If an institution's goal is cultural diversity, the institutional response must go beyond a core curriculum that transmits culture or a multicultural curriculum which transforms culture, and embrace a curriculum which enhances individual differences. The core curriculum has an unabashed European cultural bias and requires assimilation to the…

Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students (N=301) from a rural county in Tennessee (Iris County is a pseudonym) completed a Rural School Success Inventory (RSSI) and the Learning Styles Inventory (LSI). The study explored differences between low Socioeconomic Status (SES) students and middle/high SES students. The RSSI provided information about…

The causes and types of student underachievement and suggestions for remedying the problem are discussed. Because the reasons for underachievement are numerous, different for individuals, and often overlapping, solutions must consider the unique context. Recommendations include increasing students' self-esteem; increasing community involvement;…

This research explored cognitive-motivational patterns of learning-disabled and nondisabled adolescents by employing the theoretical model of C. S. Dweck, which posits that a "learning goal" orients students toward the development of competence, whereas a "performance goal" orients students toward the documentation of competence, and that these…

To better understand the effect of student background, work load, and attitudes on performance in intermediate algebra, a study was conducted in summer 1990 among students at a central Texas community college using pre- and post-course questionnaires completed by 124 of 157 students in 8 sections of intermediate algebra. Respondents were…

To extend the analysis of mathematics as the "critical filter" into actual college experience, the influence of high school and college mathematics on choice of majors and progress in the major during college was studied using data from 745 freshmen at Arizona State University. Attention was also directed to an expanded mathematics…

This report presents the findings of a survey ("Programs and Activities Using Technology To Serve Students at Risk of School Failure") of a sampling of large school districts in the United States and Canada, conducted to obtain information on the use of technology to serve students at risk of school failure for the participants in a…

Many teachers work in the difficult situation of teaching academic subjects to students who are not academically oriented. Especially in high school, non-college-bound students are required to take two or three years of science and social studies. For these students schools offer lower-track classes that exhibit high failure rates and low teacher…

The report of the National Longitudinal Transition Study presents initial findings on the educational and employment experiences since 1985-86 of more than 8,000 youth (ages 13 to 23) with disabilities. The report addresses two questions: How are youth with disabilities doing in their transition to adulthood? and What factors appear to have helped…

Full-time, degree-seeking students who transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), in fall 1983 and whose fall semester grade point average (GPA) was less than 2.0 (N=244) were invited to participate in a diagnostic and prescriptive program designed to help them figure out why their grades were low and how to prevent such…

This handbook addresses the needs of postsecondary instructors who work with students with learning disabilities. The information in the handbook is gathered from sources throughout Canada and the United States. It is intended to lead instructors toward a greater understanding of the educational needs of students with learning disabilities. The…

It was hypothesized that motivation (power, achievement, or fear of failure) scores would be important variables in predicting coaches' and students' ratings of competitiveness and skill. Female high school students in basketball, tennis, and track and field used a self-peer measurement technique to rate competitiveness and skill. Coaches' ratings…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 14 titles deal with the following topics: the composing processes of four twelfth-grade students; the relationship of writing quality to syntax; the development of language variables in two modes of writing and their relationship…

Two ninth-grade curriculum development projects were carried out over a three-year period (1975-78) in West Virginia at Point Pleasant Junior High School and at Wahama Junior/Senior High School. Known as Project Open, these projects resulted in the development and classroom testing of two new technology-based courses called "Career…

The responsiveness of 13 institutions to increased black enrollments is examined in this book. Focus is on the impacts of minority enrollments on the institutions--what kinds of changes took place and who felt the greatest impact because of the changes--and the reasons for success or failure of minority programs among the various schools. The…