The theoretical constructs underlying legislative approaches to at-risk student statutes are examined in this paper, with attention given to the ways in which educational institutions make certain factors significant to student success. Legislative approaches closely follow the epidemiology model, which attempts to identify, predict, and immunize…

A study investigated the low rates of attendance and retention that had beset Atlanta's Family Literacy Program since its inception. To establish a meaningful dialog with participants, a qualitative interview approach was used. The sample was composed of current students, dropouts from Years 1 and 2, and graduates of Year 1. One-third of the…

Virtually every country in Europe discovered in the late 1970s that a section of its population had serious difficulties in using written language. Examined from an historical angle, this phenomenon can be seen as part of a complicated set of factors. Urban France can be said to have been fully literate by the late eighteenth century, especially…

Papers on the publication of library journal literature--from the 1982 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference--are presented, including: (1) "The Coverage of Library/Information Science Periodicals from Developing Countries by the Major Abstracting and Indexing Services," a report by Barbara J. Buckley on the…

This article discusses fear of failure, its symptoms, causes, student expectations for themselves, and implications for counseling. Various examples of students suffering from fear of failure are presented and discussed. (EJT)

A review of 80 case files of American Indians in Northern Arizona was undertaken to identify factors associated with clients who were found to be ineligible for rehabilitation services and clients who were successfully and unsuccessfully rehabilitated. The 11 dependent variables considered were severity of disability, physical or mental…

The strategies college students use to retain material that is low in meaningfulness were studied. Participants were 149 undergraduate teacher-training students in human development and learning classes. Students randomly received and were asked to memorize one of three 15-item lists: nonsense syllables, unrelated words, or related words. A brief…

Retention, the practice of requiring a student to repeat a particular grade or of delaying the entry to kindergarden or first grade of a child who is of appropriate chronological age, remains a common educational custom although little research exists to validate its effectiveness. The literature review on retention effects contained within this…

Many children needlessly fail in public school. They have adequate intelligence and academic aptitude, but they do no complete and turn in work. Their self-esteem plummets and they do not seem capable of recovery without adult help. The Academic Skills Workshop (ASW) is a model program for educators who believe in the ability of parents to help…

For the dyslexic and others with similar problems, a revision of the sequence of modalities known as VAKT (for visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile) might achieve more effective and more rapid remediation. The new sequence is designated as TAK/v. The subordination of the visual modality is based on the recent identification of visual processing…

This monograph elaborates the interactive definition of reading and illustrates how this process, along with inappropriate instruction, can reinforce poor reading behaviors. The monograph also outlines current instructional procedures and proposes new programmatic solutions. The monograph concludes with a list of premises based on recent reading…

A longitudinal analysis of students who entered New York City high schools in 1979 supports the perception that most future dropouts can be identified at the beginning of their high school careers. This study examined the records of more than a quarter of the 1979 entering class at New York City high schools. Analyses were performed on attendance,…

In the literature on differences between Asian and White achievement in mathematics, effort, and ability have been cited as causal variables. Effort is emphasized more by the Asian students and their parents, but ability is emphasized more by Americans than by Asians. This study compared the attributional patterns of Asian Americans and White…

Changing a health behavior and maintaining a positive change can be very difficult. This study examined attributions for health behavior change by using retrospective reports to elicit college students' (N=466) current views of successes and failures at adopting health promoting behaviors. In completing the Health Behavior Questionnaire, 229…

The major task of life is to become masterful. As individuals grow the choice of which tasks to attempt and how best to achieve mastery at them becomes increasingly under their control by the situations they choose to engage in and by perceptions of their abilities. Mastery oriented people tend to attribute failure to unstable, external factors…