A study was made of children beginning school, to learn more about their response to school and how to help them adapt to it. Participants in the study's year-long first phase were 36 teachers from two very different local education authorities (LEA) and 92 children who started school in 1985-86. Teachers identified activities and organization in…

The educational and social requirements of gifted females in rural areas are not only different from those of gifted females in urban settings but are significantly different from the educational and social requirements of their male peers. On the one hand, girls are encouraged to pursue academic and/or professional opportunities usually available…

Designed for use by persons who plan and lead orientation and cross-cultural training sessions for AFS students, natural and host families, and volunteers, this handbook implements and supports recommendations from an AFS workshop and ideas originating in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United…

This study investigated 394 participants in the 1987 Arkansas Governor's School (AGS) and a comparison group of 60 AGS alternates on selected measures of cognitive development and personal/social acceptance. The AGS is a 6-week intensive residential program for talented high school students who had finished their junior year. Information was…

The purpose of this report is to compare the freshman experience of commuter and residents students at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) who were studied as part of the Maryland Longitudinal Study. Residents, dependent commuters, and independent commuters in the Representative Sample (434 students representing all ethnic groups at…

This report discusses the results of a survey of the characteristics and the social and academic experiences of black undergraduates at eight predominantly white and regionally diverse State college campuses. The majority of the students sampled were freshmen. Major findings are that: (1) black undergraduates did not report markedly unpleasant or…

This guide for college students discusses the psychological adjustments of late adolescence and skills and techniques for coping and developing interpersonal skills. The book is comprised of the following topics: caring relationships, sex ("Let's Talk about Sex" by Jacqueline Kansky), listening, self-awareness, self-esteem, criticism, confidence,…

This study is a description of the initial socialization of low-income children, aged 3 to 6 years, who were recruited by a middle- and upper-income elementary college-laboratory school. Data for this study were obtained through observations of 11 recruited children and their classmates during a 4-year period. These observations were supplemented…

The stressful effects of advanced academic training were examined in a comparison of six graduate and professional programs at Vanderbilt University. The focus was on the nonacademic, daily stressors and negative mood states of 152 students in medicine, business, divinity, graduate department of religion, and two graduate psychology departments.…

Factors contributing to the academic persistence of college students and those factors that may be amenable to institutional control were studied in 1980 at Georgia State University. The academic career of 4,481 students was studied for a 5-quarter period at this nonresidential, urban university. Multiple regression and multiple discriminant…

Adjustments, achievements, and aspirations of black undergraduates attending the University of Michigan were studied with a focus on characteristics correlating highly with black student continuance and successful matriculation. Questionnaire responses from 229 black undergraduates at the Ann Arbor campus provided information on: family…

The extent to which students are well matched with the universities they attend was investigated. The outcome of the choice process was examined with cross-sectional data on students at two private (Northwestern and Chicago) and one public (Northeastern Illinois) Chicago metropolitan area universities. Between and within school variation in…

This paper looks at the relationship between parents' social networks and aspects of child development. It has often been suggested that parents' links with kin, neighbors, friends, and local and non-local organizations are likely to have many effects on their children's development. These effects, however, have never been systematically…

Research studies on the length and time scheduling of the school day, class sizes and teacher self-concept were examined in an attempt to determine the influence of these variables on the academic success and developmental growth of children during their kindergarten year and beyond. Section I reviews research literature on class size and…

A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of community colleges in aiding those students who transfer to a senior institution, fail academically, return to the community college, and then re-enter the senior institution. The study, involving an examination of student records and a survey, centered on three groups: (1) 137 community…