An alternative to conventional law school course enrollment restrictions, implemented at the University of Western Ontario, provides for students to accumulate "points" designating the importance placed on gaining entry into particular courses. The system's primary advantage is that it allows students to express their course priorities.…

Gifted fourth- through sixth-graders (N=478) attending a nonresidential 3-week summer program ranked 10 of 31 courses they liked best. Males most often liked cartooning, chemistry, rocketry, and small-engine repair courses, while females preferred newspaper, sign language, and mime courses. Both sexes liked radio broadcasting, architecture, and…

Data from the "National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997" are used to examine the association between the CTE-to-academic-coursetaking ratio and the likelihood of dropping out. Descriptive statistics are presented for 1,628 individuals born in 1980. Transcript and survey data are then used in estimating nonproportional hazards models…

This report presents findings from the 2000 High School Transcript Study (HSTS 2000) and examines the trends and changes in high school curriculum and student course-taking patterns for the past decade. This publication allows policymakers, researchers, education agencies, and the public to examine the current status of the curricula being offered…

This paper provides a brief review of major research findings on how the kind and level of courses students take in high school affect their performance on tests, their readiness for college-level work, and their persistence in earning a degree. It also features a look at what constitutes a "rigorous" high school curriculum. Highlights from four…

Graduate students face numerous sources of anxiety. In order to explore students' stressors, student attitudes and anxiety toward two mandatory graduate counseling courses are examined here. All participants were students enrolled in either the Career Development or the Tests and Measurement course during the summer quarter (N=43; Mean Age=33…

This study examined enrollment trends at the level of individual majors for Nova Southeastern University, Florida. The results should provide support for the evaluation of the major, enrollment planning at the program and center levels, and more detailed context for program review and university strategic planning. The study includes an analysis…

Presents case studies that indicate that the process of choosing subjects for the final years of schooling is part of the larger psychosociological process of identity formation for young adults. Uses these cases to reexamine the suggestion that high participation rates in senior mathematics are important for social, educational, and economic…

Doctoral students often select one of four common research methodologies that are popular in the social sciences and education today: positivist; interpretive; ideological; and pragmatic. But choice of methodology also influences the student's choice of course work, membership of dissertation committee, and the form and structure of the…

Path analysis of data from 101 students before college and after declaring majors demonstrated the importance of math self-efficacy beliefs and vocational interests in predicting math/science majors. The more extroverted and those with artistic interests were less likely to major in math/science. Aspirations had solidified before college,…

Using the American Economic Association's fFall 1998 universal academic questionnaire, examines how many college and university students in the United States enroll in at least one economics course. Reports that 40 percent of the students who matriculated in fall 1998 took at least one economics course. (CMK)

Investigates writing instruction trends by surveying university English departments and examining the types of writing courses offered and the enrollments in these courses over a 10-year period. Finds that most writing instruction remains in "service" courses, particularly freshman composition, but that the kinds of writing taught are more diverse…

Three limitations in the undergraduate degree are identified, and an approach to course selection compensating for them is proposed. The strategy emphasizes that each course should provide multiple functions in meeting degree requirements and fulfilling educational objectives. A checklist for making coherent curricular choices is included. (MSE)

According to a survey of 1,866 students in Finnish business schools, men applied to college three times more than women regardless of achievement. Men chose primarily marketing and accounting, women public administration and secretarial courses. Men valued occupational status, women the opportunity to work with people. (SK)

A nonvocational course to introduce science to women demonstrated (1) the value of women-only learning to alleviate fears and anxiety and (2) the necessity of focusing courses on issues relevant to women rather than on vocational outcomes. (SK)