Reports on a study of the influence of cognitive/affective variables on the second language learning ability of adults. Two variables, field independence and ambiguity tolerance, were found to be significant predictors of English as a second language proficiency for international students studying in the United States. (SED)

A university economics department tested the commonly held opinion that college teachers can predict their students' eventual level of educational attainment from their personal observations of the student. A larger-than-anticipated margin of prediction error was revealed. (MSE)

Examined the influence of age, social class, and maternal employment on changes in nutrition knowledge and dietary quality following a nutrition education program for 10- to 13-year-olds. Results indicated that nutrition knowledge but not dietary quality were increased by the program. (JAC)

Assessed delinquent and nondelinquent male adolescents (N=43) on locus of control and intellectual achievement responsibilty. Results supported a multidimensional model. There was no difference in expectancy of control for negative academic events between delinquents and nondelinquents. Birth order and delinquency were the most important…

This study investigated how classroom teaching behavior mediates the relationship between personality and college teaching effectiveness. Instructional effectiveness was measured by end-of-term student ratings. Path analysis revealed that approximately half of the relationship between personality and teaching effectiveness was mediated by…

Economic reforms in Poland aimed at using human resources will better increase the need for higher education planning and forecasting, but present instabilities reduce the potential, for projection and a new view of higher education as an end in itself and not solely a producer of qualified personnel complicates forecasting processes. (MSE)

Studied attitudes of 210 Navajo seventh graders toward nontraditional occupations. Participants expressed less negative attitudes than expected. Significant effects were found for both school setting and the interaction of setting and occupational sex type. Suggests that limited contacts may have contributed to less awareness of the sex types…

Examined the relationship of attitude toward science, spatial ability, mathematical ability, and scientific personality (measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) on the achievement of eighth-grade students (N=98). One finding noted is that males and females with science grades of C or D had the most characteristics not associated with science.…

Stepwise discriminant analysis coupled with logit regression analysis of freshmen data from Brandon University (Manitoba) indicated that six tested variables drawn from research on university dropouts were useful in predicting attrition: student status, residence, financial sources, distance from home town, goal fulfillment, and satisfaction with…

Investigates (1) the relationships between cognitive performance and cognitive styles and predictive possibilities and (2) performance differences by sex, school, grade, and income in 92 Indian adolescents. Assessment measures included Liquid Conservation, Islands, Goat-Lion, Hanoi-Tower, Rabbits (Piagetian); Block Design (WISC-R); Paper Cutting…

Support for learning, as perceived by 516 adolescents, was compared to data collected five years earlier on family characteristics, ability, achievement, and school attitude. Educational aspirations were related to parents' and teachers' support. Females' occupational aspirations were influenced by situational variables; males were also influenced…

McMaster University students' high school and freshman grades were compared in an examination of the possible effects of grade inflation, variability of grades between secondary schools, and appropriateness of some courses for university admission. With some qualification, high school grades remain generally reliable predictors of university…

The relative contributions of learning style dimensions, intelligence quotient, and their interactions to prediction of academic performance were examined. Kindergarten students were evaluated, and their first grade achievement was studied. Although IQ was found the better predictor, learning styles accounted for statistically significant…

This study investigated the cognitive abilities, cognitive styles, and student demographic characteristics that predicted learning of computer programing in small groups; the group process variables that predicted learning of computer programing; and the student characteristics that related to group processes. Different profiles of abilities…

Using longitudinal census tract data for four cities, this article predicts racial composition of neighborhoods as a function of earlier period racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and physical characteristics. There is support for aspects of the ecological and filtering modes of succession, with some elements not being generally applicable across time…