The community college and the disadvantaged

The objective of this study is to empirically explore the extent to which public two-year colleges in this country are characterized by open admissions policies and by comprehensive curricula, as well as the extent and nature of programs for the disadvantaged within these institutions. Utilizing a stratified sampling design developed by the research staff of the American Council on Education, a precoded original questionnaire was mailed in the spring of 1971 to the chief administrative officer for each institution in the sample. It was found that only a little over half of the colleges have the curricula offerings and admissions policies of exemplary community colleges, but that all reported special courses, programs, or services for the academically disadvantaged minority group. However, only 40% of our sample indicated that they have developed special programs (as opposed to courses or services). Too, community colleges with programs require (1) more resources in preparing faculty for dealing effectively with the disadvantaged, (2) additional emphasis on recruitment of the disadvantaged, and (3) more attention to developing courses in ethnic studies.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, February 1973. Partial support for the project from which this paper was developed was provided by the U.S. Office of Education (Contract #OEC-0-70-4283 (399) to the Pennsylvania State Department of Education). The author also wishes to acknowledge the contribution of Reynolds Ferrante, graduate student, Pennsylvania State University, who assisted in the literature review and questionnaire development of the project.     

Text density level as a design variable in instructional displays

Presenting narrative text in computer-based instruction (CBI) is more difficult than in print lessons due to limited screen resolution and display area. The present research aimed at achieving a more compatible match between lesson content and the attributes of the presentation media. Subjects received either a print or CBI statistics lesson containing low-density (concise) narrative text, high-density (conventional) text, or the density type they preferred (learner-control). Results showed the low-density lesson to reduce completion time relative to the high-density version, while yielding equivalent achievement. Subjects receiving the lesson in the print mode had shorter completion times and higher achievement than their CBI counterparts. Attitude results showed that CBI was favorably regarded, but perceived as longer and slow-moving than print. Implications of results for designing instructional material in accord with CBI attributes and learner characteristics are discussed.     

Innovative Practice: Systemic Problem Solving: Retention and the Role of a Student Counseling Center

This article describes a counseling center's experience using a “systems” approach to address student retention by initiating campuswide collaboration.     

Getting emotional: a critical evaluation of recent trends in the development of school leaders

Emotion is a growing focus for contemporary thinking about leadership in public policy and corporate arenas. In British education systems, three imperatives are evident: the idea that transformation is essential; leadership succession in crisis; and, more recently, that leaders must be able to run organisations that address the emotional well-being of staff and students. Viewed as a key outcome of schooling, its importance is mirrored in school leadership, especially professional development. This article considers whether this represents a step-change in leadership development praxis or is, instead, an invasive form of emotional engineering redolent of long-established orthodoxies of control and domination. If so, it is argued, leadership development as the advocacy of emotional acumen presents moral technology as a new form for intervening in leaders' emotional selves, thereby distracting them from addressing fundamental aspects of education for which they are primarily responsible.     

Attention and curiosity in museums

Two hundred and thirty-four museum visitors of all ages were observed as they entered the Object Gallery area of the Florida State Museum. Visitors were observed under conditions where objects were available for close inspection but could not be manipulated (baseline data) and later when the same objects were placed on tables and were available for visitors to touch, move, and use a variety of senses to inspect them (intervention data). Data were recorded on the sex, age, and number of subjects in these areas under each of the above conditions. The results obtained show a significant increase in the number of visitors entering this section of the museum when manipulatable objects were available. Baseline data showed that 58.5% of the people who entered the Object Gallery went into the drawer section. However, when manipulatable objects were made available this increased to 82.3%. Chi-square analysis was used to determine whether the presence of manipulatable objects in the area increased the number of people who entered the area. It did (p < 0.05). Chi-square analysis was also used to determine whether entering the drawer section depended on age or sex. It was found that more children entered the drawer section than adults (p < 0.05) and significantly more female children and female adults entered as a result of intervention (p < 0.05). At the same time, more male children than adults entered after intervention (p < 0.05) than before. These data are supported by considerable curiosity research indicating that both children and adults are attracted to novel as well as complex stimuli which can be manipulated in both formal and free-choice environments. The data also support the growing movement to hands-on exhibits in natural history museums and science centers around the country, as well as hands-on classroom activities from the perspective of their attention attracting and holding power and their curiosity evoking characteristics. Whether these positive factors also lead to increased knowledge or skill development is a question yet to be explored.     

Fine motor skills and executive function both contribute to kindergarten achievement

This study examined the contribution of executive function (EF) and multiple aspects of fine motor skills to achievement on 6 standardized assessments in a sample of middle-socioeconomic status kindergarteners. Three- and 4-year-olds' (n=213) fine and gross motor skills were assessed in a home visit before kindergarten, EF was measured at fall of kindergarten, and Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Academic Achievement were administered at fall and spring. Correlations indicated that EF and fine motor skills appeared distinct. Further, controlling for background variables, higher levels of both EF and fine motor skills, specifically design copy, predicted higher achievement on multiple subtests at kindergarten entry, as well as improvement from fall to spring. Implications for research on school readiness are discussed.