT to describe/measure program quality, developing/testing program classification and function theories, a pattern-matching approach to link PT and evaluation data, and linking PT and…

An author of a paper (EC 602 060) that presents two causal models of learning disabilities comments on his interest in the research, how the research design developed, limitations of the research, and the need for replication with other disability groups. (JDD)

Uses path analysis to investigate a model of agenda-setting. Supports the model, showing that, if individuals perceive the media to be highly credible, they will rely on the media for information, will increase their exposure to media messages and in turn will become more susceptible to agenda-setting. (SR)

Path analysis shows that a year-long program integrating reading/language arts and science instruction, Concept Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI), had a positive effect on strategy use and text comprehension for students in grades 3 (N=48) and 5 (n=40) when accounting for past achievement and prior knowledge. (SLD)

A social cognitive model was applied to the prediction of interest in research among counseling psychology doctoral students (N=184). Five variables emerged as significant predictors. Several factors indirectly affected interest in research through effects on research self-efficacy and research outcome expectations. Relationships among the…

Studied the relationships among motivation, persistence, and performance in a sample of 51 German college students. Path analysis showed that initial motivation influenced persistence but that the relationship between persistence and performance was disrupted because learners with more knowledge stopped sooner. (SLD)

Research suggests that families have development histories which influence their responses to situations across the life course. The present study examined the effects of family relationship histories on intergenerational affection and conflict between adult children and their parents and how this affects parents' depressive symptoms. Path…