Describes differences between on-campus and distance learners by knowledge, skills, and abilities based on a comparative study of doctoral students at Texas A&M University. Highlights include student perceptions of their competencies; and the use of competency models as assessment tools for strategic decision making and development of courses…

Examines whether targeting instruction to students' weak points has an effect on their writing quality. Upper intermediate students in an English for academic purposes course were asked to write a composition before and after the instructional treatment. Comparison of results from the two tasks shows a significant increase in scores on both…

Describes a study that compares the performance of students enrolled in supplemental instruction (SI) with those who were not, during four undergraduate courses at the University of Central Florida. Indicates that there were significant differences in grades between SI and non-SI students in biology and chemistry, but not in calculus and American…

Examined the role of fourth graders' social self-perceptions in their social development. Found significant relationships among self-perception measures, and they were moderately stable over the school year. Found significant sociometric status and gender effects for generalized and dyadic perceptions. Inaccurate social self-perceptions predicted…

Examined effects of full-day and half-day kindergarten on 974 second graders' academic outcomes. Found that full-day children scored significantly higher in math and reading on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and had fewer absences than half-day children. Found that fewer children from full-day cohort had been retained in grade. Found no differences…

Describes a case study and a follow-up comparative study that focused on expert foreign language teachers' professional knowledge as it was reflected in their spoken and written discourse. Both studies provide evidence indicating that professional knowledge can develop via its verbalization in reflective-narrative discourse from personal…

Compares the relative effects of cognitive style and training method on high school students' computer self-efficacy and learning performance. Explains measures used and statistical techniques, and discusses results that suggest gender, cognitive style, training approach, and training objective should be taken into account to assist students…

Assessed multiple features of social support provided by mothers, fathers, siblings, and friends to Indonesian and U.S. elementary and junior high school students. Found that Indonesian youth ranked family members higher and friends lower on companionship and satisfaction than did U.S. youth. Friends were seen as the primary sources of intimacy in…

Used discrete-time survival analysis technique to examine whether, and at what age, a national sample of 3,624 children first entered a childcare center. Found that after controlling for household-economic factors, the household's social structure and mother's language, childrearing beliefs, and practices predicted probability of selecting…

Learning using primary literature may be a way of developing a capacity for scientific ways of thinking among students. Since reading research articles is a difficult task for novices, we examined the possible benefits of learning using primary literature versus secondary literature, particularly with respect to their influence on the creation and…

This research examined 2 strategies for encouraging children's narratives. Twenty-five European American and 31 African American children from low-income backgrounds (M age = 4.76) participated. Children were assigned randomly to either high or low elaborative narrative style conditions and to either a draw-and-tell or tell-only reporting…

The "Chinese College Stress Scale" was developed to ascertain stress in university students. Results suggested that the psychometric properties of the "Chinese College Stress Scale" were satisfactory. Overall, student stress was primarily related to academic, personal, and negative life events. Approximately 8% of Chinese…

In this article, the authors propose a method of course management system (CMS) administration of student evaluations of teaching (SETs). The method provides a mechanism for providing greater guarantee of anonymity to the student respondents. The authors report on a case study in which this guarantee was likely a significant factor contributing to…

In this study, the authors investigated the effect of Zarco, an operations management "mock factory" experiential learning activity, on student recollection of operations management concepts. Using a number of single-factor and multiple-factor analyses of variance, the authors compared the recollection of students treated with the Zarco activity…

This article examines the reflection of national goals and ideologies in the civic education curricula of Mainland China and Taiwan. A comparison of junior secondary school textbooks from the 1950s and the 1990s shows how the curriculum embodies the states' changing national priorities and justificatory ideologies. Specifically, in the early…