The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of competition on learning motivation among Chinese students in a classroom setting. The participants (N=52) were 7th-grade students from 2 Hong Kong secondary schools in a middle-lower class neighborhood. The students were randomly assigned to either competitive or non-competitive…

Drawing from research on fear of failure and anecdotes from personal experience with the first women's expedition to ski to the South Pole, this discussion centers on how fear of failure affects women. Fear of failure leads to procrastination and performance well below one's ability. Women generally express more fear of failure than do men, partly…

The poverty affecting 14.5 million U.S. children living below the poverty line poses long-term effects, including risks to health, educational achievement, family stability, and employment prospects. This report provides compelling evidence of the substantial costs of poverty among children to our nation's economic well-being, and shows that…

This paper suggests that since neither grade retention nor social promotion work, there must be an alternative between these two extremes. Successful efforts to end these practices should: identify student problems as early as possible; intervene as soon as problems are identified; design the extra help around each student's needs; and have strong…

Noting that states are expanding their spending on preschool initiatives to improve at-risk childrens chances to achieve school success, this policy brief explores three key factors that policymakers need to consider in designing school readiness initiatives. The first is the research and the need to link recent cross-disciplinary discoveries…

The Extended School Services (ESS) program was established in 1990 in Kentucky. The program extends the school day, week, or year for students at risk of academic failure. All Kentucky school districts receive funding for ESS implementation. This paper reports on a comprehensive evaluation of the ESS program during the 2001-02 school year.…

The Texas Education Code requires the Texas Education Agency to submit a comprehensive biennial report on the number of students retained in grade level in the Texas public school system. This report presents a summary of the literature on the effects of grade level retention on the academic, social, and psychological development of students,…

The Texas Education Code requires the Texas Education Agency to submit a comprehensive biennial report containing a summary of information related to grade level retention of students in the Texas public school system. This report looks at retention in Texas based on data collected over a 3-year period, beginning with the 1993-94 school year. The…

This book is designed to bridge the gap between the reality of professional practice and what is being written about it in professional publications. It is divided into three sections, focusing on the techniques of assessment, transgenerational techniques, and constructivist techniques. Section one argues that assessment is the basis of all…

Contains an assessment of the inner-city literacy crisis, a critique of rationales for reading failure based on "deficit" and "difference" type ideologies, a call for the study of successful inner-city schools, an evaluation of G. Weber's study of successful inner-city schools, and the development of an urban literacy agenda. (FL)

Investigated the efficacy of teaching students at-risk for academic failure to deal with school-related stress. High school students were assigned to a coping skills training group, a counselor intervention group, or a control group. The students given coping skills training showed significantly improved social problem-solving ability. (Author)

A definition of the construct of teacher sense of efficacy is proposed, a model relating it to other variables is provided. Also presented is a review of literature not only on teacher sense of efficacy but on other constructs which afford indirect insight into the phenomenon of teacher sense of efficacy. (Author/AL)

Through a case study of China (Guangdong Province) the author examines the problem of "diploma disease" in developing nations. "Diploma disease" is the students' desire for the paper credentials of academic education that insure employability. This desire can frustrate government efforts to promote alternate vocational…

Student responses to a questionnaire on 88 dropout prediction variables indicated that prevention of such wastage should be specific to student subgroup and should focus on colllege freshmen. (Available in microfiche from: Carfax Publishing Company, Haddon House, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxford 0X9 8JZ, England.) (CP)

Assesses the effectiveness of Santa Fe Community College's "College Success Program" by looking at the academic performance of remedial students who participated in the program as freshmen. Findings indicate that the program decreased the course failure rate for African-American and female students, and increased grade-point average for…