While most rural special education leaders agree on the universality of certain problems (funding inadequacies, personnel recruitment/retention, transportation, low-incidence handicapped populations, staff development needs, resistance to change) in rural areas, no agreement exists regarding generalizable solutions which will work in all rural…

Outstanding elementary school teachers (N=24) were interviewed about their attitudes, values, and perceptions of themselves and their work. Question topics were: (1) influences on the decision to become a teacher; (2) student teaching experience; (3) special pride in incidents or events; (4) effective teaching approaches or techniques; (5)…

This study of incumbent British Columbia school board members prior to election analyzes relationships between individual members' feelings of political efficacy and trust and their decisions to seek or not seek reelection. The 60 subjects, from 24 districts, represented candidates (those members seeking reelection) and retirees (members not…

Research has indicated that teachers with a humanistic orientation have fewer problems with classroom discipline and are less subject to stress than are those with an authoritarian approach. An investigation of teacher stress focused upon teachers' personality, ideology, gender, age, locus of control, and pupil control orientation. Participants in…

This coordinator's guide for a module on restaurant cashiers, one of seven individualized units about restaurant occupations, has been developed for students enrolled in cooperative part-time training and employed in a commercial restaurant. Included in the first part of the guide are a progress chart, suggested teaching procedures, answers to the…

Recent national studies have pointed out the changing educational needs of young people as the United States moves from an industrial society to an information society. Selected middle school students in Ohio were involved in a two-year federally-funded program entitled "Learning for Leadership." The objectives of the program were: (1)…

An assessment of a four-stage conceptual model reveals that critical thinking has indirect positive effects on political participation through its direct effects on personal control, political efficacy, and democratic attitudes. The model establishes causal relationships among selected personality variables (self-esteem, personal control, and…

A summary is presented of the literature on motivation relating to achievement in the classroom. Special attention is given to how values, ideology, and various cultural patterns may serve to enhance motivation to achieve in the classroom. In considering what determines motivation and personal investment in educational pursuits, the following…

Seventeen selected research studies relating student learning with teacher characteristics and personality in grades 7-12 science classrooms are reviewed. Methodology, objectives, and major findings of the 1960 "Teacher Characteristics Study" and short summaries of nine additional studies are considered in the first section dealing with…

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a Jungian-oriented self-report inventory which classifies people into dichotomous categories along four scales: extraversion-introversion, sensation-intuition, thinking-feeling, and judgment-perception. Introduced in 1942, the scoring and items have changed after several items analyses. Form F contains 51 phrase…

The pervasiveness of stress as a problem, with its many harmful effects on people, makes it a matter of growing interest for counselors and other personnel workers. This monograph provides definitions of stress, distress, and eustress, and discusses numerous causes of distress, as well as the benefits of stress to a healthy, productive life.…

Recent research by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium has led to the development of a resiliency model that helps explain why some at-risk students actually do well in school. The recent investigations have determined that some students develop traits that enable them to be successful in school. The model suggests that four…

The psychological factors associated with paranursing expertise were examined in a study of 135 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) at a geriatric nursing facility in Amarillo, Texas. Data were collected through a project-developed screening tool called the Geriatric Employee Screening Tool (GEST), which is a true-false instrument patterned after…

This monograph grew out of the work of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Teaching and Learning Committee; it is intended as a basis for discussion among faculty members teaching honors courses. It provides honors directors a resource that may be given to new honors faculty members and a starting point for conversations in new honors…

Argues that, of the authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative styles of interaction with children, the latter nurtures the emergence of positive character traits in young children. Suggests listening, setting high and reasonable standards, explaining why, negotiating reasonable solutions, offering choices, and valuing ideas and opinions as…