This research examined the relationships among students' academic majors, levels of engagement, and learning outcomes within the context of Holland's person-environment theory of vocational and educational behavior. The study focused on the role of student engagement as a mediating agent in the relationships between academic majors and student…

Calls for accountability in higher education are prompted in part by questions concerning whether colleges and universities use their resources effectively to promote student learning. Unfortunately, too little is known about whether money matters to desired outcomes of college. Using students' responses to the 2004 administration of the National…

This study examines variability in the extent to which faculty members in the disciplinary-based academic environments of Holland's theory emphasize different student learning outcomes in their classes and whether such differences are comparable for those in "consistent" versus "inconsistent" environments. The findings show wide variation in the…

Pascarella (J Coll Stud Dev 47:508-520, 2006) has called for an increase in use of longitudinal data with pretest-posttest design when studying effects on college students. However, such designs that use multiple measures to document change are vulnerable to an important threat to internal validity, regression to the mean. Herein, we discuss a…

Examined the relationship between the expenditure patterns of over 300 colleges and universities and changes in students' perceptions of their leadership abilities over a 4-year period. Found, unlike earlier studies, a statistically significant albeit modest influence of expenditure patterns on students' leadership abilities. Different results may…

A study of construct validity of the eight Quality of Effort scales resulting from the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire in its 1990-94 administrations found the scales can be used to make valid and reliable inferences regarding students' efforts and involvement, and the validity is not conditional on vocational or transfer…

The exploratory data analysis method of median polishing was used to examine patterns of differences in male and female performance on the Graduate Record Examination quantitative and analytical tests. Males were found overall to outperform females on the quantitative measure but not on the analytical measure. (Author/MLW)

A study is reported of the relationship of family education and income, high school grades, academic and social self-confidence, undergraduate institutional selectivity and size, academic and social integration, overall college satisfaction, bachelor's degree attainment, and financial aid on students' persistence to graduate school. (MSE)

Differences were studied in the job status, stability, and satisfaction of recent four-year college graduates with varying lengths of attendance at two-year institutions. The administrative and research implications of these results are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Using the exploratory data analysis method of median polishing, the institutional and departmental satisfaction of women who recently entered the academic profession was examined. Results indicated that satisfaction differed by institutional type (Carnegie classifications) and discipline type (pure versus applied). (Author/MLW)

Women employed in sex-balanced and male- and female-dominated occupations in the public sector have comparable levels of job satisfaction. In private firms, women in sex-balanced careers are more satisfied with the intrinsic nature of their jobs than those employed in female-dominated occupations. (Author/MLW)

The study examined the validity of the Eccles model of achievement behaviors for its predictive validity in determining student persistence in the postsecondary educational system to completion of the baccalaureate degree. The value placed on college attendance had significant influence on persistence. (Author/MLW)

A study examined the growth and development of graduate students holding teaching assistantships and research assistantships and compared it with that of nonassistants. In general, teaching assistantships contributed less to student professional development than did research assistantships. Students who had experienced both types of assistantships…

Reanalysis of data for 13,200 twelfth-grade students indicated that sex has a significant effect on mathematics achievement even after controlling for sex differences in spatial abilities and background and interest in mathematics. Women tend to have less spatial visualization ability, and its effects on mathematics achievement are greater for…

Studied is the validity of a theoretical model of achievement behaviors of 746 eighth grade students. Hypothesized effects of value of mathematics and expectations for success were not apparent. Direct influences on achievement for male were prior achievement and value, but for females, influences of difficulty, male domain stereotyping, and…