Newman (1984) examined the causal relations between math self-concept and math achievement in an 8-year longitudinal study using Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) analyses. He concluded that math self-concept did not influence subsequent math achievement. However, the study suffered in that math self-concept was inferred from a single-item…

This study evaluates the effects of the Advanced Placement (AP) Program in the lives of students and investigates the validity of the Advanced Placement Examinations at participating colleges and universities. Nine of the colleges and universities that received the most AP candidates in 1982 were selected for the study. The transcripts of a large…

This report is a record of a one-day seminar sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The theme of the conference was the timely issue of the role of nonpublic schools in educating American children. The participants were: (1) representatives of private schools, (2) federal policymakers; and (3) researchers. Jay Noell…

Over 150 papers and articles were examined, and interviews with noted computer-based instruction (CBI) professionals were conducted to obtain information about CBI and the research evidence. Focus was on four main areas of CBI research--costs, learning achievements, individual differences, and student attitudes. Consistent empirical evidence did…

Considered are the developmental and prognostic implications of early peer relations. Evidence concerning peer difficulties as risk factors is reviewed along with research dealing with family relations and peer relations in social development. In preference to a stepping-stone model of the development of social deviance, a conjunctive feedback…

To correct for the effects of measurement error on structural parameter estimates, many researchers are now estimating models of educational achievement with LISREL. In order to estimate such models it is desirable to obtain multiple manifest measures of the latent constructs. Many researchers restrict their models to two manifest measures per…

Until the quantity, quality, and utility for policy development of research literature on rural education is improved, the potential for furthering the current national momentum of interest in rural education cannot be realized. Explanations for the limited research literature include a lack of appreciation for differences between rural and urban…

This study describes the problems of searching in professional journals for relevant articles on the subject of adult education evaluation. Seventy-three journals were identified as containing 337 appropriate articles when searching with 11 title words; 43 percent of the titles referred to human behavior change while 57 percent referred to program…

In September 1984, a Vocational Education Data System (VEDS) follow-up survey was conducted of all 5,267 students who had graduated from Massachusetts public community colleges in 1982-83. Of these graduates, 1,881 (35.7%) returned the survey, and 3,386 (64.3%) did not. A subsequent study was conducted to compare the characteristics of survey…

This document comprises a collection of workshop papers addressing the issues of doing research on the complex social and human problems faced in any community from an Asian American perspective. The following topics are discussed: (1) the nature of community research; (2) the pros and cons of pure basic and applied research; (3) the nature and…

Although some school districts conduct follow-up studies of their high school graduates, few have systematically used the information to improve their educational programs or to guide policymaking. Weaknesses of typical vocational education follow-up studies include the following: avoidance of comparisons with nonvocational students, failure to…

This paper describes four problems that may confront researchers interested in capturing and describing participant perspectives when the participants of interest are young children in early childhood education settings. Problems were identified with interview data collected in three studies conducted in separate preschool and kindergarten…

Designed as a formal response to the Report of the Task Group on Retention and Transfer (HE 014 825), by Gerald Kissler, which is sharply critical of the community college transfer program, this report examines issues related to the transfer of community college students to the University of California (UC) and the California State Universities…

This study was conducted to develop a process for identifying the effects of vocational education research and development projects and activities and to identify the effects of selected research projects on the vocational, technical, and adult education programs and students in Wisconsin. Technical and adult education faculty and staff who had…

The communication of research findings among collegiate institutional researchers is considered in relation to the contribution of qualitative language in general, and catastrophe theory in particular. The qualitative language of catastrophe theory may help reduce the arbitrariness of description, through identification of qualitative features…