This study used system-wide student satisfaction data from the 14-university Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (SSHE) to develop a model for predicting student retention, to identify individual students who could be retained with appropriate intervention, and to target factors which may be useful in the intervention process. A student…

This study examined the relationships among parent psychological well-being, parents' perceptions of their children's social competence, and reported use of authoritative parenting strategies during the kindergarten year. Parents of 179 kindergarten children in a small Midwestern U.S. city who were also involved in a Head Start Transition Study…

A questionnaire was administered to 167 preservice elementary education undergraduates. The questionnaire was designed to assess the relatedness of personological variables to the expected use of computers in teaching by preservice student teachers. The data collected comprise the baseline for a 5-year longitudinal study that is to be conducted…

Forty-two pairs of experienced and novice teachers predicted the rank order of their pupils' scores on the reading and mathematics portions of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). The pool of novice teachers were first semester students in the Arizona State University Professional Teacher Preparation Program (PTPP). The experienced teachers in…

A survey of school media centers in Minnesota elementary and secondary schools was undertaken to determine the extent of the progress they have made towards meeting the Information Power guidelines for automation. Two hundred schools were selected to receive an eight-page questionnaire, and 57% responded. The results show that Minnesota library…

To identify a set of predictor variables for student grades in a first-quarter English course, a study was undertaken of students' reading and language scores on the Career Planning Program (CPP) and the Multiple Assessment and Program Services (MAPS) placement tests. In addition, the relationship was examined between the first-quarter English…

A study examined the development of reading, written expression and listening comprehension over 3 years. The participants were 77 students in Brisbane, Australia, who were identified by school staff as having a learning difficulty at the end of grade one and who were matched with the same number of normally achieving children attending the same…

This study was conducted to examine reflective thinking in 12 preservice teachers as it relates to locus of control and creative thinking. Subjects completed the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Verbal Form A) and The Locus of Control Scale for Teachers. Measures of the dependent variable, reflective thinking, were determined through analyses…

This study examined the relationship between parental childrearing behaviors and adolescent academic competence in 393 seventh-graders from rural two-parent families with similar educational and economic backgrounds. Data was collected from school academic records, adolescent and parent questionnaires, and observer ratings. Results indicate that…

A study was conducted at Scottsdale and Paradise Valley community colleges to assess the importance of math for the study of economic principles and the extent to which a student's math background determines performance in micro- and macro-economic courses. Students (N=156) from six economic principles classes were surveyed regarding their high…

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to examine teacher trainees' knowledge of teaching prior to training and its relationship to performance in the training program; and (2) to determine if there is a set of identifiable domain-specific knowledge related to course performance. Since trainees enter teacher training programs with prior…

Five years of state test results for Pennsylvania are examined, focusing on differences among elementary schools in which a majority of students do not master basic learning skills. Data are provided for 1,505 elementary schools in about 500 districts. The largest learning problems occur in about 10% of the schools; these schools have been…

This paper identified significant precollege predictors of retention in two freshman classes of a rural college. The subjects of the study were the 1987 and 1988 freshman classes (with 256 and 302 students, respectively) of Chadron State College (Nebraska), a rural college of over 3,000 students. Thirty-three student background variables were…

This report presents findings from a multi-year project on handicapped and non-handicapped high school dropouts, including a longitudinal study of high school students in five Colorado school districts and a social ecological study to identify community characteristics which predispose a school district to high dropout rates. The longitudinal…

This study investigated variables that might be associated with outcome differences in language development of 10 children (ages 10-20 months) with blindness or severe visual impairments, attending a developmental vision clinic in southern England. Subjects' early patterns of expressive language development were examined and related to observed…