Two aspects of knowledge use in schools are analyzed in this report. The first considers the "reception" of knowledge that results from professional social inquiry (PSI), and the second explores some factors that affect the internal school dissemination of such knowledge. Data were collected from 207 secondary school teachers in 45…

A causal model to explain student attrition was tested at a major midwestern land-grant university with a sample of 1,513 full-time, unmarried freshmen who were 21 years old or younger. The causal model was reduced from 23 to 10 variables: an intent variable, three attitudinal variables, and two each of organizational, personal, and environmental…

The purpose of the inquiry described was to examine the ways in which characteristics of the educational environment of the home, the school, and the peer group accounted for change in performance at school over the period of a year, in which the sample of children selected for investigation progressed from primary school to high school. The…

In this paper, personality characteristics of the students and their performance at school are linked together. The performance cycle model of 12 months duration used here contains causal relationships between initial achievement, the mediating variables of academic motivation and attentiveness, and final achievement. A random sample of 215…

This research summary is said to attempt to solve some of the documented limitations in the self-concept literature by analyzing racial variations in a causal model of the formation of a specific component of self related to the "school learning experience"--academic self-concept. The data for this research came from a larger study of the…

Six papers on future developments in computer-assisted learning (CAL) focus on the impact of computers on the future of education, use of path algebras for network analysis, impact of "programing literacy" on courseware, microcomputers as classroom teaching aids, Prestel for preschool education in the home, and courseware development and…

Describes a study of high school students that presents two exploratory path analyses of potentially relevant variables influencing both computer course enrollment and self-perceived computer proficiency. Computer attitudes and computer attributions are investigated, and implications for designing educational strategies are discussed. (25…

Relationships among motivation, use of general and content-specific learning strategies, and achievement were examined for 283 high school geometry students early and late in the semester. Results suggest that teachers should emphasize domain-specific strategies when introducing a unit, and emphasize less domain-specific strategies later in the…

Path analysis of results from questionnaires answered by 424 mothers and 390 fathers and the mothers' sixth through eleventh grade children (51.4 percent females) indicates that parents' gender stereotypes interact with the child's gender to directly influence beliefs about the child's abilities and that parental beliefs affect the child's…

This study of college students examined the effects of motivation to learn to use computers, and previous experience with computers, on three computer-related affective states: anxiety, attitudes, and self-efficacy. Discusses gender differences, path analysis, effects on academic performance, and intrinsic versus extrinsic reasons for taking the…

Examined impact of Chinese family socialization practices on children's socialization over 4 years. Found that parental reasoning, intellectual stimulation, and encouragement of independence were significant indicators of overall family socialization practices. Children's self-control, and positive attitudes toward others and toward work were…

The recent wave of innovation and adaptation to information technologies, giving rise to a new form of human technogenesis, is changing our everyday interactions in an unprecedented and paradigmatic manner, potentially reconstructing the nature and process of human development. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure, and 3 notes.)

The influence of personality and childhood abuse on suicidal behaviors and psychopathy was examined among female prisoners. Scores on the affective/interpersonal component (Factor 1; F1) and the antisocial deviance (Factor 2; F2) component of psychopathy were obtained from the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (R. D. Hare, 1991). Suicide attempt and…

Victimization is a significant part of the incarceration experience. In this study, we assessed the effects of victimization while incarcerated and pre-existing conditions on prisoners' distress. Data are drawn from surveys administered to 208 men recently released from prison. Using path analysis, we examined the direct effects of victimization…

This study examined the effects of family communication environment and parental mediation of television content on third-, sixth-, and ninth-graders' perceptions of realism and similarity of television content and identification with television characters. Subjects, 627 northern California students and 486 of their parents, responded to episodes…