Based on longitudinal study of adolescents (ages 12 to 16), investigated the input of school experiences on central aspects of personality formation. Results show a weak relationship between the school's evaluative system and the pupils' self-evaluation: an isomorphism did not exist. Influences on self-concept formation considered. (Author/BB)

The self serving effect (SSE), the tendency to accept responsibility for one's own successes but not failures, was examined in three studies with adolescents. Results showed individual differences in SSE size were logically related to differences in: (1) academic self-concepts; (2) academic self-concepts inferred by significant others; and (3)…

Examines explanations used by children (ages five-14) to explain academic success and failure; frequency of their use; and developmental variations in types of explanations used. It was found that patterns of attribution categories vary by age, and that the attribution process involves a complex interaction of subjective and objective reality.…

The failure of anti-failure measures in education is the focus of this article. The greater or lesser visibility of failure in the schools of various countries is discussed. Action that schools can take to overcome failure and ensure students more equality of opportunity both at school and afterward is suggested. (RM)

This report examines North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg public school system (CMS) and assesses its failures and achievements. Though the proportion of students who chose CMS over private and charter schools has decreased from 95 percent in the 1970s, it still remains over 80 percent. Enrollment for exceptional, and poor children and children…

This report summarizes evaluation results from AISD's state-funded Optional Extended Year program activities during 2000-2001.

Presents a case study illustrating learned helplessness orientation in preschool children and how adult responses to a child's successes and failures directly influence a child's perception of his or her abilities. Suggests that teachers should compliment successes by highlighting the ability demonstrated and address failures with comments…

In most cases, an optometry student's academic difficulty can be traced to some underlying cause other than academic preparation. Preventive measures should include admission restricted to students meeting selection criteria, pre-enrollment academic enrichment, appropriate support services and remedial programs as needed. (MSE)

Discusses a survey administered to 306 students at a New York community college that investigated loneliness, communication apprehension, communication competence, and locus of control as predictors of persistence in telecourses. Analysis found withdrawal and withdrawal/failure in telecourses were not significantly related to the variables. (52…

Urban elementary school teachers completed a checklist designed to determine a profile of the most significant factors that caused students to be at risk. Results indicated there were eight important factors: academic risk, behavior and coping skills, social withdrawal, family income, parenting, language development, retention, and attendance. (SM)

Demonstrates that in two areas of concentrated poverty in Columbus (Ohio), so-called underclass behaviors are not associated with race. A study of neighborhood poverty and political participation in those areas is used to show that whites and African Americans exhibit statistically indistinguishable and substantively similar levels of such…

The health needs of adolescent Mexican Americans are not adequately addressed by the health care system. The article presents a sociodemographic profile of this group, describing how degree of ethnic identification, acculturation, and other risk factors may contribute to problem behavior. Recommendations to increase culturally appropriate…

The passage of Public Law 99-457 relating to education for the handicapped increases the probability that the school psychologist will be asked to evaluate infants and children diagnosed as suffering from nonorganic failure-to-thrive (NOFT) disorder. Etiology, models, and interventions appropriate for NOFT children are discussed. (SLD)

Psychological and behavioral characteristics of poor performing students and research-based strategies are presented as a starting point for educators making improvements to benefit the at-risk low achiever. Metacognitive strategies and refocusing student failure attribution to lack of effort rather than lack of ability are among effective…

Teacher unionization, centralization of financial control, desegregation, and weakening in business involvement are among the political factors that have contributed to the decline in public school performance between 1965 and 1980. Research into these factors confirms the importance of political influences on schooling and suggests that…