Related factors of the MTAI and the 16PF

The Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI) and the Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF) were administered to 395 undergraduate teachers-in-training. The MTAI and the 16PF were compared using canonical analysis. They contained three related factors accounting for 41% of their total variance. It was concluded that teachers' attitudes toward their pupils are determined in large part by measurable personality traits.     

Experiments of two-level training in Hungarian higher education

An experiment designed to train engineering students to two levels of terminal achievement within single institutions is reported. The operative engineers (formerly high level technicians) qualify after three years whilst research and development engineers (fully qualified engineers) take five years. Organisational and curricular problems necessarily created by such integrated schemes are described and discussed. Social attitudes in society in general and in the student body in particular make the task of directing students towards the shorter form of training complex and difficult. From the experience gained so far it can confidently be asserted that the experiments in two-level training have been successful.Note by the Editor: This article is an abbreviated version prepared by the Editor of a 90-page UNESCO (copyright) report with the same title, Document ED. 75/WS/64, dated October 1975. We are grateful to the authors and to UNESCO for permission to print this summary of the report.     

Variation in class size,the class size paradox,and some consequences for students

Even where a total allocation of resources is fixed, it is often possible to vary the distribution of the given resources. This distribution can have important, if sometimes hidden, consequences. In the case of universities, considering the mean class size as given, three nonobvious consequences of the amount of variation in class size are examined. (1) The average class size experienced by students is directly related to the amount of variation in class size. (2) Overall student attendance is inversely related to the amount of variation in class size. (3) Overall student participation time is directly related to the amount of variation in class size. The logic of these relationships is explored, and data on 49 departments and interdisciplinary programs at one university are used to illustrate the nature and extent of the class size paradox at one university.     

Self-concept development and educational degree attainment

The present study explores changes in the academic, social, and artistic self-concept of college students over a nine-year period. While the findings demonstrate a positive relationship between the educational degree attainment levels of students and their formation of a more healthy self-concept, the findings further indicate that the relationship is not consistent for males and females. In general, the findings suggest that the collegiate experience does not diminish self-concept gender differences that exist at the time of matriculation. The degree to which changes in students' self-concept is related to selected aspects of their collegiate experience and characteristics of their undergraduate institutions is also explored. The findings indicate that changes in students' self-concept is related to their level of social and academic integration during their undergraduate careers and to the size and selectivity of colleges they attend. The implications of these findings for enhancing students' self-concept during the college years are discussed.     

Preparation,style, and format of doctoral dissertations in U.S. colleges and universities

While much criticism has been leveled at graduate education in major United States colleges and universities in the recent past, this study investigated the style and format variables related to preparation of the dissertation and associated matters. The results of this study indicate that a significant amount of introspective evaluation of the dissertation process and product has taken place over the last five years. Technological advances, quality concerns, and increased student involvement in the preparation process have been recognized and incorporated into new dissertation requirements, and a trend toward decentralized monitoring of dissertation preparation is evident from the results. Also presented are comparative information and data contrasting current practices with those reported in a 1975–76 survey of the same population. In both cases the response rate for the survey was greater than 85%, thus providing a very definitive picture of the current status of dissertation preparation.     

Maternal social support as a predictor of mother-child stress and stimulation

There is increasing interest in the role of social support in determining risk for child abuse and neglect. The present study assessed the relationship between maternal social support and two areas: stress in the mother-child relationship: and level of stimulation provided in the home. Maternal social support was assessed prenatally and at a two-year follow-up, while the latter variables were compiled at the two-year follow-up. The data were obtained from 38 urban, low SES (80% on public assistance) mothers and their 2-year-old children. Maternal social support correlated positively with level of stimulation and negatively with level of mother-child stress, and was the best predictor of both, relative to any SES, mother or child variables. In addition, high stress, low support mothers provided significantly less stimulation to their children. The theoretical implications for social support as a mediator variable as well as its implications for early identification and prevention efforts in abuse and neglect are discussed.     

AN EXAMINATION OF THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE EQUATING OF PARALLEL FORMS IS POPULATION-INDEPENDENT

Linear conversions were developed relating scores on two recent forms of the homogeneous GRE Quantitative Test (GRE-Q) and the specially constituted heterogeneous GRE Verbal-plus-Quantitative Test (GRE-V+Q), using randomly equivalent groups of about 13, 000 taking each form. Specially defined homogeneous subpopulations were then identified, and conversions between scores on the two forms were again calculated, this time based on l000-case samples drawn at random from the subpopulations. Finally, in order to develop empirical measures of equating error, I00 samples of 1, 000 cases each were drawn at random from the two total groups and used to calculate 100 conversions between scores on the two forms. The conversions based on the specially selected subpopulations were then compared with the total-group conversions and evaluated in terms of the empirical standard errors. The results showed that the conversions for the subpopulations agreed with the total-group conversion quite satisfactorily for the GRE-Q and almost as well for the GRE-V+Q. It was concluded that the data clearly support the assumption of population independence for homogeneous tests, but not quite so clearly for heterogeneous tests.