bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Frog Pond Revisited: High School Academic Context, Class Rank, and Elite College Admission
Authors: Espenshade Thomas J. , Hale Lauren E. , Chung Chang Y.
Published: December 2009

In this article, the authors test a “frog-pond” model of elite college admission proposed by Attewell, operationalizing high school academic context as the secondary school-average SAT score and number of Advanced Placement tests per high school senior. Data on more than 45,000 applications to three elite universities show that a high school's academic environment has a negative effect on college admission, controlling for individual students' scholastic ability. A given applicant's chances of being accepted are reduced if he or she comes from a high school with relatively more highly talented students, that is, if the applicant is a small frog in a big pond. Direct evidence on high school class rank produces similar findings. A school's reputation or prestige has a counterbalancing positive effect on college admission. Institutional gatekeepers are susceptible to context effects, but the influence of school variables is small relative to the characteristics of individual students. The authors tie the findings to prior work on meritocracy in college admission and to the role played by elite education in promoting opportunity or reproducing inequality, and they speculate on the applicability of frog-pond models in areas beyond elite college admission.
Privatization Reform and Inequality of Educational Opportunity: The Case of Chile
Authors: Torche Florencia
Published: December 2009

Chile has experienced considerable educational expansion over the past few decades, as well as a privatization reform in 1981 that introduced full parental choice through a voucher system, in the context of a market-oriented transformation of the country. Using a cohort analysis of the 2001 Chilean Mobility Survey, this article examines trends in educational stratification in Chile over the past 50 years, with a focus on the changes that followed the privatization reform. The analysis shows that, in line with international findings, there is “persistent inequality” of educational opportunity across cohorts in Chile. Persistent inequality is not total, however. There is a small but significant increase in inequality in the transition to secondary education, which is cotemporaneous with the market-oriented transformation. Furthermore, when school sector-a form of “qualitative inequality” expressed in the distinction among public, private-voucher, and private-paid schools-is considered, the analysis suggests an increase in the advantages that are associated with private-voucher schools after the privatization reform, as well as in the benefits of attending private-paid schools during and after the reform. The article concludes by discussing the relationship among economic context, privatization reform, and educational inequality.
School Participation Among Immigrant Youths: The Case of Segmented Assimilation in the Early 20th Century
Authors: Sassler Sharon L.
Published: December 2009

Research on the educational enrollment of immigrants has typically asserted that today's immigrant children are educationally disadvantaged and that earlier waves of immigrants were more readily absorbed into the American educational system. This article addresses these assumptions, drawing on traditional assimilationist and status competition approaches to racial and ethnic stratification. Data from the 1920 IPUMS census database are used to analyze the school participation of 15 to 18 year olds who were living in their parents' homes. The findings demonstrate that the process of assimilation was not uniform for all groups. Some groups achieved parity with the native stock by the third generation, and others took at least an additional generation or experienced declines in the proportions who were enrolled in school. In general, the results suggest strong parallels between the educational experiences of white ethnic youths in 1920 and those o today's immigran youths.
The Role of Gender and Friendship in Advanced Course Taking
Authors: Riegle-Crumb Catherine , Farkas George , Muller Chandra
Published: December 2009

This article examines the role of friends in girls' and boys' advanced course taking and explores whether friends' characteristics are particularly important for girls' math and science attainment. With the use of data from Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Heath, the results indicate that same-sex friends' academic performance significantly predicts course taking in all subjects for girls, but not for boys. Furthermore, for math and science only, the effects of friends' performance are greater in the context of a predominantly female friendship group, which suggests that such groups provide a counterpoint to the gendered stereotypes and identities of those subjects.
Accrediting Culture: An Analysis of Tribal and Historically Black College Curricula
Authors: Cole Wade M.
Published: December 2009

Using data gleaned from catalogs and bulletins for a sample of 28 tribal, 33 historically black, and 30 “mainstream” colleges, the author analyzes the number of courses that focus explicitly and exclusively on African American or American Indian cultural perspectives—“ethnocen-tric” content—in 1992 and 2002. Negative binomial regression analyses of course counts indicate that tribal colleges offer nearly 10 times as many “ethnocentric” courses as mainstream colleges, net of other institutional characteristics (e.g., minority enrollment, public or private control, two- or four-year college, and accreditation). This finding could be attributed to the quasi-sovereign legal status of Indian tribes, which, like other sovereigns, are invested with the authority to define what counts as legitimate knowledge. Compared with mainstream institutions, privately controlled black colleges offer approximately 15 percent more, and publicly controlled black colleges offer 73 percent fewer, Afrocentric courses.
The Impact of Sector on School Organizations: Institutional and Market Logics
Authors: Davies Scott , Quirke Linda
Published: December 2009

Drawing on new institutional and market theories, this article derives three hypotheses for the effects of markets on educational organizations: They (1) weaken formal structures, (2) reverse tendencies toward isomorphism, and (3) force schools to recouple and compete via performance indicators. These ideas are investigated with data on private and public schools in Toronto, which, the authors argue, is a strategic research site. The findings vary by market sector. Newer, nonelite private schools seek niches, avoid performance indicators, and dilute formal structures, while older elite schools do the opposite. Thus, market effects on school organizations vary by sector. In conclusion, the authors argue that the impact of markets on schools is mitigated by local institutional conditions. Specifically, the presumed impact of markets on educational quality may be contingent upon certain institutional conditions that, when absent, channel market forces in more consumerist directions.
When Work Matters: The Varying Impact of Work Intensity on High School Dropout
Authors: Lee Jennifer C. , Staff Jeremy
Published: December 2009

While the association between teenagers' work and academic performance continues to be debated in studies of adolescent employment, many researchers have found that “intensive” involvement in paid work increases the risk of high school dropout. It is still unclear, however, whether this relationship is spurious owing to preexisting differences in socioeconomic background, school performance, aspirations, and orientations toward work and school. Using propensity- score matching techniques, the authors address this issue and assess variation in the effects of work hours on the probability of dropping out of high school. The results suggest that long hours on the job do not encourage high school dropout among all students.
School Strategies and the “College-Linking” Process: Reconsidering the Effects of High Schools on College Enrollment
Authors: Diane Hill Lori
Published: December 2009

This study reconsidered school effects on college enrollment by focusing on strategies that schools use to facilitate college transitions. It also examined whether school strategies influence different outcomes for students from different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Using data from the High School Effectiveness Study, the analysis identified three distinctive “college-linking” strategies: traditional, clearinghouse, and brokering. The results revealed that the strategies that schools use to help students navigate the college-linking process are associated with variation in college enrollment. They suggest that schools that operate primarily as a resource clearinghouse, in which organizational norms limit their role as agents in the college-linking process, foster significant racial/ethnic variation in students' outcomes.
Ethnic, Women's, and African American Studies Majors in U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
Authors: Olzak Susan , Kangas Nicole
Published: December 2009

African American Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Women's Studies programs in higher education have received wide support from faculty members and students, yet few programs offer a major or have tenure-line faculty positions. Our analysis used sociological theories to generate testable implications about the chances that an institution will offer these majors. We found that the relevant size of students' and faculty's demographic profiles reflect the chances that these majors will be offered. Moreover, institutions that offer Women's Studies programs are significantly more likely also to offer majors in Ethnic Studies and African American Studies, but this effect is asymmetric.
Are “Failing” Schools Really Failing? Using Seasonal Comparison to Evaluate School Effectiveness
Authors: Downey Douglas B. , von Hippel Paul T. , Hughes Melanie
Published: December 2009

To many, it seems obvious which schools are failing—schools whose students perform poorly on achievement tests. But since evaluating schools on achievement mixes the effects of school and nonschool influences, achievement-based evaluation likely underestimates the effectiveness of schools that serve disadvantaged populations. In this article, the authors discuss school-evaluation methods that more effectively separate school effects from nonschool effects. Specifically, the authors evaluate schools using 12-month (calendar-year) learning rates, 9-month (school-year) learning rates, and a provocative new measure, “impact”—which is the difference between the school-year learning rate and the summer learning rate. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 1998–99, the authors show that learning- or impact-based evaluation methods substantially change conclusions about which schools are failing. In particular, among schools with failing (i.e., bottom-quintile) achievement levels, less than half are failing with respect to learning or impact. In addition, schools that serve disadvantaged students are much more likely to have low achievement levels than they are to have low levels of learning or impact. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to market-based educational reform.
High School Dropout and the Role of Career and Technical Education: A Survival Analysis of Surviving High School
Authors: Plank Stephen B. , DeLuca Stefanie , Estacion Angela
Published: December 2009

This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to investigate high school dropout and its association with the high school curriculum. In particular, it examines how combinations of career and technical education (CTE) and core academic courses influence the likelihood of leaving school. Hazards models indicate a significant curvilinear association between the CTE-to-academic course-taking ratio and the risk of dropping out for youths who were aged 14 and younger when they entered the ninth grade (not old for grade). This finding suggests that a middle-range mix of exposure to CTE and an academic curriculum can strengthen a student's attachment to or motivation while in school. The same association was not found between course taking and the likelihood of dropping out for youths who were aged 15 or older when they entered high school, thus prompting further consideration of the situation of being old for grade in school settings that remain highly age graded in their organization.
Educational Attainment, Teacher-Student Ratios, and the Risk of Adult Incarceration Among U.S. Birth Cohorts Since 1910
Authors: Arum Richard , LaFree Gary
Published: December 2009

Little is known about the relationship between school characteristics, such as teacher-student ratios, and the risk of incarceration in adulthood. Educational skeptics argue that investment in schools has little effect on outcomes, such as criminality or the risk of incarceration, because criminal propensities are fixed at an early age and organizational inefficiencies make public schools incapable of using resources effectively to alter students' outcomes. Some educational proponents contend that schools increasingly provide critical defining moments in the life course and that by improving economic opportunities and facilitating social control in schools, greater resources can directly reduce criminality and the risk of incarceration. This article uses previously unreleased U.S. census data to identify the increasing association between educational attainment and teacher-student ratios on individuals' risk of incarceration for five-year birth cohorts starting in 1910. On the basis of an elaborate fixed-effect control methodology, the authors find conditional support for the conclusion that educational resources—measured as teacher-student ratios—are associated with the reduced risk of adult incarceration. They assess the robustness of this conclusion by replicating the analysis using school-level measures of teacher-student ratios and longitudinal indicators of individual-level incarceration from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth.
Rethinking the Attitude-Achievement Paradox Among Blacks
Authors: Downey Douglas B. , Ainsworth James W. , Qian Zhenchao
Published: December 2009

Blacks offer positive responses to a wide range of survey questions gauging attitudes toward schooling, yet perform less well in school than do whites. The credibility of blacks' attitudes is a central issue among competing explanations for this paradox. In this article, the authors assess questions about the validity of blacks' pro-school attitudes with the National Education Longitudinal Study. Two findings prompted the authors to rethink the paradox. First, a key reason for doubting blacks' pro-school attitudes—that they fail to predict achievement—does not generalize to the national data. Second, rather than challenge the credibility of blacks' pro-school attitudes, the results reveal minimal differences in attitude-achievement associations between blacks and other minority groups. These patterns have implications for thinking about whether blacks resist schooling.
Beyond Access: Explaining Socioeconomic Differences in College Transfer
Authors: Goldrick-Rab Sara , Pfeffer Fabian T.
Published: December 2009

Reducing socioeconomic differences in college transfer requires understanding how and why parental education, occupational class, and family income are associated with changing colleges. Building on prior studies of traditional community college transfer, the authors explore relationships between those factors and two types of transfer among four-year college students. The results indicate that reverse transfer—the move from a four-year to a community college—is more common among students from less-educated families partly because of lower levels of academic performance during their freshman year. In contrast, students from advantaged backgrounds in terms of class and income are more likely than are others to engage in a lateral transfer—from a four-year to a four-year college—which may reflect individual preferences for changing colleges, rather than a reaction to poor academic performance. Implications for policy and practice are discussed in light of the fact that only reverse transfer is associated with lower rates of completion of bachelor's degrees.
English-Major Community College Presidents: A Narrative Inquiry
Authors: Frankland Tammy
Published: December 2009

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to discover how six community college presidents who were undergraduate English majors construct the stories of their academic and professional journeys. Findings were synthesized using three themes—boundaries, connections, and transformations—as an interpretative framework. The selected presidents crossed boundaries, made connections to ideas and people, and transformed their thoughts and actions as found in the descriptions of their academic and professional experiences. Data analyses determined that the content and context the presidents’ stories uncovered relationships between their experiences, their beliefs about higher education’s purpose, and their understanding of the community college mission.
Feeling Supported: Curricular Learning Communities for Basic Skills Courses and Students Who Speak English as a Second Language
Authors: Smith Rachel A.
Published: December 2009

This study examined the relationship between enrollment in learning communities and students’ self-reported learning outcomes at 13 community colleges. Students included in the analysis were enrolled in either (a) learning communities that included at least one developmental class or (b) stand-alone developmental courses. Comparisons were made between the perceived learning outcomes for students whose first language was not English and for native English speakers. Results suggest that learning community participation had a positive effect on students’ perceptions of their learning outcomes. Results also showed that for both native- and non-native-English-speaking students, feeling supported by the institution was the greatest predictor of increased self-reported learning outcomes.
Comparative Collective Community-Based Learning: The “Possibilities for Change in American Communities” Program
Authors: Cunningham David , Kingma-Kiekhofer Cheryl
Published: December 2009

This article introduces an approach to service learning based on students' collective engagement with a range of community organizations. We explore the particular benefits of this comparative collective community-based (CCC) learning model through a discussion of the “Possibilities for Change in American Communities” program, which was begun by the authors in 2001. The program exposes students to a diverse set of community contexts by integrating a 32-day sleeper-bus trip around the eastern half of the U.S. into a year-long curriculum. We discuss the distinct advantages of such a program as well as the tradeoffs associated with the comparative analysis of multiple communities. We conclude by exploring alternative ways to incorporate the CCC framework within more conventional community-based initiatives.
Illustrating the Nature of Social Inequality with the Simulation Star Power
Authors: Dundes Lauren , Harlow Roxanna
Published: December 2009

A simulation called Star Power provides an invaluable means to help students understand structural social inequality. This paper explains how Star Power achieves this goal and provides suggestions on how to inculcate the following points that are both central to sociology and difficult to adequately convey to students: 1) Students see how those in power maintain their position by structuring the system to their advantage; 2) they learn how the structure of this system makes advancement for others difficult; 3) privileged students begin to recognize the impact of their own family's social position that they tend to overlook in favor of their personal effort and merit. By becoming more aware of structural inequalities, students realize that for the lower classes to join the most powerful in society, they must triumph over a system in which those in power make rules that protect their own interests, usually at someone else's expense.
Filling Structural Holes: Social Networks in the Introductory Course
Authors: Cook James M.
Published: December 2009

Although the literature on social networks has made a considerable contribution to the sociological imagination in recent years, it has been largely ignored in conventional course materials. Such an omission is curious, considering social networks' intuitive imagery, broad theoretical relevance and extensive empirical application. This article offers a remedy to that oversight, describing a challenging yet accessible curriculum including readings, classroom exercises, and student-centered learning projects.
Integrating Data Analysis (IDA): Working With Sociology Departments to Address the Quantitative Literacy Gap
Authors: Howery Carla B. , Rodriguez Havidan
Published: December 2009

The NSF-funded Integrating Data Analysis (IDA) Project undertaken by the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the Social Science Data Analysis Network sought to close the quantitative literacy gap for sociology majors. Working with twelve departments, the project built on lessons learned from ASA's Minority Opportunities through School Transformation (MOST) Program, where curricular change was a departmental (not individual faculty) agenda. A critical mass of faculty in each IDA department developed and used quantitative modules in lower division courses. This article reports on the steps to develop departmental curricular change and the important results for student learning and future professional success.
Transmitting Tricks of the Trade: Advisors and the Development of Research Knowledge
Authors: Leahey Erin
Published: December 2009

How is sociological research practice learned? Because much of the tacit knowledge required to succeed in professions such as academia cannot be obtained formally, informal channels of learning—such as interaction with advisors—may be crucial. In this paper I test the extent to which graduate school advisors influence the development of their advisees' research habits, practices, and beliefs. I find that advisors' attitudes and intra-professional standing affect how their advisees view various research practices—both those that are less codified (such as how to deal with anomalous data) and those that are quite standardized (such as statistical significance testing). For the least standardized and most qualitative research practices, such as interpreting qualitative text, I find that students' experiences are more relevant that advisors' attitudes. I discuss these findings by referencing literature in the sociology of science and knowledge and relate my findings to broader knowledge about teaching sociology at the graduate level.
Teaching Against the Text: The Case of Qualitative Methods
Authors: Hood Jane C.
Published: December 2009

Although all of us must teach against the text at times, I find myself doing this most often when teaching about qualitative methods in the context of a general introductory methods course. Myths about the nature and practice of qualitative research are both embedded in the folklore of mainstream sociology and supported by the textbooks that we use in our classrooms. However, many students resist instructors' attempts to question textbooks, which they regard as “gospel truth”. How can we get our students to go beyond both textbook myths and mainstream folklore to grapple with misleading and inaccurate statements? In this article I suggest several strategies to raise awareness of myths about qualitative research, explain why several common statements about qualitative methods are myths, and suggest classroom strategies for engaging students in challenging these myths. I end with an evaluation of my own efforts to teach against the text in an undergraduate methods class.
Learning by Exams: The Impact of Two-Stage Cooperative Tests
Authors: Zipp John F.
Published: December 2009

Decades of research have documented the positive impacts of cooperative learning on student success: increased learning, retention through graduation, improved critical thinking, and intrinsic motivation. One cooperative teaching technique, however, has received relatively little attention. In the two-stage cooperative, group, or “pyramid” exam students first take an exam individually—as in traditional testing—and then take the same exam together with their learning group, with the exam grade being a weighted combination of their individual and group scores. This approach uses the exam itself not only for evaluation, but also as a learning tool. Although some researchers have studied group exams, they have not isolated the impact of group tests from individual achievement—an important omission. Using data from a mass lecture introductory sociology course, I found that holding individual achievement constant the group exam process significantly increased learning both for students who knew the material initially and for those who did not. This suggests that cooperative exams not only enhance learning but also allow for the process and form of testing to become more closely linked to the process and form of teaching and learning.
Breaking Ground
Authors: Mobley Catherine
Published: December 2009

This paper describes a service-learning project designed for an upper-level sociology course in Policy and Social Change. The project, Breaking Ground, had two main goals: to change students' perceptions about persons who are homeless and to increase students' sense of efficacy for engaging in social advocacy. Through Breaking Ground, students formed a partnership with advocates and homeless clients to raise public awareness about homelessness and to organize advocacy and fund-raising events for the agency partner. The research element of the project used pre-tests and post-tests to assess changes in students' beliefs about social justice, self-efficacy, and perceptions of homelessness. When compared to students who took the class, but did not participate in the described service-learning project, Breaking Ground students experienced significant changes in a positive direction in their perceptions of individuals who are homeless. There were also some small changes in student feelings of self-efficacy and opinions on social justice. I explain these results and provide suggestions for implementation of similar projects.
Using ICPSR Resources to Teach Sociology
Authors: Hoelter Lynette F. , Leclere Felicia B. , Pienta Amy M. , Barlow Rachael E. , Mcnally James W.
Published: December 2009

The focus on quantitative literacy has been increasingly outside the realm of mathematics. The social sciences are well suited to including quantitative elements throughout the curriculum but doing so can mean challenges in preparation and presentation of material for instructors and increased anxiety for students. This paper describes tools and resources available through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) that will aid students and instructors engaging in quantitative literacy across the curriculum. The Online Learning Center is a source of empirical activities aimed at undergraduates in lower-division substantive courses and Exploring Data through Research Literature presents an alternative to traditional research methods assignments. Searching and browsing tools, archive structures, and extended online-analysis tools make it easier for students in upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses to engage in exercises that increase quantitative literacy, and paper competitions reward them for doing so.
How to do the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Authors: Grauerholz Liz , Zipp John F.
Published: December 2009

At the 2007 annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, we presented a workshop entitled “How to do the Scholarship of Teaching.” The workshop had three main goals: to introduce participants to the literature on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and to various SoTL outlets, to guide participants in the process of doing their own SoTL research, and to enhance participants' chances of getting their SoTL work published, especially in the discipline's teaching journal, Teaching Sociology. The overarching purpose of the workshop and this paper is to help participants and readers think about how their own experiences in the classroom could be transformed into research.
The Face of Society
Authors: Clark Roger , Nunes Alex
Published: December 2009

We have updated Ferree and Hall's (1990) study of the way gender and race are constructed through pictures in introductory sociology textbooks. Ferree and Hall looked at 33 textbooks published between 1982 and 1988. We replicated their study by examining 3,085 illustrations in a sample of 27 textbooks, most of which were published between 2002 and 2006. We found important areas of progress in the presentation of both gender and race as well as significant areas of stasis. The face of society we found depicted in contemporary textbooks was distinctly less likely to be that of a white man, very prominent in the 1980s texts, and much more likely to be that of a minority woman. Thus, while only 34 percent of the pictures of identifiable individuals in the textbooks examined by Ferree and Hall were of women, almost 50 percent of such pictures were of women in the recent texts. Moreover, while the percentage of white men portrayed dropped from about 45 percent to 30 percent, the percentage of portrayals of minority women rose from about 11 percent to 22 percent. Another sign of progress has been the decreasing likelihood of textbooks to depict race and gender as being nonover-lapping categories: while women of color apparently “had” only race in the sample examined by Ferree and Hall, they “had” both gender and race in the sample we studied. Still, our examination of pictures as a whole as a unit of analysis found that blacks continue to be more likely than any other racial group to be depicted in the presence of other racial groups and, thus, to idealize the degree of social integration in American society. We also still see non-white women enjoying very little (in fact, no) visibility in sections devoted to theory, despite developments in feminist theory, generally, and multicultural feminist, specifically. In general, though, our analysis suggests that the various criticisms of introductory texts that have appeared in this forum and others can have an impact on the content of those texts and, by extension, the sociology we teach.
Cultivating A Sociological Perspective Using Nontraditional Texts
Authors: Castellano Ursula , DeAngelis Joseph , Clark-Ibáñez Marisol
Published: December 2009

In this paper, we argue that novels, mysteries and nonfiction books can provide undergraduate students with an accessible and exciting place to explore sociological concepts. Using storytelling as a pedagogical tool, we teach students key theoretical ideas by analyzing the books in their specific sociocultural contexts. First, we put forward three different strategies for using nontraditional readings in the classroom. We then present standardized assessment data to measure how well these strategies helped to meet our student learning goals: increasing engagement, enhancing conceptual understanding and improving analytic ability. We also discuss what we consider to be the pedagogical costs and benefits of using these approaches in the classroom.
Beyond the Field Trip
Authors: Kelner Shaul , Sanders George
Published: December 2009

A course in the sociology of tourism offers an opportunity to examine a world-transforming force that is penetrating more and more aspects of social life. It also offers an opportunity to create a learning environment that uses the object of study as the medium of study. This article examines how instructors can use tourism to teach the sociology of tourism, and thereby help students develop an understanding of the subject matter through reflexive examination of classroom practice. Drawing on research in the sociology of tourism, it outlines a conceptual framework for thinking about tourism as a spatial practice that includes semiotic, interpersonal and cultural dimensions. Through examples, it shows how these dimensions can be synthesized into a pedagogical strategy that uses field trips and classroom learning to teach the sociology of tourism. The article addresses logistical and conceptual issues involved in course planning and implementation.
Sociology of the College Classroom
Authors: Atkinson Maxine P. , Buck Alison R. , Hunt Andrea N.
Published: December 2009

Teaching Sociology's emphasis on the scholarship of teaching and learning has moved the field well beyond simple description of teaching methods. There is no doubt that the journal is more scholarly than in the past. Still, we do not take advantage of our rich theoretical disciplinary work. There is much to learn sociologically about the classroom and other sites of interaction between teachers and students. Our classrooms are social sites and our analysis of them can be of help to scholars both inside and outside the discipline. In this article, we propose a sensitizing concept, the sociology of the college classroom—the application of sociological theory and/or concepts to understand social phenomena that take place at the level of the classroom and other sites of faculty-student interaction. We situate the sociology of the college classroom as a subset of the scholarship of teaching and learning and the sociology of higher education. Sociology of the college classroom can be a place not only where research meets teaching, but it can also be a site where sociological theory meets pedagogical praxis.
Transfer of Training: A Meta-Analytic Review
Authors: Blume Brian D. , Ford J. Kevin , Baldwin Timothy T. , Huang Jason L.
Published: December 2009

Although transfer of learning was among the very first issues addressed by early psychologists, the extant literature remains characterized by inconsistent measurement of transfer and significant variability in findings. This article presents a meta-analysis of 89 empirical studies that explore the impact of predictive factors (e.g., trainee characteristics, work environment, training interventions) on the transfer of training to different tasks and contexts. We also examine moderator effects of the relationships between these predictors and transfer. Results confirmed positive relationships between transfer and predictors such as cognitive ability, conscientiousness, motivation, and a supportive work environment. Several moderators had significant effects on transfer relationships, including the nature of the training objectives. Specifically, most predictor variables examined (e.g., motivation, work environment) had stronger relationships to transfer when the focus of training was on open (e.g., leadership development) as opposed to closed (e.g., computer software) skills. Other moderators related to the measurement of transfer also influenced transfer relationships, including situations in which transfer outcomes were obtained by the same source in the same measurement context— which consistently inflated transfer relationships. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for future research and training practice.
The challenge of sexual attraction within heterosexuals’ cross-sex friendship
Authors: Halatsis Panayotis , Christakis Nicolas
Published: December 2009

This study investigated whether sexual attraction constitutes a “challenge” in cross-sex friendship, as well as the role and consequences of sexual attraction in friendship development. We present data from two studies. Study I, using detailed interviews, found three patterns of sexual attraction management. Study II, using a questionnaire, assessed important issues from Study I. The findings support the view that sexual attraction is indeed a challenge for cross-sex friends. Nevertheless, when sexual attraction is expressed, the friendship prevails in the majority of the cases. The implications of these findings in understanding the role of sexual attraction in cross-sex friendships are discussed.
Adult attachment and romantic partner preference: A review
Authors: Holmes Bjarne M. , Johnson Kimberly R.
Published: December 2009

In this literature review we explore inconsistencies in studies relating self-reported adult attachment to romantic partner preference. Such studies have tested one of three hypotheses: that individuals prefer partners with a similar attachment style, a complementary attachment style, or the attachment style most likely to offer attachment security. Consistent with all hypotheses, secure individuals prefer similarly secure partners. Discrepancies are found, however, regarding insecure individuals’ preferences. Evidence supporting similarity and attachment—security hypotheses is primarily reported in research on attraction to hypothetical partners. Evidence supporting the complementarity hypothesis comes from research on matching between partners in long-term relationships. We suggest that individuals’ working model of other may be more salient during initial attraction, whereas individuals’ working model of self may be more salient during relationship maintenance. We discuss these findings, focusing on individuals’ needs for self-enhancement and self-consistency in relation to partner preference and attachment style.
Differentiating parent- and peer-related interpersonal correlates of depressive symptoms and social anxiety in preadolescent girls
Authors: Hutcherson Suzy T. , Epkins Catherine C.
Published: December 2009

One hundred preadolescent girls’ (ages 9—12) and mothers’ perceptions of parent- and peer-related interpersonal correlates of girls’ depression and social anxiety, before and after controlling for comorbid symptoms, were examined. Girls’ parental acceptance/rejection and support and perceived close friend support were more strongly related to girls’ depression than to their social anxiety. Mother-rated girls’ social acceptance was more strongly related to girls’ social anxiety than depression, and girls’ perceived social acceptance was unrelated to girls’ depression after controlling for social anxiety. Loneliness and perceived classmate support were each related to both social anxiety and depression after controlling for comorbid symptoms. Results highlight the importance of controlling for comorbid symptoms and reveal some similar, and differential, correlates of depression and social anxiety.
A longitudinal study of childhood social behaviour: Inter-informant agreement, inter-context agreement, and social preference linkages
Authors: Kuppens Sofie , Grietens Hans , Onghena Patrick , Michiels Daisy
Published: December 2009

This study examined inter-informant agreement, inter-context agreement, and social preference linkages for social behaviour subtypes. On two occasions, data was collected on 600 children (8—10 years old) via mother, father, teacher, and peer reports. Informant reports converged within each context and agreement across school and home contexts was strong for overt aggression and for prosocial behaviour, but less pronounced for relational aggression. Concurrent associations with social preference emerged within the school context and longitudinal bidirectional associations surfaced between dislikeability and overt aggression at school. Relational aggression at school correlated with future dislikeability, whereas likeability and dislikeability correlated with future relational aggression. Prosocial behaviour at school was particularly linked with future likeability. Gender and grade differences emerged for social preference linkages.
Social change demands, coping and intimate relationship development among German adolescents and adults
Authors: Pinquart Martin , Fabel Karoline
Published: December 2009

The study analyzed whether higher levels of perceived demands related to social change are associated with a greater risk of an unfulfilled need for an intimate relationship and with lower relationship quality among a sample of 2,523 German adolescents and adults. Results showed that higher levels of perceived demands are associated with a higher probability of having an unfulfilled need for an intimate relationship and with lower relationship quality. Problem-focused coping was associated with higher relationship quality in older respondents (30+ years old) and buffered the effects of demands on relationship quality in younger respondents (16—29 years). Individuals with low levels of problem-focused coping may be vulnerable to negative effects of demands associated with social change.
Intrusiveness in romantic relationships: A cross-cultural perspective on imbalances between proximity and autonomy
Authors: Lavy Shiri , Mikulincer Mario , Shaver Phillip R. , Gillath Omri
Published: December 2009

Several theories of close dyadic relationships posit that relationship harmony depends, in part, on each partner maintaining an appropriate balance between proximity and autonomy. Here we describe a qualitative cross-cultural study of 278 adults from four cultural groups, Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, East Indian Hindus, and Americans, examining the reported behavioral expressions and subjective experiences of intrusiveness (a core manifestation of autonomy—proximity imbalance) within romantic relationships. Participants were asked to give examples of intrusive behavior in romantic relationships and then to recall a particular personal experience of intrusiveness and describe their thoughts, feelings, and actions that occurred during this experience. Content analysis revealed both universal themes and cross-cultural differences, and most of the latter were related to cultural values.
Social and personality correlates of gambling attitudes and behavior among Chinese residents of Macau
Authors: Taormina Robert J.
Published: December 2009

A survey of 500 Chinese residents in the casino city of Macau assessed several social and personality variables (family emotional support, neuroticism, gregariousness, paranormal beliefs, the illusion of control, Chinese values, and financial security) for their relationships with gambling attitudes and behaviors, which, in turn, were tested for their relationships with esteem from others, coworker support, and life satisfaction. Gambling attitudes were positively associated with neuroticism, gregariousness, paranormal beliefs, and the illusion of control, and negatively with Chinese values. Gambling behavior was positively associated with neuroticism and the illusion of control, negatively with esteem from others, family support, and Chinese values, and was a negative predictor of coworker support and life satisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of interpersonal relationships in Chinese culture.
The romantic partner conflict scale: A new scale to measure relationship conflict
Authors: Zacchilli Tammy L. , Hendrick Clyde , Hendrick Susan S.
Published: December 2009

In this article, we report on three studies designed to develop the Romantic Partner Conflict Scale (RPCS). In Study 1, items were developed based on existing research and theory. The factor analysis of these items indicated six factors (totaling 39 items): Compromise, Domination, Submission, Separation, Avoidance, and Interactional Reactivity. In Study 2, Confirmatory Factor Analysis reinforced the six-factor structure. Study 3 demonstrated strong test—retest reliabilities for the factors/ subscales. Moreover, the subscales representing constructive conflict strategies (especially Compromise) were positively related to communication, satisfaction, respect, love, and sexual attitudes. The subscales representing destructive strategies were negatively related to these variables. Additional findings, limitations of the research, and implications for future research and clinical use of the RPCS are presented.
Gender imbalance in pediatric palliative care research samples
Authors: Macdonald Mary Ellen , Chilibeck Gillian , Affleck William , Cadell Susan
Published: December 2009

We assessed the sampling performance of research on parental perspectives in pediatric palliative care and examined if and how gender imbalance was treated. We undertook a systematic review of parental perspectives research in pediatric palliative care using MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Study selection inclusion criteria were: (1) published between 1988 and 2008; (2) in English; (3) conducted in North America; (4) focused on parents of children aged 0—18 years who were expected to die or had died; (5) had ‘parent’ in the title; and (6) focused on parents’ experiences or on parents’ perspectives regarding the child’s illness/death. Keyword searches produced a list of 2103 studies, of which 45 met the criteria for inclusion. The ratio of mothers to fathers participating in the studies was examined. We found that there has been an increase in research on parental perspectives in pediatric palliative care over the last 5 years, but what constitutes ‘parental’ in this literature continues to be primarily ‘maternal’. Mothers constituted 75% of the overall sample of parents. In only four studies was the gender imbalance addressed as one of the limitations of the study. There is a growing interest in parental perspectives in pediatric palliative care, but the research does not equally reflect the experiences and needs of mothers and fathers. Gender can shape experiences of both parenthood and grief; balanced gender sampling and accurate analysis is essential for research on ‘parental perspectives’. Gender imbalance in research samples, designs, recruitment strategies, and data gathering methods must be addressed.
Fashion Consumer Groups, Gender, and Need for Touch
Authors: Workman Jane E.
Published: December 2009

Within the context of consumer motivation theory, the purpose of this research was to investigate how fashion consumer groups and gender are related to need for touch. Differences between individuals high and low in need for touch are consistent with differences between fashion change agents and fashion followers. Participants (101 females; 70 males) from 54 different majors completed demographic information, the Need For Touch (NFT) scale, and the Measure of Fashion Innovativeness and Opinion Leadership. Fashion change agents and females had a greater NFT—total, autotelic and instrumental—than fashion followers and males. Fashion change agents and females scored equally high on autotelic and instrumental dimensions of NFT but fashion followers and males scored higher on the instrumental than the autotelic dimension. Using a diverse sample that included male and female college students from a variety of majors countered limitations of earlier research and provided new insights into the role of need for touch in consumer behavior.
Reproductive-Aged Women’s Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Infant-Feeding Practices: An Experimental Evaluation
Authors: Fairbrother Nichole , Stanger-Ross Ilana
Published: December 2009

Using an experimental design, this study assessed knowledge, attitudes, and intentions regarding infant feeding practices among Canadian female university undergraduates (N = 285). Participants completed a survey of knowledge, attitudes, and intentions with respect to infant-feeding practices. Two versions of the survey were randomly distributed to participants: one containing a photograph of a woman breastfeeding her infant (n = 131) and the other containing a photograph of the same women bottle-feeding her infant (n = 154). Findings indicated that the majority of the sample had been breastfed (84%) and intend to breastfeed their own offspring (97%). The intention to breastfeed future offspring was predicted by knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of social norms. Participants reported more positive attitudes toward visual depictions of breastfeeding compared with bottle-feeding but less positive views of breastfeeding in public compared with bottle-feeding in public. Participants also significantly underestimated the health benefits and optimal duration of breastfeeding. The findings highlight gaps in knowledge that may contribute to premature cessation of breastfeeding among Canadian women and suggest the need for breastfeeding education.