Presents the results of a study of English and Nigerian adolescents' conceptions of the causes, effects, rehabilitation, and interaction of handicaps. Cognitive maturity (related to age) proved to be the greatest factor influencing accuracy of perception. Samples of questions and anecdotes are included. (JDH)

Presents three different proposals to improve the management of vocational education and training in the United Kingdom. Concludes with an examination of the consequences of such changes for individual freedom of choice and the improvement of opportunities for disadvantaged groups. (Author/JDH)

Analyzes the objective dimension of teachers' careers showing how 530 British male/female teachers are distributed throughout the pay scale and promotions making up the formal structure of teaching. Indicates length of experience is the rewarding but not the sole factor in bureaucratic structure and differential male/female career achievements.…

Investigates the effect of sex of the teacher on 925 secondary foreign language students. Indicates that the sex of foreign language teachers makes no difference to professional attitudes held or classroom practices in learning. Male and female students reject the idea that one teacher sex is preferable to the other. (TRS)

Investigates the relationship between 12 teachers' perceptions of 24 secondary pupils and the pupils' own views of themselves as learners. While students' images are not solely dependent upon teacher interaction, results show a significant and positive relationship between teachers' perceptions of the pupils and the pupils' views of themselves.…

Examines how variables of age, sex, nationality, and attitude toward the disabled affected the understanding level of 306 British and Nigerian adolescents concerning disability effects. Indicates age is the most important factor for comprehensive understanding, with girls achieving a more mature understanding level; neither nationality or attitude…

Examines 200 Barbadian parents' and 100 teachers' perceptions of restrictive and coercive strategies for students taking the Common Entrance Examination. Generally, parents were significantly less likely than teachers to view the strategies as undesirable and/or counter-productive. Implications for parents as a potential educational reform…

A survey of the socio-political attitudes of Swedish high school students showed that male students were more systematically conservative than female students, except for the religiosity dimension, in almost all political party preference groups. Sex was shown to have a weaker effect on attitudes than political party preference. (Author/RM)

An attitude survey of 12-year-old students in the United Kingdom studying French or German showed that girls are more likely to favor languages than boys. However, both sexes rejected the idea that one sex is better at learning a foreign language that the other. (Author/RM)

A review of research concerning students' ideas of teacher effectiveness showed evidence in favor of the use of student evaluations of teaching performance. This evidence includes the validity of pupil perceptions and the value of such an exercise in itself in establishing a sound student-teacher relationship. (Author/RM)

The development, testing, and characteristics of an instrument--Computers and Robots Attitude Questionnaire--that can be used to measure the attitudes of secondary students towards computers and robots are described. Individual questionnaire items are largely content-free and may be answered by students with no specialist knowledge of…

Primary school teachers tended greatly to overestimate the scores that their students would achieve in mathematics and English achievement tests and to greatly underestimate the scores they would achieve in the reading achievement test. Factors that influenced teachers' judgments include academic competence, student relationship with the teacher,…

How the large number of empirical tests and arguments that have been conducted to prove that mass media violence directly influences behavior have failed to discredit contrary arguments is discussed. (Author/RM)

A study of maladjusted, under-reacting children in England as they made the transition from junior high to secondary school and during the following four years showed that the maladjusted group made a more satisfactory adjustment than was anticipated. However, the children continued to be more unsettled than their adjusted counterparts. (Author/RM)

Between the second and fifth years of their secondary schooling, British students' attitudes toward school science became more negative. This applied to both boys and girls, but it was more marked in the case of the girls. Early maturing girls showed significantly more negative attitudes to school science. (Author/RM)