This report presents results from a discovery study questionnaire, using forced choice and open-ended items, to assess the types of problems resident assistants (RAs) at the rural campus of Auburn University (Alabama) encounter, their level and sources of preparedness to deal with these problems, and the ways in which the residence life staff can…

This paper describes a four-step approach to constructing a diagnostic test that provides precise but practical information on students' problems and needs for additional instruction or remediation. The approach is based on analyzing the structure of the domain to determine which skills within the domain need to be assessed to diagnose students'…

This book was written to help school personnel combat drug and alcohol abuse among students. It gives readers a basic understanding of drugs and their effects on the mind and body. The stages of chemical dependency and the vocabulary of the drug scene are reviewed and reasons that children and adolescents take drugs are discussed. Signs of student…

Student attrition is a major problem for American colleges and universities because an increasing number of enrollees fit the demographic and socioeconomic profile of "high-risk" students, who consist in general of minorities, the academically disadvantaged, the disabled, and those of low socioeconomic status. Declining enrollments leave…

Students who are involved in middle school alternative education programs are often labeled as severely disruptive. They have a history of physical violence, abusive language, truancy, and sometimes police arrests and juvenile detention records. These students need to learn how to deal with stress-producing events in a more socially acceptable…

It is important for teachers to produce a comfortable learning climate for students whose parents are divorcing. Research has shown that divorce precipitates a major crisis in the lives of most children and that the stress which accompanies divorce often affects school behavior and academic performance. Children at different ages react differently…

In spring 1984, a study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) to investigate the needs of the more mature students attending the college. Telephone interviews were conducted with 143 students aged 60 to 64 (pre-seniors) and 155 students aged 65 or over (senior citizens), representing 81.7% and 91.2%, respectively, of the older…

Despite the failure of recent research to demonstrate some of the "promise" of early field experiences for teachers, early experiences retain substantial appeal and should provide important diagnostic information relating to the needs of the teacher preparation program. The early field experience, an exercise in the teacher preparation…

Research in counseling psychology continues to examine who uses university counseling services and why. Users (N=166) of counseling services at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas during spring, 1983 completed the Bethany College Summary Sheet, an instrument which lists 20 topics of student concern and provides students with a section to check…

The purpose of this report was to obtain information on first semester dropouts from Southwest Wisconsin Vocational-Technical Institute (fall semester 1976) and to ascertain their reasons for leaving. A total of 135 individuals received questionnaires; response rate was 52%. Questionnaire items covered dropout characteristics, problems encountered…

An international study of adaptation and coping of students, faculty, and administrators involved with foreign student exchange is examined using data obtained in 11 countries--Brazil, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Japan, Kenya, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The following are included:…

The research summarized in this report is a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of a particular type of alternative secondary school in improving the behavior of delinquent and disruptive students. Three alternative school programs which provide students with experiences of success and social support from teachers are described. The…

This report summarizes the results of the fourth full year of a projected longitudinal study of the Child Development Centers Program (CDC). CDC is operated by the Seattle, Washington public schools to provide social services primarily to students four to eight years old. This volume describes the population served, services provided, and student…

This manual describes a systematic approach, behavioral prescripting, for dealing with student problem behaviors. Aspects of the behavioral prescripting process are described, including: (1) enlisting the support of parents and teachers; (2) deciding on the problem behaviors; (3) collecting baseline data; (4) building a reinforcement schedule; (5)…

Problems posed by varying interpretations of the terms "native speaker" and "native language" in relation to discrimination in hiring foreign language teachers are discussed. The central question is whether there is an educational basis for giving hiring preference to a native speaker. One argument stresses that it is preferable for students to be…