Two dimensions of the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale (ITS) were used to investigate the relationship between interpersonal trust and three variables in short-term group therapy: group cohesiveness, group status, and immediate outcome. Groups of a heterogeneous mix--according to ITS scores--had significantly higher cohesiveness scores.…

This study investigated the relationship of 37 delinquent behaviors to socioeconomic status (SES), future educational and occupational plans, and certain school-related variables. Findings indicated that future plans and SES variables evidenced weaker relationships to delinquent acts than did participation in academic activities. (Author/GDC)

Recent research in the area of prose comprehension is reviewed, including factors that affect amount of recall, representations of text structures, and use of world knowledge to aid comprehension. The need for more information processing models of comprehension is emphasized. Elaboration is considered important for comprehension and retention.…

Studies of concept of teaching are reviewed and a four-step process is proposed: (1) determine taxonomical structure of the context; (2) prepare a definition in terms of critical attributes; (3) arrange examples in rational sets; and (4) arrange sets according to divergency and difficulty level. (Author/RD)

Studies concerning the impacts of electronic calculators on mathematics-related achievement and attitudes were reviewed. Results showed support for the computational benefits due to calculator use, but support for conceptual benefits was minimal. Hypothesized changes in general attitudes toward mathematics for those using calculators was…

Studies on the effects of schooling on the political socialization of American youth are reviewed. School-level and classroom-level attributes are related to four political socialization outcomes: political knowledge; political attitudes and values; attitudes toward political participation; and participation in political or quasi-political…

Four aspects of organizational development (OD) strategies, which have been used in schools over the past 15 years, are reviewed: values, goals, and assumptions; models and operating characteristics; impact on achievement, productivity, and attitudes; and the future use of OD in schools. (Author/RD)

The concept of competence in speech communication is explored, with emphasis on identification of competency as an education objective. Theoretical and conceptual issues related to communicative competence are reviewed. A number of components are revealed, the most clearly defined being empathy, behavioral flexibility, and interaction management.…

Students in 11 university courses rated their instructors at the end of each class period of a semester. The primary dimensions of change in student evaluations of teachers over a period of time include: Interesting/Informative; Personal Concern; Rapid, Lively Presentation; Comprehensibility; Enthusiasm; Competence; and Responsiveness. (Author/JN)

Teacher personal control was investigated by comparing the responses of teacher trainees with those of practicing teachers. The responses of teachers with more than five years experience indicated a significantly higher sense of personal control than either teacher trainees or teachers with less than five years experience. (Author/JN)

Signal detection theory as a framework for interpreting concept acquisition was studied in three experiments involving preschool children. Results of the studies suggest that juxtaposition of minimally different examples is superior to exclusively positive sequences, and consistent instructions are superior to varied instructions. (Author/JN)

Postelementary reading instruction is offered in many specialized developmental and remedial courses, but there is some awareness of reading needs in content areas and of the need for those teachers to accept responsibility. A review of the literature examines whether postelementary teachers teach reading as an integral part of their content area…

Poor comprehenders from grades five and six were asked to read and rate the comprehensibility of three short passages. Passages with large numbers of modifying words were considered the least comprehensible. Support exists for the hypothesis that poor comprehenders process print in piecemeal fashion. (Author/JN)

Three tests were conducted to contrast the ability of bilingual and monolingual children to label and relabel objects. The findings show that bilingual subjects were significantly better than monolingual subjects, supporting the view that preschool bilingual education stimulates children's cognitive development, and enhances their self-concept.…

A study was conducted to assess high school students' knowledge in the area of consumer economics and to identify school variables related to that knowledge. Six hundred fifty-three seniors from five high schools were administered the "Consumer Economics Content Area Measure." (Author/JN)