This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with the following topics: (1) influences on beliefs about reading and learning to read and instructional behavior of student teachers, (2) teachers' decisions about basal reading lessons, (3) a study of effective…

A study investigated the validity and usefulness of the Affective Communication Test (ACT) which measures a person's ability to project a nonverbal message to others. The ACT test was reduced to 10 items and administered to 130 college students. The results were analyzed for interpersonal display of effect, public display, and small group display.…

The American College Testing (ACT) scores of New Mexico public high school graduates who applied for admission to New Mexico State University in 1981 were analyzed to determine the relationship between ACT scores and school size. The schools were divided into 6 categories according to enrollment: less than 100 students (15 applicants), 100-199…

The rationale for high school dropout reduction programs rests mainly on evidence that graduates are more successful than dropouts in the labor market. It is not evident, however, whether this difference is attributable to the diploma itself or to underlying characteristics that affect both graduation and labor market success. This paper estimates…

Japan's postwar research and development (R&D) efforts have passed through several phases to bring the nation to what may be called "relative parity" with the United States. This document examines the characteristics of Japanese and U.S. R&D efforts. Topics compared include: national science resource patterns; science and…

A study examined Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) coordination and program activities for fiscal year 1983. To gather data for the study, researchers reviewed literature on the delivery of CETA services, compared these delivery practices with delivery strategies employed in such CETA predecessors as the Manpower Training and…

Discourse can be organized in many different ways, two of these being comparison and a collection of descriptions. These two discourse types correspond to schemata that vary in their organizational components, and these differences can be expected to produce differences in the processing of text. For example, research has shown that for young…

The handbook is a service publication for teachers of French as a second language. Each of five articles addresses a specific issue. "Teaching and Learning Strategies" (Walter A. Lazaruk) reviews the four skills approach used in second language learning. A communication model of teaching, used alongside study of the language itself, is…

The issue of faculty vitality and an institutional case study are discussed, along with implications for academic policy. The literature of faculty vitality reveals a situational, contextual dimension that makes defining the concept difficult. It is helpful to view the college as an organization in which faculty members pursue careers as scholars,…

Detailed profiles of the ethnic, racial, male, and female populations of 1984 graduating high school seniors are presented, based on findings of the College Board's Admissions Testing Program and the Student Descriptive Questionnaire. The degree of similarity in background and experience can be assessed for males and females and for the following…

To examine how classroom conditions such as students' mean aptitude, materials used, and instructional time influence the amount of reading material covered, 12 first grade classrooms were each observed for 12 days over a 36-week period. Students' reading readiness and word recognition skills were tested prior to observation while group mean…

The way that the educational and occupational attainment of Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics are affected by the type of college attended and the student's field of study was investigated. The effects of attending a two-year/vocational college versus a four-year college and of pursuing a technical or hard science program versus education and social…

Data from the postsecondary transcripts of high school seniors included in the High School and Beyond (HS&B) study of the class of 1980 and the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) of the Senior Class of 1972 were analyzed to investigate the participation of students in two-year postsecondary programs. The analyses focused mainly on the…

The agreement between Mantel-Haenszel and Rasch procedures for identifying differential item functioning (DIF) on teacher certification tests was studied. Two specific research questions were addressed: (1) whether the Mantel-Haenszel and Rasch procedures identify the same items as functioning differently; and (2) how consistently each method…

The El Paso (Texas) Independent School District's district-wide program in majority-language (English) immersion is examined to determine the source of its success. The program's similarities to and differences from the Canadian immersion model are explored. The program's superior results in comparison with the same district's transitional…