A study of 185 undergraduate students withdrawing from a publicly-funded Canadian university compared student characteristics and experiences (demography, academic performance, employment, financial support, social integration, personal circumstances, and perception of university learning experience) for three discipline areas (arts, education,…

Praises self-directed English field research projects for being intellectually challenging, highly motivating, and demonstrating a wide range of skills. Recently, however, these projects have resulted in a number of problems including allocation of resources and safety liability. Suggests possible solutions and examines a model field research…

Investigates the relationship between the reality of the John F. Kennedy White House, its portrayal in the press, and its reception by the public. The manipulated press coverage accurately caught the charm, work ethic, and idealism of the young president but failed to record the sexual escapades, ill health, and marital discord. (MJP)

Presents a lesson plan that requires students to use their research and analytical skills in studying the social and economic importance of small business. Activities include interviewing local business owners and producing a written summary, developing a survey showing and explaining area land use, and researching opposition to Wal-Mart stores.…

Attempts to correct the limited and stereotypical portrayal of Asian American women found in most histories. Reveals that women often played a more central and active role in the Asian American experience. Discusses little-known facets of this experience (e.g., many immigrants returned home after achieving financial security). (MJP)

Provides a classroom exercise using the restrictive tariffs on sugar to examine issues of protectionism and international trade. Discusses related issues such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the formation of large regional trading blocks. Includes a hands-on calculation of the economic impact of the quota on consumers. (MJP)

Criticizes the traditional approach to teaching U.S. government as being de-contextualized, piecemeal, incoherent, and ineffective. Summarizes an alternative approach that follows historical development but emphasizes the emerging character of the U.S. political system due to the interaction between values, context, and institutions. Text readings…

A multidisciplinary faculty development project at Illinois State University increased faculty expertise about aging, integrated faculty knowledge into undergraduate courses, produced 50 instructional units, increased student knowledge about the rural elderly, generated faculty research on minority and poor elderly, established a multidisciplinary…

Curriculum reform in higher education is focusing on enhancement of undergraduate education in a variety of ways, including multicultural education, specialized courses for freshmen and seniors, improved calculus instruction, and development of thinking and writing skills. Strengthened general education requirements are a major target in many…

Characteristics of doctorate recipients in library science were compared with those in other disciplines to identify factors that may aid in the recruitment and retention of Ph.D. students. Factors explored include trends in annual production of doctoral degrees; characteristics of recipients, including gender, race, citizenship, undergraduate…

A study conducted at one large research university compared electronic mail and telephones as methods for gathering survey data from undergraduate students. Problems associated with electronic-mail use include higher rate of socially undesirable activity among respondents and difficulty in identifying the target population. Implications for campus…

Charts the changes in student opinions, regarding the fairness of pricing and profits, from beginning to end of a first-year college economics course. Students answered morally ambiguous questions involving product markets and prices. Student belief in the fairness of free market pricing increased dramatically. (MJP)

This study employed multiple linear regression and decision tree analysis to examine the correlates of overall satisfaction with undergraduate education for white, Asian American, Latino and African American seniors enrolled at 17 doctoral/research universities. Satisfaction with the overall quality of instruction and social involvement were the…

This paper explores democratic learning and global citizenship through a study of one university's implementation of one-unit seminars. Specifically, the authors examine qualitative outcomes from faculty and students participating in one-unit seminars focused on the events of September 11. The authors conclude that such seminars have the potential…

The current work is the first article in a two-paper series exploring the role of explicit learning objectives in undergraduate mathematics instruction. A definition of student-learning objective (SLO) is introduced. We give examples of SLOs for topics from introductory college and university mathematics courses. We list potential advantages of a…