But Does It Work?: The Influence of Presumed Goal Attainment Effectiveness on Willingness to Use Legalistic and Restorative Responses to Offensive Behavior

Although victim-offender conferences (VOCs) ostensibly enable victims to pursue justice goals not achieved through conventional trials, not all victims wish to participate in them. The purpose of this study was to examine how victims’ presumptions regarding the effectiveness of VOCs and trials in accomplishing justice goals influence their willingness to participate in a VOC and their preference for a case to be managed solely by the courts. Study results indicated that participants believed VOCs and trials to be effective at accomplishing different goals and that such influenced how they wanted cases to be managed. This influence was moderated by desires for particular justice goals. These findings have implications for restorative justice researchers and practitioners interested in victims’ motivations to participate in a VOC.     

Social responsibility in community colleges: Rethinking the commitment to alternative education

Because high school dropouts are among the least advantaged members of American society, the educational system that has failed them has the social responsibility for remediating their educational and developmental needs. The community college is proposed as the institution most able to develop policies and programs that will enable these least advantaged members of American society to overcome the educational system that has failed them. This paper discusses the responsibility of providing a quality education to all individuals, examines the role the community college can play in meeting the educational and social needs of dropouts, and presents an innovative program at a community college that has been particularly effective in meeting the needs of dropouts.     

The Japanese University in Crisis

Japanese education has been a focus of comparative studies for the past 20 years. Many scholars have attributed the economic success of this industrialized society to a highly literate and well-educated population. Recent studies, however, have tended to be more critical of, in particular, Japanese higher education (HE). Indeed, most universities in Japan are acutely aware of the need for change and a considerable effort at institutional reform is sweeping the nation. Unfortunately most of the constructive criticism of Japanese HE has not yet been published in English. One of the most vocal of the reformists, Professor Ikuo Amano, has published widely on various aspects of HE in Japan. The following paper is a translation of a chapter in his book Challenges to Japanese Universities. This translation is prefaced by both a synopsis of this book as well as a brief introduction to Amano and his work.     

Parent academic involvement as related to school behavior, achievement, and aspirations: demographic variations across adolescence

A longitudinal model of parent academic involvement, behavioral problems, achievement, and aspirations was examined for 463 adolescents, followed from 7th (approximately 12 years old) through 11th (approximately 16 years old) grades. Parent academic involvement in 7th grade was negatively related to 8th-grade behavioral problems and positively related to 11th-grade aspirations. There were variations across parental education levels and ethnicity: Among the higher parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to fewer behavioral problems, which were related to achievement and then aspirations. For the lower parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to aspirations but not to behavior or achievement. Parent academic involvement was positively related to achievement for African Americans but not for European Americans. Parent academic involvement may be interpreted differently and serve different purposes across sociodemographic backgrounds.     

Standard-Setting Guidelines

Do we need guidelines for standard-setting studies? What should the guidelines address? What additional research on standard-setting is needed?     

A VBA‐based Simulation for Teaching Simple Linear Regression

In spite of the name, simple linear regression presents a number of conceptual difficulties, particularly for introductory students. This article describes a simulation tool that provides a hands‐on method for illuminating the relationship between parameters and sample statistics.