This guide consists of ten articles, each introducing a separate issue important to retirement planning. The series discusses a wide range of information about critical retirement issues and explores the uncertainties, expectations, and decisions that confront the future retiree. The articles also contain suggestions and planning aids, worksheets,…

The effectiveness of a special South Carolina rural youth project was evaluated. Initiated in 1972, the project was designed to improve the quality of life of rural youth from low income families via community clubs for youth between the ages of 9 and 16. In order to measure the attitude changes (aspirations and expectations) of club members, a…

This study examined the effects of third grade students' physical attractiveness, IQ scores, and sex on raters' expectations for the students' personality and academic performance. Subjects were 120 undergraduate and graduate students who were either teachers or teacher trainees. A fictitious school transcript and student essay were randomly…

The study takes place in a field setting at three different schools. Each group is composed of two black and two white students assigned randomly to either an experimental or control condition. Fourteen groups were run for each condition or a total of 28 groups. In the control condition both blacks and whites receive the same neutral training…

This experiment attempted to alter the effects of race as a diffuse status characteristic. Black subjects were given instructions meant to induce "high competence" on a task performed with white subjects. All subjects were seventh and eighth graders who did not know each other prior to the experiment. Each group comprised two white and…

This two-part interview focuses on the high expectations for the role of computers in higher education that the author feels are not being met. Highlights include discussions of teaching methods incorporating computers, computer science education, computers as research tools, word processing, and the questionable value of learning programming…

Interviews reveal that black student-athletes are placed in the middle of a credibility conflict between the faculty, the administration, and the community. Balancing academic, athletic, and personal demands is a herculean task. Black student-athletes need a caring institutional atmosphere to improve their academic performance. (BJV)

Questions one of the assumed benefits of rapid growth in rural areas--the retention of rural youths through finding employment in their home communities. Finds no relationship between migration intentions of 970 high school seniors in rural Utah counties and rapid growth in local energy-related extractive employment. (LFL)

An eight-point plan was developed by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to address concerns expressed by enrolled and prospective students and to minimize student discouragement. It includes supporting the application process, aid program and options counseling, information dissemination, emphasis on student self-help opportunities and…

The California Student Aid Commission's comparison of the Uniform Methodology, the California Grant Programs, and institutional procedures for determining student financial contribution is summarized. The only consistent relationship found was in total student financial responsibility. An alternative model for coordinating state and institutional…

A study of academic success among graduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign examines the use of different measures of success, which take into account differences in aspiration and include students currently enrolled, in assessing the performance differences of men and women. (MSE)

A survey of older adult students at Britain's Open University to learn their characteristics, motivation, expectation, and attitudes about the institution is summarized. Results show that although most adapt well to distance education, certain factors such as cost and examinations are of concern to the students. (MSE)

Turning Points is a New American Schools design for comprehensive middle school reform coordinated by the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) in Boston Massachusetts. It focuses on creating a professional collaborative culture and using data-based inquiry to improve teaching and learning for all students. Turning Points seeks to create…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is currently implementing two comprehensive school reform initiatives, Making Middle Grades Work (MMGW) and Making Schools Work (MSW). The purpose of both initiatives is to raise student achievement, and they both rest on the belief that all students can complete a rigorous program of studies at middle…

This study examined how five high-poverty Texas high schools, which had attained notable achievement levels on selected academic indicators, reached their present levels of performance. The schools shared several characteristics: most students were economically disadvantaged; the location was in a large urban district; there was no selective…