Examines how two dimensions of a community of urban science student learners--social-organizational and intellectual-thematic--evolved and influenced each other. Discusses the reasons why the teacher and student succeeded in developing a functional community but did not quite succeed in developing shared understandings in science. Contains 34…

Presents three research stories from participants in Project ASSIST (All Students in Supported Inquiry-Based Science with Technology), an effort designed to improve the achievement of students with disabilities in the general science curriculum in grades K-6. Describes the project's attempts to bridge the gap between research and practice through…

Examines how lower-track science students understand shifts in standard classroom discourse patterns. Finds that students insert struggles for social status into classroom arguments about scientific ideas, making it difficult to separate in a group discussion whether evidence or the social politics of the class convinces students to accept an…

Comparison of three learning indicators college grade-point average (GPA), student-reported growth, and Graduate Record Examination scores found: (1) student-reported cognitive growth survey items have a modest relative validity; (2) the attenuation associated with use of residual gain scores does not invalidate their use; and (3) GPA and…

Junior and senior students (n=426) completed a survey about "chilling" practices in their major. Findings indicated that, regardless of sex, students did not perceive practices in their major to be "chilling." However, education and nursing students, regardless of sex, perceived a "warmer" environment in their majors than did accounting and…

This study used qualitative methods to examine the paradigm choices of 22 legal scholars at three institutions. These faculty members were working in either conventional formalist and realist paradigms or in alternative critical and interpretive paradigms. Paradigm choice appeared to result from personal experiences and structural and conceptual…

Institutional researchers need to be aware of the theoretical and normative assumptions they hold regarding the character of institutional behavior. Many people's concepts about the nature of institutional "intelligence,""resources,""goals," and "problems" appear faulty based on contemporary organizational theory and may lead to misdiagnosing…

Surveys of students both during and following a six-week strike by faculty at York University (Ontario) found that students faced academic and economic hardship during and after the strike and that only a minority of students supported the strike. However, attitudes toward unions, and not personal hardship, were the best predictors of student…

This study used Tobit analysis to estimate retention probabilities and credit hours at two universities. Tobit was judged as appropriate for this problem because it recognizes the lower bound of zero on credit hours and incorporates this bound into parameter estimates and forecasts. Models are estimated for credit hours in a single year and…

Compares the career paths of three hypothetical retiring professors: the professorial path, which emphasizes teaching; the professional path, which emphasizes administrative advancement; or the entrepreneurial path, which emphasizes maximization of financial and business opportunities. Implications for the career paths of young faculty today are…

Reviews and extends the literature demonstrating that the various College Board examinations, especially the Scholastic Aptitude Test, underpredict women's college grades relative to those of men in all fields except engineering, even when corrected for discipline and sampling. This suggests women are underrepresented relative to merit in freshman…

A survey of 10,000 United Kingdom college graduates explored satisfaction with the contribution that higher education had made to their general development. The study examined which students were likely to evaluate the contribution favorably, made inferences about institution type and contribution, and explored the relationship with student age.…

A national survey of 277,850 college freshmen examined attitudes toward affirmative action in college admissions for four racial/ethnic groups: Whites, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Mexican-Americans. The study analyzed the extent to which student opposition to affirmative action is driven by factors such as self-interest, political…

A study examined the structural relationship among four constructs--motivational factors, student background, academic performance, and student persistence in college--for both minorities and non-minorities. Although motivation failed to impact academic performance for either racial subgroup, there was a significant motivational effect on…

A study of 280 undergraduates in two liberal arts colleges examined the relationship between college classroom environment, academic cheating, and the neutralization (justification) of cheating. Results suggest classroom environment is a significant situational variable in academic dishonesty, with both attitudes and behavior being related to…