This study investigated the impact of a "chilly campus climate" on women's first-year cognitive outcomes. The sample population of 1,636 women was selected from incoming first-year students at 18 four-year and five two-year colleges and universities located in 16 different states which had participated in the longitudinal National Study…

As the number of latch key children and at-risk students increases, teachers have become one group of significant others with whom children spend much of their time. This paper focuses on students' sense of self and the teacher's role in positively impacting it, from the perspective of a model of mental health. This model places self-esteem,…

Three papers by the same author address: (1) educational methods for gifted children in the regular classroom; (2) principles of enriching the gifted child's development in the home; and (3) modifying lessons to optimally challenge gifted students. The first paper is titled, "Classrooms with Growing Room." It stresses the need for gifted children…

This paper reports on an inquiry into discipline and effective schools, as perceived by administrators and teachers in a large, midwestern school district. A discussion of the historical foundations in school law, the societal milieu for the study, and educational research into discipline and school effectiveness is followed by a summary of the…

Six generalizations are offered regarding the collective requirements and expectations that colleges and universities impose on, or expect of, their students. (1) Colleges and universities in varying degrees expect and require students to demonstrate "basic academic skills" in reading, writing, and mathematics. Students must also learn…

Universal Studies, a study program designed to help students develop emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually, is described. Development of the personality and character of the individual is emphasized, as are innovation, creativity, individualized instruction, independent learning, and realizing human potential. These goals are characterized…

This document is the fourth volume in a 5-part series that reports the results of a project undertaken to critically review and analyze major longitudinal studies of child and student development. These studies were conducted to discover the variables, techniques, methodologies, and problems pertinent to evaluation studies of the effects of…

Defines multicultural education and its goals. Matches multicultural learning options with related areas of the affective and cognitive instructional environment. Identifies educational structures and processes that need modification in order to achieve the goals of multicultural education (e.g., institutional philosophy/norms; staff…

Success in today's K-12 environment often hinges on improved test scores. But success should be defined more broadly to recognize the overall learning environment that is created by students, teachers, staff members, administrators, and parents. As a middle level principal, the author has learned that to create long-lasting change and to foster a…

This study examined the extent to which an individual doctoral student's characteristics and involvement in the academic and social life of the department influences the student's perception of growth and development during graduate school, and thus the student's persistence in pursuing a graduate degree. The study surveyed doctoral students…

In interpreting the intellectual and cultural contexts of gifted education, this book considers how and why U.S. schooling fails to care for intellect and to develop the talents of all children. Rather than acting as stewards charged with nurturing intellectual development, schools concertedly devalue intellect, and this shortcoming is most…

Using a sample of 738 students from 4 metropolitan universities--University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Louisville (Kentucky), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Wichita State University (Kansas), data from Pace's College Student Experience Questionnaire, and a modified form of Pascarella's general causal model, a study…

Some of the parallels in development between young children and young adolescents are explored, and ways in which approaches used in early childhood education can be applied to programs for young adolescents are suggested. In a comparison of the characteristics of the child and the adolescent, similarities are found in physical, intellectual,…

This paper reports on a study that examined the effects of student-level orientation to schooling on students perceptions of a desirable school environment. The study involved 762 students in grades 7-12 in 4 Hong Kong secondary schools. The students completed a survey on their perceptions of independent learning, affinity to teachers, learning…

Interest in creating the conditions that enhance student learning and support students in achieving their educational goals is at an all-time high. Four-fifths of high school graduates need some form of postsecondary education to acquire the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to address increasingly complex social, economic, and…