This book explores research on processes that influence family-school partnerships in support of student learning and education. It highlights research related to culture, contexts, and development as families and schools work together to promote smooth transitions and academic achievement. The volume discusses research related to family and…

This book presents the results and implications of a major new national study exploring the effects of institutional racial composition on African American students' development and their educational outcomes, taking into account individuals' background characteristics, their perceptions of the institutional environment, and their experiences in…

Researchers on the Lasting Benefits Study (LBS) are tracking students who participated in Tennessee's K-3 Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project (1985-89) as they continue into later grades. Project STAR was a statewide experiment conducted to demonstrate the effects of reduced student/teacher ratios (15:1) on student achievement…

This study examined the internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model of self-concept (Marsh, 1986) with higher education students in Hong Kong (n=274). Structural equation models relating English and math achievement (both requirements for university entrance) to English and math self-concepts replicated the I/E model in that paths leading…

Discusses difficulties in designing a curriculum for Soviet schools that will allow students to master subjects and develop their individual personalities. Describes specific problems in designing secondary research: formulation of specific teaching/learning goals, integration of content, and reflection of the tasks of upbringing. Maps out…

A study compared three methods for measuring college student growth and development in the course of a college education: (1) gain scores; (2) residual scores; and (3) repeated measures. Analyses indicated that all three are seriously flawed, although repeated measures offer the greatest potential for adequately representing student change.…

Attrition, which averages 40 percent among college freshmen, has been associated with academic skills, career decision making, psychological characteristics, and institutional climate. To determine the self-perceived developmental characteristics of college freshmen and the relationship of those characteristics to retention and grade point average…

Reports on an eight-year longitudinal study of Dutch children on the relationship of the development of reading ability in primary schools with general academic success. Finds that young children with reading problems in primary school keep them throughout their educational career. (CFR)

Evaluation of career self-efficacy perceptions of 286 ninth- and eleventh-grade students (about 40% in classes for gifted students) found that the overall influence of gender on career self-efficacy was small, with achievement a more powerful predictor than gender. Gender did not account for variance in interest in particular occupations. (DB)

Follow-up at age 9 of 141 children who had participated in either a mediated learning (ML) or direct instruction (DI) early intervention program found no main-effect differences between the 2 groups. Several significant aptitude-by-treatment interactions were found, with initially higher performing children gaining more from DI and initially lower…

A four-equation simultaneous equations model was developed to analyze whether college student effort and achievement are jointly determined. Testing with 544 undergraduate students indicated that increased student efforts in working with faculty improved their grades, but course effort and library effort had no significant effect on grade point…

This study attempted to validate the use of academic growth and development items from Tennessee alumni surveys as measures of program quality and effectiveness at the University of Tennessee (UTK), Knoxville. The argument is made that it is essential that the instruments used to assess students educational outcomes be valid measures of the goals…

This paper estimates the effects of freshman athletic participation on reading comprehension, mathematics, and critical thinking controlling for pre-college aptitude and other influences. A group of 3,331 students from 18 four-year and 5 two-year colleges and universities participated in initial testing during fall of their freshman year. Testing…

Describes a study of the effects of a summer bridge program on the academic, personal, and social development of underrepresented and low-income transfer students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Tracks 1988 entering Transfer Summer Program students for their first two quarters at UCLA. (DMM)

The Carolina Longitudinal Learning Disabilities Project identified 42 first- and second-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) and compared their development over 5 years with that of randomly selected peers. Different variables were predictive for the two groups. Teacher perceptions of intelligence, measured intelligence quotient, grade…