This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 29 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the relationship between self-concept and reading ability in secondary school students; (2) students' perceptions of their reading groups and peers within…

A study examined the relationship between the self-efficacy and career aspirations of 37,942 11th-grade students across the state of Pennsylvania. Using Albert Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, which states that the level and strength of self-efficacy of an individual will determine (1) whether or not the individual will initiate coping behavior,…

The cumulative, long term impact of alternative kindergarten scheduling for everyday half- and full-day programs was examined for three successive cohorts of children. Dependent measures included academic achievement, school sentiment, personal-social behavior, school attendance, and referral to special education classes. Parent perception of…

A study compared the economic and noneconomic effects of various combinations of high school curriculum and postsecondary school-to-work transition patterns. Data for the study were obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience, Youth Cohort (NLS Youth). In some cases, the 1979 data from the high school class of 1972…

Project REDEAL (Research and Evaluation of Distance Education for the Adult Learner) was designed to investigate the motivation and management of adult learners in the distance educational setting of Athabasca University in Edmonton, Alberta. During the course of the 22-month project, specialists compiled a series of research and technical reports…

The author redesigned an undergraduate physiology course using a novel Internet mirror model: parallel lecture and Internet-based sections conducted so that students can move freely from one to the other (or choose both) during the semester. Within the constraints of this paradigm, he used technology to enhance student learning: adding…

This study compares the performances of 16 advanced and 19 beginning English language learners on a listening comprehension task that focused on linguistic and pragmatic processing. Processing pragmatic meaning differs from processing linguistic meaning because pragmatic meaning requires the listener to understand not only linguistic information,…

Bourdieu (1973) theorized that differences in social background correspond to differences in possession of cultural resources (cultural capital), as well as the orientation to those resources (habitus). Additionally, Bourdieu argued that struggles for power occur in different settings (fields). This essay reviews Bourdieu's main ideas and…

A study was conducted to determine whether or not the Personalized, Individualized, Vocational Occupations Training (PIVOT) materials developed by the School District of Philadelphia were capable of developing entry-level competency in secondary school students in a variety of educational settings (comprehensive high schools, an occupational…

The paper discusses an experiment in which regression analysis was used to examine predictors of information retention following a college economics course. It was hypothesized that students taught in small classes with self-instructional materials would place a higher value on basic economic concepts and retain these concepts longer than students…

Focusing on individual decisions, the study examined why the rural poor migrated to urban areas. Rural-to-urban migrants were those persons having lived in places of less than 25,000 population and currently residing in major cities. Southeastern blacks, Appalachian whites, and Southwestern Spanish Americans were interviewed in two…

The symposium report focuses on effects of state curriculum mandates on the social studies curriculum. Part of a larger study designed to examine the effect of state law on the introduction and implementation of law-related education, the report is presented in two sections. Section I analyzes social studies mandates in the 50 states. Five…

It is often proposed that high schools are partly to blame for the decline in achievement test scores. Critics of current practices in education cite the decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score averages that has occurred each year since 1963 as evidence. The College Entrance Examination Board Advisory Panel on SAT Score Decline has…

Changes in the demographic-socioeconomic characteristics of Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Central and South Americans, and Hispanos were examined using primarily 1970 census data. The study briefly reviewed the history of these groups--when they first came to the U.S., the types of immigrants, etc.; noted their geographic distribution…

The curriculum guide is designed to help high school art teachers develop a course of instruction to enhance student understanding and knowledge of 20th century art and architecture. A major objective of the course is to develop student ability to recognize, compare, and analyze style, form, and expressive content as a means of achieving greater…