bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Locus of Control, Academic Failure and Task Dimensions on a Student’s Responsiveness to Praise
Authors: Lintner Alfred C. , Ducette Joseph
Published: March 2008

The present study investigated the responsiveness to praise of 285 elementary school pupils as a function of task variables and subject characteristics. The individual difference variables of locus of control and previous school-related failure were utilized. Analyses of the effects of praise differed considerably between an ambiguous coding and an academic reading task. Male subjects with an external locus of control orientation were responsive to praise on the coding task. Female subjects were generally not responsive, regardless of individual characteristics. Reading test residual gains, however, were affected by prior experiences of failure and praise. The results were interpreted as demonstrating the importance of integrating task variables into aptitude-treatment interaction research.
Perceptions of Document Quality and Use by Educational Decision Makers and Researchers
Authors: Vockell Edward L. , Asher William
Published: March 2008

One hundred and two documents containing empirical research were selected from the 1971 entries in the Research in Education (RIE) dissemination service of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). These reports were presented to a group of Educational Research Specialists and to a group of Educational Decision Makers for an assessment of their quality. The Decision Makers perceived the reports to be of significantly higher quality than did the Research Specialists. The two groups gave divergent reasons for acceptance or rejection of a report.
Grading Practices in Different Major Fields
Authors: Goldman Roy D. , Schmidt Donald E. , Hewitt Barbara Newlin , Fisher Ronald
Published: March 2008

The present investigation was concerned with grading standards in different major fields. Specifically, adaptation-level theory was hypothesized as a model for describing grading behavior of instructors. In this model, the stringency of grading standards is positively related to average student ability. The regressions of GPA on HSGPA, SATV and SATM were computed for students in each of 12 major fields. This information was used to “project” hypothetical GPA’s if students were to major in fields other than their own. The results indicated that for middle and low ability students those fields with lowest ability students adopt lowest grading standards. Similarly, high grading standards are adopted by fields with high ability students. It appeared that adaptation-level theory was supported as a model of grading behavior at low and middle levels of ability but not for high levels of ability. The implications of the results were discussed with regard to: 1) changing college admission requirements, and, 2) open-enrollment experiments.
Classification and Seriation Instruction and Logical Task Performance in the Preschool
Authors: Bingham-Newman Ann M. , Hooper Frank H.
Published: March 2008

The efficacy of small group instructional programs in classificatory, seriation, and combined class/series skills was evaluated for a sample of 60 urban, middle-class 4- to 5-year-old children in a transfer of training design. Significant specific transfer effects were found for the seriation instructional condition whereas little differences were found for the classification, verbal intelligence, and far transfer conservation task measures. Sex differences, school location effects, teacher biases, and pretesting effects were generally absent. The apparent feasibility of seriation skill instruction for preschool aged children and the general non-effectiveness of the classificatory and combined instructional conditions, particularly insofar as far transfer effects are concerned, suggests a nonunitary picture of cognitive functioning during the transitionary phases between preoperational and concrete operations period thought.
The Effects of Four Kinds of Tutoring Experience on Associative Responding
Authors: Salomon Marion Kerner , Achenbach Thomas M.
Published: March 2008

The Children’s Associative Responding Test (CART), a multiple-choice analogy test designed to identify children who rely excessively on associations to obvious cues rather than using their reasoning abilities, was administered to 204 fifth graders and 315 seventh graders. 10 fifth graders identified as associative responders were then tutored by an adult, 10 were tutored by seventh grade associative responders, 10 were tutored by seventh grade nonassociative responders, 10 served as proximal controls, and 10 served as distal controls. Associative seventh graders were similarly chosen for tutoring by adults, tutoring of fifth graders, proximal controls, and distal controls. After 10 weeks of 2 half-hour tutoring sessions per week in which instructional materials unlike the CART were employed, children participating in tutoring showed significantly greater decreases in associative responding and in error scores on the CART than did children in the control conditions. Differences among tutoring conditions were insignificant. CART error score correlated significantly higher than did IQ with school performance measures among fifth graders and as high as did IQ among seventh graders.
A Guide for Developers and Users of Observation Systems and Manuals
Authors: Herbert John , Attridge Carol
Published: March 2008

To guide users and developers of observation systems and manuals, a set of criteria was developed. The criteria were collected and revised during the construction of a system, the System for Analysing Lessons 2, and revised during its use in the field. Thirty-three criteria which observation systems should meet were identified and sorted into three main types: identifying, validity, and practicality criteria. Identifying criteria enable users to select the correct instrument for their purposes. Validity criteria, which include criteria pertaining to the degree of inference, context, reliability and validity, relate to the accuracy with which the instrument represents the observed events. Practicality criteria provide information about the ease of administration and dissemination of results. Examples are provided.
The Relationship among Cognitive Preference, School Environment, Teachers’ Curricular Bias, Curriculum, and Subject Matter
Authors: Tamir P.
Published: March 2008

Following a review of research findings regarding cognitive preference styles of students studying “new” and traditional curricula, the study presents results based on a biological cognitive preference test (BCPT). Cognitive preference styles were found to be at least partially subject matter dependent; they are related to the students’ characteristics (i.e., sex and aptitude), the school environment, the curriculum studied and the curricular bias of the teachers. Students studying a BSCS type curriculum for several years from teachers favorable to the BSCS approach display, compared with their controls, a cognitive preference style significantly more inquiry oriented. Several interaction effects are also reported. Cognitive preference testing is recommended for curriculum evaluation because of its discipline and subject matter dependence.
Learning Environment in Rural and Urban Classrooms
Authors: Randhawa Bikkar S. , Michayluk Julian O.
Published: March 2008

The present study was an attempt to examine the learning environment and the intellectual variables of grades 8 and 11 classes from rural and urban settings representing mathematics, science, social studies, and English courses. Ninety-six classrooms provided the data. Significant multivariate main effects were obtained on locale (rural and urban) and grade (8 and 11). Significant multivariate main effects and interactions are discussed in relation to the previous research and theory. Specific educational implications of the results of the present study are pointed out.
Sex, Fear of Success, and the Perceptions and Performance of Law School Students
Authors: Curtis Rebecca C. , Zanna Mark P. , Campbell Woodrow W.
Published: March 2008

An investigation of the effects of sex and Fear of Success upon academically-related perceptions and performance of law school students resulted in main effects for both sex and Fear of Success, but no interactions. Findings characteristic of women included fewer responses in class and greater reluctance to tell others if they made successful grades. Findings characteristic of high Fear of Success respondents included lower law aptitude scores and more frequent failure to volunteer answers in class when desiring to do so. No behaviors peculiar to women high in Fear of Success were obtained. The results indicated that women may be more likely than men to fear rejection, but are not more likely to fear success.
A Simulation Study of the Use of Change Measures to Compare Educational Programs
Authors: Richards James M.
Published: March 2008

Artificial data were used to assess the correlation between several estimates of average student change in various schools and the “true” impact of those schools. Results indicate that all estimates involving pretest-posttest differences measure school impact with reasonable accuracy. It is important to measure change over the entire course of learning, however, and not just over the later stages of learning. The correlations between change scores and other school characteristics reflect with reasonable accuracy the relationships between those characteristics and impact, but consequently will be large only when the underlying relationships are substantial. Simple gain scores measure the true situation about as accurately as other change estimates, are easier to compute, and probably are more meaningful to non-researchers.
The Role of Student Needs and Teacher Orientations in Student Ratings of Teachers
Authors: Tetenbaum Toby J.
Published: March 2008

This research addressed itself to the issue of the validity of student ratings of teachers, viewing the act of rating as an instance of person perception in which students’ needs were held to affect their perception of teachers. It was hypothesized that specified student needs would be related to ratings of specific teacher orientations congruent with those needs. Four hundred five graduate students completed the Personality Research Form and rated 12 teachers as portrayed in vignettes. The hypothesis was tested using canonical correlation analysis. Results indicated that the first three canonical sets were significant ( p < .01) and that, in spite of some overlap within these sets, congruence between needs and ratings was obtained.
The Affective and Cognitive Consequences of an Open Education Elementary School
Authors: Wright Robert J.
Published: March 2008

One hundred fifth grade children, enrolled in one of two suburban elementary schools (one traditionally organzed and the other with an open orientation), were used to compare various pupil outcome dimensions in two dif educational environments. Subjects used in this expost facto study were balanced with respect to several dimensions of socioeconomic status, ability, and previous achievement prior to assignment to one of the two groups. Differences in school environments were quantified using two instruments. After two and one half years, overall differences were found between the two on several achievement variables. No differences were noted with respect to three measures of personality and three measures of cognition.
Ten-Year Stability of Verbal and Nonverbal IQ Scores
Authors: Hopkins Kenneth D. , Bracht Glenn H.
Published: March 2008

Intelligence tests continue to be the most widely used measures of cognitive aptitudes. Performance on such measures is usually expressed as an IQ score. Popular opinion to the contrary, relatively little is known about the long term measuring of IQ scores from group verbal and non-verbal intelligence tests, especially the latter. This study shows that, below ten years of age, stability in IQ scores from group verbal tests is considerably below that for the Stanford-Binet. Non-verbal IQ scores were found to have substantially less stability than Verbal IQs.
The Concept and Measurement of the Quality of School Life
Authors: Epstein Joyce L. , Mcpartland James M.
Published: March 2008

The Quality of School Life (QSL) is defined by three dimensions of student reactions: (1) satisfaction with school in general, (2) commitment to school work, and (3) attitudes toward teachers. A 27-item QSL scale is presented that shows reliability and validity across educational levels (elementary, middle and high school) based on 4,266 student survey responses. Concurrent and discriminative validity is demonstrated using measures of academic achievement, participation, personality, family background, and sociometric data from peers and teachers. Scaling techniques, factor analysis, and an extension of Sechrest’s test for incremental validity document the multi-dimensional design of the scale.
Performance in the Interdependent Classroom: A Field Study
Authors: Lucker G. William , Rosenfield David , Sikes Jev , Aronson Elliot
Published: March 2008

The present study was conducted in 5th and 6th grade classes to compare the performances of Anglos and minorities working in small interdependent learning groups with their performance in traditional, teacher-focused classrooms. A covariance analysis indicated that Anglos perform equally well in both interdependent and traditional classes. Minorities performed significantly better in interdependent classes than in traditional classes.
An Investigation of Children’s Concept of Self-Responsibility For Their School Learning
Authors: Wang Margaret C. , Stiles Billie
Published: March 2008

This study was designed to investigate the development of young children’s self-responsibility for their school learning as influenced by the Self-Schedule System, a learning-management program. A student interview questionnaire, the Self-Responsibility Interview Schedule (SRIS), was constructed to assess children’s knowledge about what they do in school, and whether they perceive that they, rather than the teacher, are responsible for managing their own learning. The results indicate that the Self-Schedule System significantly affected children’s perception of self-responsibility for their school learning as well as their rate of task completion.
The Roles of Orthographic, Phonological, and Word Frequency Variables on Word-Nonword Decisions
Authors: Mason Jana M.
Published: March 2008

A lexical decision task was administered to adults and children in order to study the separate effects of letter frequency, letter sound, and word familiarity variables. Subjects were asked to decide if a four-letter string was a real or a nonsense word. Latency and error measures were obtained. An analysis of the real words indicated that adults and children are alike in being affected by (a) word familiarity, and (b) an interaction between initial consonant frequency and word familiarity. Children were also affected by (c) final consonant frequency, and (d) an interaction between vowel regularity and word familiarity. The results indicated that skilled readers can recognize four-letter words without extensive orthographic analysis. Unskilled readers may use the same process but revert to a phonological encoding when a word is both unfamiliar and contains an irregular vowel.
Student Ratings of Instruction and Their Relationship to Student Learning
Authors: Centra John A.
Published: March 2008

Student ratings of instruction were correlated with examination performance in 72 sections of seven courses. In two of the courses, students had been randomly assigned to sections. The pattern of correlations across the courses indicated that the global ratings of teacher effectiveness and of the value of the course to students were most highly related to mean exam performance (12 out of 24 product-moment and partial correlations were 58 or above). Ratings of course objectives and organizations, and of the quality of lectures were also fairly well correlated with achievement. Ratings of other aspects of instruction, such as the teacher-student relationship or the difficulty/workload of the course, were not highly related to achievement scores.
The Use of Advance Organizers in the Learning and Retention of Logical Operations and Social Studies Concepts
Authors: Lawton Joseph T.
Published: March 2008

Ausubel predicts that prior learning of subject-matter concepts, at a higher level of abstraction than subsequent experienced materials, facilitates meaningful learning. He recommends that higher-order concepts be presented in “advance organizer” lessons with the emphasis on meaningful reception learning. Ausubel does not clearly distinguish between subject-matter and process concepts . In this study, process concepts are identified in terms of those logical operations involved in hierarchical classification as described by Piaget. It was predicted that the acquisition of prior high-order rules for hierarchical classification (process concepts) and high-order social studies subject-matter concepts would facilitate the learning and retention of subsequently presented logical operations and the conceptual structure of selected social studies learning materials. Both 6 year olds (N = 60) and 10 year olds (N = 60) were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. In two related phases of this experiment the E groups were taught high-order rules of classification and high-order subject matter concepts. C groups were taught detailed factual information. A pretest-posttest, retention and “far distant” test assessment indicated that experimental groups learned both types of concepts when compared to equivalent control groups. Accelerated use of logical operations by 6 year olds proceeded beyond the “stage” expected for this age group. Comparing phase 2 with phase 1, it was found that sequential transfer occurred between like subject-matter concepts and logical operations. Performance appeared to improve with age. A task complexity factor appeared to affect performance seriously.
Predictive Validity of Student Perception: A Cross-Cultural Replication
Authors: Walberg Herbert J. , Singh Rampal , Rasher Sue Pinzur
Published: March 2008

To test the cross cultural generalizability of measures of student perception of the social environment of learning, the mean end-of-course achievement scores of 166 groups of studious and non-studious members of 83 general science classes and 134 similar groups in 67 social studies classes randomly sampled in the State of Rajasthan, India were correlated with IQ and the 15 scales of the Learning Environment Inventory, (LEI, translated into Hindi). With IQ controlled, the median partial correlations of perception and achievement are .43 for general science and .58 for social studies. Multiple regression analysis shows that the LEI scales account for substantial achievement variance beyond that accounted for by IQ.
The Frequency and Quality of Measures Utilized in Federally-Sponsored Research on Children and Adolescents
Authors: Heyneman Stephen P. , Mintz Pamela Cope
Published: March 2008

Every test intended for use in FY ‘75 Federally-funded research on children or youth was placed on a list. The list eventually comprised the titles of 1,570 instruments. Some were mentioned by many principal investigators in their proposals; others were mentioned by only one. Some tests were highly respected instruments; others were not. The question pursued was whether there was a relationship between an instrument’s quality and the frequency with which it was used. To gain a sense of a measure’s quality, we utilized the numerical ratings published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation. For frequency of use we counted the number of times an instrument was mentioned in 3,538 research proposals on children or youth which are currently being sponsored by the Federal government.

There is a positive relationship between the quality of tests and their frequency of use. But the degree is not equally strong from one test category to another. A preference for the better rated instruments is particularly evident with tests of academic achievement. More equivocal results appear with respect to tests of vocational skills and intelligence, though in certain respects researchers are definitely using the better of those available in these two categories. The anomaly lies in the categories of reading tests and tests of personality, where the higher rated of the tests have no better chance of being utilized than those judged to be of poor quality. All sponsored researchers need not use the same instruments. But the fact that there are particular subject areas such as in reading and personality where the higher rated tests are less likely to be used points to the need for special attention when choosing instruments for future research.
Measuring the Effects of a Liberal Arts Education on the Perception of Poetry
Authors: Wainer Howard , Schofer Peter
Published: March 2008

Ten poems of relatively obscure origin dealing with the relationship of a poet to his mistress were read and scored for perceived similarity by freshmen and senior engineering and literature majors. The resulting similarity matrices were analyzed using Carroll and Chang’s (1970) INDSCAL. The structure of the poetry is discussed as are the relative positions of the four subject groups in the person space. Implications of the methodology are discussed with respect to educational evaluation.
Some Factors Related to Student Teacher Classroom Performance Following Microteaching Training
Authors: Copeland Willis D.
Published: March 2008

The present study explored possible relationships between the intervention behaviors of cooperating teachers and the classroom exhibition by student teachers of skills’ acquired in microteaching training. Sixty-one teaching credential candidates engaged in student teaching were randomly assigned to positive and negative levels of three variables including microteaching training, training in supervision received by subjects’ cooperating teacher, and tendency of subjects’ cooperating teacher to exhibit the target teaching skill. The data, composed of frequency counts of subjects’ exhibition of the target skill in the classroom as recorded eight to twelve weeks following training, were analyzed using three-way ANOVA. Significant interaction effects were observed. Results are discussed in terms of implications for modification of teacher training programs.
The Study of Mathematics By High School Girls and Boys: Related Variables
Authors: Sherman Julia , Fennema Elizabeth
Published: March 2008

Reported is a study comparing females and males enrolled in high school mathematics classes on their intent to enroll in additional mathematics classes, and affective variables related to this intent. Significantly more males than females, especially from the lower half of the achievement distribution, intended to continue to study mathematics. Controlling for cognitive differences 10th and 11th grade students differing in intent to take mathematics (n = 716) , responded differently to nearly all of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. When girls and boys were “equated” for cognitive variables and intent to study mathematics, few sex-related differences in attitudes toward mathematics were found.
Modifying Student Behavior in an Open Classroom Through Changes in the Physical Design
Authors: Weinstein Carol S.
Published: March 2008

The study observed the spatial distribution of activity in a second-third-grade open classroom before and after a change in the physical design. It tested the general hypothesis that minor changes in the physical setting could produce predictable, desirable changes in student behavior. The experimenter observed for two weeks, using a time-sampling-by-child instrument. The activities and locations of the students were recorded on a floor plan of the room. Design changes were then made with specific behavioral goals in mind, and a two-week post-change observation period was begun. In most cases, the desired behavior changes were produced. Time-series analysis indicated that these changes were statistically significant.
The Effect of Effort and Feedback on the Formation of Student Attitudes
Authors: McMillan James H.
Published: March 2008

The effect of two factors, (1) degree of effort exerted studying a subject, and (2) written feedback from the instructor, on the cognitive and affective attitudes students formed toward the subject and assignment was determined in four university classes. The students, unaware that they were subjects in an experiment, received high or low effort assignments and high or no praise comments. Two assignments were given to each student from two different materials to assure counterbalancing of teacher, classroom selection, and time of day effects. The effort by feedback (2 × 2) multivariate analysis of covariance and class by feedback (4 × 2) ANOV. As showed that students who received high praise and completed the high effort assignments formed significantly more positive attitudes than students in the other three groups.
Aptitude-Treatment Interactions in an Experiment on Teacher Effectiveness
Authors: Winne Philip H.
Published: March 2008

Aptitude-treatment interactions (ATI) are relatively unexamined in research on teacher effectiveness but may be important in describing the teaching-learning process. In an experiment on teacher effectiveness, 399 sixth-grade students were taught ecology for nine lessons. Trained teachers used one of eight factorially defined teaching treatments which varied teacher behaviors of structuring, soliciting, and reacting. Generalized regression analyses on dependent variables of multiple choice, attitude, and perception of teaching showed aptitudes to be major predictors relative to teacher, treatment, and ATI effects. ATI effects were more frequent and stronger predictors than treatment effects in almost all cases, though ATI terms usually absorbed only one to two percent of variation in the criterion variables. The methodology and findings of this study suggest changes for research on teacher effectiveness.
Is the ANOVA F-Test Robust to Variance Heterogeneity When Sample Sizes are Equal?: An Investigation via a Coefficient of Variation
Authors: Rogan Joanne C. , Keselman H. J.
Published: March 2008

Numerous investigations have examined the effects of variance heterogeneity on the empirical probability of a Type I error for the analysis of variance (ANOVA) F-test and the prevailing conclusion has been that when sample sizes are equal, the ANOVA is robust to variance heterogeneity. However, Box (1954) reported a Type I error rate of .12, for a 5% nominal level, when unequal variances were paired with equal sample sizes. The present paper explored this finding, examining varying degrees and patterns of variance heterogeneity for varying sample sizes and number of treatment groups. The data indicate that the rate of Type 1 error varies as a function of the degree of variance heterogeneity and, consequently, it should not be assumed that the ANOVA F-test is always robust to variance heterogeneity when sample sizes are equal.
Interactive Effects of Initial Achievement Orientation and Prior Success Feedback on the Mastery of Subsequent Difficult and Easy Tasks
Authors: Latta R. Michael
Published: March 2008

This study investigated the effects of initial achievement orientation and prior success feedback on the rate of mastery of subsequent easy and difficult tasks. Eighty male introductory psychology students (40 high in initial achievement orientation and 40 low) were administered six trials of a digit-symbol substitution task on which they received either success feedback or no feedback. All participants then learned an easy or difficult list of paired-associates with no feedback about performance given. Results indicate success facilitates digit-symbol performance in general, but slightly more so for participants initially low in achievement orientation. The transfer effects of prior success feedback indicated a disordinal Trait by Treatment by Task Difficulty interaction. Here, prior success feedback has: 1) no effect on rate of mastery of a subsequent easy task, 2) a positive transfer effect on rate of mastery of a subsequent difficult task for participants initially high in achievement orientation, and 3) a negative transfer effect on rate of mastery of a subsequent difficult task for participants initially low in achievement orientation.
A Comparison of Student Ratings of Teaching Assistants and Faculty Members
Authors: Nevill Dorothy D. , Ware William B. , Smith Albert B.
Published: March 2008

Seven hundred and ninety-nine students in 36 sections of undergraduate analytic geometry and calculus completed an achievement test in both pre and post conditions and an instructor rating instrument in the post condition. Nineteen of the sections were taught by sixteen teaching assistants and seventeen classes by sixteen full-time faculty members. The data were analyzed separately for teaching assistants and full-time faculty. Students rated teaching assistants and faculty members in a similar fashion, both in terms of the level of ratings and the conceptual framework within which these judgments were made.
Frequency Interference in Children’s Recognition of Sentence Information
Authors: Levin Joel R. , Ghatala Elizabeth S. , Guttmann Joseph , Subkoviak Michael J. , Bender Bruce G.
Published: March 2008

The thesis investigated here is that the particular alternatives supplied in a multiple-choice test comprise a powerful determinant of children’s measured achievement. Children listened to sentences under two different instructional sets (imagery rating and sentence repetition) and were later tested with multiple-choice alternatives: (a) either identical or similar in meaning to the originally presented correct items; and (b) either including or not including previously presented irrelevant information. Although the two instructional sets produced different overall levels of performance, the sources of interference anticipated from a theory of recognition memory were in evidence under both instructions. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.
Causal Models in Educational Research: Nonrecursive Models
Authors: Anderson James G.
Published: March 2008

This paper extends the causal modelling technique described in an earlier article (Anderson and Evans, 1974) to nonrecursive causal models that involve feedback and/or reciprocal causation. The problem of identification is discussed and a rule provided that can be used to determine whether or not a unique set of parameter estimates can be found for each equation that makes up the model. Three different procedures are described for estimating the parameters of these equations, namely, ordinary least squares, indirect least squares, and two-stage least squares. A formula is provided for the derivation of the reduced form of the model. The reduced form provides information concerning the total effect of exogenous variables on endogenous variables in the model. Data from an empirical study have been used to illustrate the causal modelling technique that is described.
Construct Interpretations of Three Self-Concept Inventories
Authors: Marx Ronald W. , Winne Philip H.
Published: March 2008

Three self-report measures of self-concept were administered in counterbalanced order to 488 sixth grade children as the basis for a multitrait-multimethod study of self-concept measurement. The subscales on these instruments were clustered into facets representing physical, social, and academic self-concept. The analyses indicate that all three facets demonstrate some degree of convergent validity, particularly physical self-concept, but discriminant validity is not established. Results also indicate that the response requirements of the instruments affect construct interpretations. Although developers of self-concept inventories strongly imply the existence of significantly different facets of self-concept by the separation and naming of subscales, there is little evidence for this implication.
Effects of Questioning Techniques and Recitation on Student Learning
Authors: Gall Meredith D. , Ward Beatrice A. , Berliner David C. , Cahen Leonard S. , Winne Philip H. , Elashoff Janet D. , Stanton George C.
Published: March 2008

Two experiments were done in which sixth-grade students participated in 10 ecology lessons, each involving reading/viewing of curriculum materials plus a teaching treatment. In Experiment I, four treatments were arranged in three equivalent Latin squares so that each of 12 trained teachers taught each treatment. The treatments varied presence-absence of recitation and presence-absence of probing (a follow-up question to improve a student's initial response) and redirection (asking another student to respond to the question). Experiment II followed the same design, except the treatments varied presence-absence of recitation and percentage of higher cognitive questions (25%, 50%, and 75%) within recitations. Student's information recall, attitudes toward curriculum topics, and ability to respond both in written and oral form to higher cognitive questions were assessed. In both experiments, recitation substantially improved learning, especially information recall and higher cognitive responding. Probing and redirection in Experiment I had no effect on learning. In Experiment II, recitations with 50% higher cognitive questions were unexpectedly the least effective in promoting information recall, relative to recitations with 25% or 75% higher cognitive questions.
Nesting, Crossing, Type IV Errors, and the Role of Statistical Models
Authors: Games Paul A.
Published: March 2008

Marascuilo and Levin’s use of the term “nesting” in previously published articles is idiosyncratic and contrary to well-established usage. Proper usage is described and illustrated. Their insistence on the usage of Scheffé tests on restricted sets of contrasts is opposed. Changing the model during the course of an analysis of a complex set of data often is both necessary and desirable. The flexibility desired in a good scientist is equally desirable in a good data analyst.
The Influence of Adult Expectancy/Child Performance Discrepancies upon Children’s Self-Concepts
Authors: Smith Monte D. , Zingale Salvatore A. , Coleman J. Michael
Published: March 2008

Parents and teachers expect children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds to excel academically, relative to socioeconomically disadvantaged children. When children from high socioeconomic homes experience academic failure, the discrepancy between adult expectations and child performance is comparatively large. This expectancy/performance discrepancy results in lowered self-concepts. On the other hand, children with disadvantaged backgrounds do not experience lowered self-concept as a result of academic failure, since the adult expectancy /child performance discrepancy is comparatively small.
Variables Affecting University Student Ratings of Instructor Behavior
Authors: Hoffman R. Gene
Published: March 2008

The relevance of university student ratings, obtained using the Check-List of Instructional Characteristics, was assessed by examining relationships with potential contaminating factors (class size, presentation format, students’ initial interest, and personal impression of the instructor) and relationships with instructional outcomes (outcome interest, course performance, and self-reported learning). Data were analyzed for 115 varied courses, 75 mathematics classes, and 28 speech classes. Suggestions were made for controlling bias found to be associated with size, format, and initial interest. Student’s ratings of instructors’ Knowledge and Skill, and student’s Overall Satisfaction were related to student’s outcome interest. Results are discussed in light of inconsistencies of past research.
Elementary School Social Climate and School Achievement
Authors: Brookover Wilbur B. , Schweitzer John H. , Schneider Jeffrey M. , Beady Charles H. , Flood Patricia K. , Wisenbaker Joseph M.
Published: March 2008

The present study investigates the relationships among a variety of school-level climate variables and mean school achievement in a random, sample of Michigan elementary schools. School-level SES, racial composition and climate were each highly related to mean school achievement; only a small proportion of the between-school variance in achievement is explained by SES and racial composition after the effect of school climate is removed. The climate variable we have called Student Sense of Academic Futility had the largest correlation with achievement. An observational study of four schools with similar SES and racial composition but different achievement tended to support the more analytical findings and suggest the processes by which climate affects achievement.
The Effects of Integration and Open Education on Mathematics Achievement in the Early Primary Grades in Israel
Authors: Eshel Yohanan , Klein Zev
Published: March 2008

As part of a longitudinal study of the effects of integration and a particular innovation in classroom practice on the achievement of lower-and middle-class children in elementary school, a wave of first- and second-grade Jerusalem children was administered mathematics tests at the end of each of the two school years. Lower-class children performed best in settings characterized by both integration and classroom innovation at both grade levels, next best in integrated settings without changes in classroom procedure, and lowest in homogeneous settings. The performance of middle-class children was differentially affected by integration and the introduction of an innovative classroom practice.
Implementation and Operation of a Contingency Management Program by the Elementary School Principal
Authors: Rollins Howard A. , Thompson Marion
Published: March 2008

The proponents of contingency management have not developed ways to implement their procedures that are within the financial realities of most public schools and within which some degree of permanence of the procedures is planned. If the school principal could be trained as the behavior management specialist for his school, costs would be reduced and program longevity enhanced. In this study, elementary school principals were trained as contingency management specialists. Four principals were trained to supervise the implementation of a positively-oriented, token economy in all normal classrooms in their schools. Behavioral data, obtained in random samples of classes before and after implementation, indicated that the program was successfully implemented, and preliminary follow-up indicated that it was successfully in place beyond the novelty phase of the program introduction.
Variables Involved in Withdrawal During the First Two Years of College: Preliminary Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972
Authors: Peng Samuel S , Fetters William B
Published: March 2008

This study investigated the process of withdrawal from four-year and two-year institutions of higher education. Data were drawn from the base year and the first and second follow-ups of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Results indicate that (1) women students are more likely to withdraw only in two-year colleges; (2) white students are more likely than black students to withdraw when other variables are controlled; (3) high school program, college grades, and educational aspiration account for most variance of withdrawal behavior; and, (4) the receipt of financial aid is not significantly related to college persistence.
Family Size, Birth Order, and Intelligence in a Large South American Sample
Authors: Velandia Wilson , Grandon Gary M , Page Ellis B
Published: March 2008

The most popular current theory of family influence is the confluence theory, which hypothesizes that a child is helped or hindered in intellectual development according to the average absolute intelligence (mental age) in the family when that child is born. Aggregated data about such a hypothesis have been examined in previous studies from a number of nations, but not from a developing country. Here test scores, family information, and socioeconomic data are analyzed far a sample of over 36,000 college applicants in Colombia. The intellectual effects of family size were not at all the classic pattern: All family sizes smaller than six surpassed a single child family, arguing that differences were populational, rather than intrafamilial. Further analysis showed almost no family-size effect for the lower socioeconomic group among the college applicants, and birth order effects were not constant across family sizes, and not in conformity with the model. In sum, the confluence theory fared badly in these tests.
Schemata as Scaffolding for the Representation of Information in Connected Discourse
Authors: Anderson Richard C , Spiro Rand J , Anderson Mark C
Published: March 2008

Information that is significant in the light of die conceptual framework, or “schema,” within which a text is interpreted ought to be better learned and recalled than less significant information. This hypothesis was evaluated in an experiment in which college students read narratives about a meal at a fine restaurant or a trip to a supermarket. The same 18 items of food, attributed to the same characters, were mentioned in the same order in the two stories. As predicted, foods from categories determined to be part of most people’s restaurant schemata were better recalled by students who read the restaurant narrative. Also as predicted, students who received the restaurant narrative were more likely to recall the character to whom a food had been attributed. However, contrary to expectation, participants were equally likely to reproduce food-order information whichever passage they had read. Information of the same significance in the context of either the restaurant or supermarket story was equally well recalled by the two groups.
The Credibility of a Local Educational Program Evaluation Report: Author Source and Client Audience Characteristics
Authors: Braskamp Larry A , Brown Robert D , Newman Dianna L
Published: March 2008

The judged usefulness and objectivity of a simulated evaluation report and client agreement with the report’s recommendations were examined as functions of the evaluator’s simulated professional background e.g., “researcher,” “evaluator,” or “art educator” and the client’s organizational role status (teachers or administrators). The results suggest that source and audience characteristics influence client ratings of the evaluator but do not effect changes in agreement with the evaluator’s recommendations.
Effects of Language Facility in Learning
Authors: Dean Raymond S. , Kulhavy Raymond W.
Published: March 2008

Sixty-four primary school boys were classified as being high or low in vocabulary and randomly assigned to a language mediation instruction or non-instructed condition. Children were individually administered CVC’s, paralogs, and simple words in a three trial paired-associate learning task. Locus of facilitation was found primarily in upper vocabulary groups and for familiar words rather than paralogs and CVC’s. Low vocabulary subjects produced fewer mediators and were less likely to get an item correct when a mediator was given. The performance of students with well-developed vocabularies was linked to their ability to manipulate language and language-based tasks. These data offer a partial explanation why vocabulary tests predict future school success, independent of overall intelligence.
Behavioral Mapping of Student Activity in Open-Area and Traditional Schools
Authors: Beeken Don , Janzen Henry L.
Published: March 2008

A system of categories organized along the three dimensions of behavior, location, and social setting, was developed and used to obtain recordings of the activity of pupils in open-area schools and traditional schools. Data were analyzed by comparing frequency counts in each category. Results of the study distinguish the school environments in several ways. Two notable behaviors, reading and writing, were found to be less common in open-areas than in closed classrooms. Social behavior, travel, and housekeeping activities were more frequent in the open-area schools. More locations were used in open-areas, especially libraries, and less time was spent in desks. Interaction between peers was greater in open space at some expense, apparently, to individual contact with the teacher.
Conservation of Area: Piagetian Versus Discrimination Training Methods
Authors: Martinko Mark J. , Clifford Margaret M.
Published: March 2008

There is evidence to indicate that the experimental induction of conservation behavior is dependent upon an empirical specification of operational reversibility. On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that conservation can be induced with S-R principles which call attention to the relevant quantitative dimensions and away from irrelevant perceptual dimensions. In this study, training methods representative of these two positions are used to induce conservation of area. Data show that both methods are highly effective as compared to a control, and support the conclusion that the empirical specification of reversibility is not a requirement for conservation induction.
Discrepancies Among Student, Parent, and Teacher Ratings of the Severity of a Student’s Problems
Authors: Adelman Howard , Taylor Linda , Fuller Williamson , Nelson Perry
Published: March 2008

Students from 6 to 18 years of age who had been referred for clinical assistance for school problems responded to questions related to their school performances, attitudes, and behavior. Their parents and teachers responded to comparable questions. The findings indicate that the student reports were consistently more positive than those of their parents, and the parents were consistently more positive than the students’ teachers. The students also viewed their school achievement more favorably than was indicated by their standardized test scores and school grades. These discrepancies have both theoretical and practical heuristic implications.
Class Size, Students’ Evaluations, and Instructional Effectiveness
Authors: Marsh Herbert W. , Overall Jesse U. , Kesler Steven P.
Published: March 2008

Students’ evaluations of instructional effectiveness were collected in two different university settings (N = 1,341 classes), while faculty self-evaluations of their own teaching were also collected in one of these settings (N = 190 classes). The magnitude of the class-size effect depended upon the specific component of the evaluations being considered. The effect was large for Quality of Group Interaction, but was small for 10 other components including Overall Course and Overall Instructor ratings. The form of the effect was clearly nonlinear; small and large classes were generally rated more favorably. The effect tended to be weak, and much of the observed relationship could be explained in terms of other demographic variables such as percentage of freshman and sophomore students. Finally, relationships between class size and different components of faculty self-evaluations were generally similar to those found with students’ evaluations. These findings, particularly that very large classes tended to be rated as favorably as small classes, challenge the widely held speculation that effectiveness of instruction necessarily suffers in classes with large enrollments.
Stability of Teacher Effects in Junior High Classrooms
Authors: Emmer Edmund T. , Evertson Carolyn M. , Brophy Jere E.
Published: March 2008

Estimates of teacher effects on pupil achievement and attitudes in the seventh and eighth grades were obtained for 39 English teachers and 29 mathematics teachers. For each teacher, two classes were tested at the end of the school year; entering achievement was statistically controlled using pupil test data collected at the end of the preceding year. Results indicated strong teacher effects on pupil attitudes in both mathematics and English. Teacher effects on pupil achievement varied depending upon subject matter and class mean initial achievement level.