This paper examines the relationship between campus racial climate and graduate student attitudes about the benefits of diversity. Grounded in the campus racial climate frameworks proposed by Hurtado, Carter, and Kardia (1998) and Milem, Chang, and Antonio (2005), the authors build a case for documenting how student attitudes about diversity may…

Designers of new, technology-rich, interactive learning environments need to consider the interdependent factors of physical and virtual spaces, faculty, students, and institutional infrastructure to create an effective setting for teaching and learning in higher education settings. At the University of Minnesota, a small group of faculty, staff,…

Two lines of research have emerged to study the causes and prevention of student failure in virtual (K-12) schools: studies of learner characteristics and studies of learning environment characteristics. To develop a useful model for predicting failure and promoting success in virtual school environments, a study was designed to measure the…

A study of perceptions of the school climate among the students of two secondary schools over two years is reported. The measures used were a scale of teacher concern for students and a measure of student alienation. Differences by sex, school year, and school and their implications are examined. (MSE)

Findings of a study that examined parent and student perceptions of school learning environments are presented in this document. The data are from the 1993 National Household Education Survey (NHES:93), a national survey conducted by Westat for the National Center for Education Statistics. This report is based on data from telephone interviews…

Research methods for analyzing university learning environments are discussed along with the potential use of such analysis, and a study of one university in the Netherlands is reported indicating distinctive atmospheres found in various departments, each with its own kind of educational problems. (JT)

IN AN ATTEMPT TO INCREASE FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTS, THOSE CHARACTERISTICS WERE RELATED TO STUDENT ATTRIBUTES AND TO CRITERIA OF INSTITUTIONAL EXCELLENCE. THE MEASURING INSTRUMENTS USED FOR THIS PURPOSE WERE THE ACTIVITIES INDEX (A PERSONALITY MEASURE) AND THE COLLEGE CHARACTERISTICS…

A great deal of value is placed on student research within universities, exemplified by the prominent role of the dissertation or extended written work at the end of many programmes, and the more general benefits of embedding research-based learning into a curriculum in order to develop higher-order learning. This article reports on a…

Findings of a study that compared the school climates of four Japanese high schools are presented in this paper. Eight factors that comprise the quality of school climate were examined--respect, trust, high morale, opportunities for input, continuous academic and social growth, cohesiveness, school renewal, and caring (Fox and others, 1974). A…

This white paper describes the extent of drinking on college campuses; the health, social, academic, and economic costs thereof; means of education and intervention available to schools; and the relationship of many university policies and practices to this problem. The paper is organized into two major sections. The first describes the nature of…

In order to test the validity of a measure of Australian students' views on the quality of life within their schools, a small-scale study was conducted in seven secondary schools, including both public and private institutions. The 52-item survey instrument was administered to 651 students in grades 9-12. Followup interviews of students were held…

In the spring of 1976, a questionnaire was sent to a sample of UCLA upperclassmen. The purpose was to determine how much agreement there was about various features of the university environment and whether students perceptions differed by major fields, campus or off-campus residence, and by other aspects of their experience at the university. This…

This paper offers a focus group approach to the understanding of student perceptions of campus community. Using the Strange and Banning (2001) framework of community, the author argues that students' sense of campus community should be studied as it exists within the institutional environment. The results of the study include: 1) There is a strong…

Reports an interpretive study of curriculum differentiation which looks at a lower-track curriculum at a midwestern public high school. Examines the relationships among curriculum differentiation, classroom conflict, and social differentiation. Concludes that curriculum is a sociocultural construction, that student responses are crucial…

This handbook is for administrators of programs in higher education settings which deal with alcohol and other drug (AOD) related problems. Chapter 1, "Defining the Problem, Issues, and Trends" examines the problem from various perspectives and presents the latest statistics on the extent of AOD use on campuses, specific problems…