American Educational Research Journal

From multivariate descriptions of undergraduates, seven success patterns and five nonsuccess patterns are identified as prevalent types of student performance in one college community. The discriminant functions underlying these two typologies partially substantiate the dimensions in Clark and Trow’s typology of college student subcultures. Students categorized into the twelve types show significant differences in demographic characteristics, admissions credentials, college performance, and post-college plans. Quantified admissions data favor some types of students over others. The results suggest that colleges present students with a complexity of subenvironments, each of which emphasizes and rewards different patterns of behavior.

The validity of the construct self-acceptance was tested to map the evaluative dimension of self-concept. Three constructs—self-acceptance, self-description, and acceptance of others—were each measured by seven methods (checklist, rating scale, sentence completion, forced-choice questionnaire, semantic differential, TAT, and Q-sort) to create a multitrait-multimethod matrix of intercorrelations. Instruments were either selected from the literature or developed by the author and were administered in counterbalanced order to 137 individuals ranging in age from 14 to 82. The average convergent validity values were .55 for self-acceptance, .42 for self-description, and .41 for acceptance of others. Both of the self-constructs had strong discriminant validity from acceptance of others; the average correlation of .22 between self-acceptance and acceptance of others was consistent with their theoretical relationship. Self-acceptance was only slightly discriminated from self-description (convergent validity coefficient of .55 compared to average discriminant correlation of .41). Although some additional evidence of discriminant validity exists in the patterns of correlation with age and other constructs, self-acceptance and self-description were not as distinct as the semantic definitions of the constructs imply.

The effects of cooperative, individualistic, and laissez faire goal structures were compared on interpersonal interaction and attraction between nonhandicapped junior high school students and high trainable mentally retarded peers participating in six weekly sessions of a bowling class. The results indicate that considerably more positive interactions took place between the nonhandicapped and the handicapped students in the cooperative condition than in the individualistic or laissez faire conditions.

This study used questionnaire data collected by the Educational Testing Service in 51 high schools to discover which school practices improved racial attitudes and behaviors in desegregated schools. Data were analyzed at school and individual levels using multiple regressions. Results for whites indicated strong, positive effects on racial attitudes and behaviors of assigning students of different races to work together and through individual participation on a sports team with students of another race. Weaker effects were found for class discussions of race. For blacks, assignment of students of different races to work together and teacher workshops on race relations had effects on one behavioral variable, and individual participation in biracial work groups or sports teams had strong, positive effects on racial behaviors and attitudes. Few effects for either race were found for teacher workshops, use of multiethnic texts, or tracking. Results were interpreted to indicate that programs involving cooperative interaction between students of different races are most likely to improve race relations in desegregated schools.

Artificial cumulative folders were constructed, each purporting to reference a fourth grade boy with average ability but low academic achievement. The eight folders factorially varied three categories of information: presence or absence of comments concerning previous misbehavior, race (black or white), and parents’ educational level (some high school or postsecondary). A random sample of 104 central North Carolina elementary teachers examined the folders and recorded various recommendations regarding the kind of outside-class educational help that would be appropriate for a child. The most influential category information was comments concerning misbehavior. With negative behavioral comments, teachers judged a child more likely to need special educational help, more time in a resource room, and special forms of help. Although complicated by interactions, the general pattern was to expect more favorable educational progress and less need for special help for blacks and for children of less educated parents than for whites or children of well educated parents.

Two studies examined teacher cognitive processes concerning personal control in the classroom. The extent to which teachers perceived classroom control and expected successful outcomes with high- and low-ability students were contrasted within five different hypothetical classroom contexts. The results indicate that high-ability students are perceived as more controllable than low-ability students; teacher-initiated interactions are perceived as providing more control than student-initiated interactions; the setting has effects on perceived control of interaction duration; and interactions with high-ability students are seen as more likely to lead to successful outcomes than interactions with low-ability students.

Recent research suggests that student ratings of teacher behavior may be significantly influenced by the students’ implicit theories about the way specific teacher behaviors covary. One technique that has been used to investigate the operation of these implicit theories is factor analysis. It is argued here, however, that factor analysis is of only limited value in this pursuit. It is shown that although factor analytic techniques employing ratings of naturally occurring behavior may be useful for demonstrating the existence of implicit theories of behavioral covariation, these techniques are not adequate for evaluating either the accuracy of these implicit theories or the amount of error they contribute to the rating process.