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…

Over a period of three years an experimental program was conducted at Southwest Texas State University to help increase the number of successful completions of admission contract conditions by transfer students with low grade point averages. An increase in the number of students successfully meeting the required grade point average of…

This three-part curriculum for entrepreneurship education is primarily for postsecondary level, including four-year colleges and adult education, but it can be adapted for special groups or vocational teacher education. The emphasis of the three instructional units in Part I is understanding business. Unit C focuses on business failure and…

A survey of 42 faculty members in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) was conducted to aid in the development of a spelling course for VCCS students; 21 questionnaires were returned. The survey investigated causes of spelling problems, possible solutions, most common types of errors, curricula in which students have most spelling…

Recent needs assessment studies are reviewed, with emphasis on the needs of adult learners and of needs assessors. Three general purposes of needs assessment are described: (1) providers of educational services are interested in what their market (adult population) wants; (2) public agencies are interested in whether or not all segments of the…

Current research is cited in this exploration of the impact of environmental, attitudinal, and social-psychological factors on the career development potential of individuals with handicaps severely limiting to daily functioning. First, the words "disability" and "handicap" are defined, demonstrating that an individual may be handicapped by…

A study of the non-punitive grading system at Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) was undertaken to assess the impact on student performance of X (assigned in lieu of F), W (withdrawal), and I (incomplete) grades, and other institutions' perceptions and use of these grades in considering KVCC transfer students for admission. KVCC Student…

A decline in student performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Achievement Tests, the American College Test, and the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test has been observed nationally since the mid 1960's and evidence indicates that very similar trends have occurred in Massachusetts. Score declines have occurred in public, private, and…

The document summarizes research on the process of diffusing innovations in vocational education. The purpose was to: (1) determine if empirical dimensions of three conceptual domains (innovation, client, and strategy) exist; (2) if they exist, to identify them; (3) to describe them with empirical information; and (4) to relate the dimensions to…

Student characteristics and educational destinations of all the reverse transfer students from five state universities who were admitted to five community colleges during one calendar year (N=459) were studied to re-assess and define the "retread function" of community colleges. A group of 245 native community college students were randomly…

Project Emerge was initiated in reaction to a high dropout rate at Roosevelt High School, which was attributed to low self-concept, low motivation, underachievement and the internalization of failure, irregular attendance, health problems, and disruptive classroom behavior. The enrollment of Roosevelt High School is 1395 students, of whom…

This conference report focuses on higher education and includes papers on the following topics: (1) the role of institutional research, (2) management information needs and decisionmaking, (3) teacher effectiveness, (4) student-faculty ratios, (5) professorial attitudes toward work environment, (6) grading and attendance in the instructional…