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.     

Masculinity and femininity in twin children: genetic and environmental factors

Genetic and environmental origins of individual differences in masculine and feminine personality attributes were investigated in a sample of 38 monozygotic and 32 dizygotic twin pairs (total N = 140) during pre- and early adolescence. Self-report measures of both masculine and feminine characteristics were obtained for each child using 2 standardized instruments: the Children's Personality Attributes Questionnaire (CPAQ) and the Adolescent Self-Perception Inventory (ASPI). Multivariate biometrical analyses revealed significant genetic influences in all measures, accounting for 20%-48% of the observed variation in each. Environmental influences, which explained the remaining 52%-80% of variance in masculinity and femininity, were apparently specific to each individual and not shared by members of the same twin pair. The results underscore the importance of considering both genetic and environmental factors in gender-role development, particularly in studies of family resemblance.     

The Effects of Information and Feedback on Teachers’ Classroom Behaviour and Students’ Academic Engaged Time

Research has shown a positive relationship between academic engaged time (AET), academic learning time (ALT) and student achievement. Previous work has reported a relatively non‐intrusive, cost‐effective method for increasing AET in the classroom involving the presentation of research information followed by feedback to teachers of students’ AET in their classes. This study aimed to replicate these findings in a primary school setting and to establish what effects the information plus feedback had on teachers’ instructional behaviours which have been found to correlate with students’ AET and ALT. In addition, we looked at the effects of more precise feedback based on students’ task difficulty measures. The results provided strong support for the utility and efficacy of information plus feedback as a method for increasing student AET and ALT and for enabling teachers to change their instructional behaviours in the direction of published research findings.     

The adaptation of hearing parents of hearing-impaired youths

This study evaluated the emotional and marital adjustment of hearing parents of hearing-impaired youths. Participants included mothers and fathers of hearing-impaired youths and mothers and fathers of hearing youths. In contrast with expectations based on clinical impressions reported in the literature, parents of hearing-impaired youths reported less symptomatology than did parents of hearing youths, and there were no differences in the marital satisfaction of parents in intact families. Moreover, parental adjustment was not associated with the duration of time since the child was diagnosed as hearing impaired. In addition, hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that family cohesion was associated with low maternal symptomatology and high marital satisfaction for both spouses. For mothers, low symptomatology was associated with low stress and female gender of child; high marital satisfaction also was linked with a less severe degree of hearing loss in the youth.     

Learning disabilities in alcohol-dependent adults: a preliminary study

To determine if neuropsychological deficits, known to precede alcohol use in those genetically predisposed to alcoholism, were present in an alcoholic population, 25 male alcoholics (mean age 41.1) were interviewed concerning alcohol usage, educational difficulties in elementary school, and family history of alcoholism. Using a regression table, discrepancies between current IQ on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) (Wechsler, 1981) and achievement on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJB) (Woodcock & Johnson, 1977) were calculated to determine present learning status. Forty percent of the alcoholics were found to have had special education, remedial services, or repeated grade failure concurrent with a familial history of alcoholism and current discrepancies indicative of learning disability. There were no significant differences on intelligence, years of drinking, or mean grades completed in school between this group and the rest of the subjects who did not receive services in school. Conclusions were that childhood learning disorders may be related to the development of alcoholism, particularly when alcoholism is in the family, and that special educators have a role to play in the prevention and treatment of alcoholism.     

A conceptual overview of the regression discrepancy model for evaluating severe discrepancy between IQ and achievement scores

A conceptual overview of the Regression Discrepancy Model (RDM) for determining severe discrepancy between IQ and achievement scores is presented in order to enhance understanding of the model without the use of the complex mathematical equations that constitute the model. The six specific goals of the RDM are identified, and figures illustrate the manner in which the model accomplishes each goal. Figures are also provided from a RDM computer output showing the basic outcomes of the model. Advantages and disadvantages of the RDM are discussed to further promote understanding of the model.     

Long-range course planning by college students

A group of 633 college students at a large midwestern public university was asked fifteen questions pertaining to personal long-term course planning. The results indicated that only 48% of the students sketched out a tentative listing of at least two courses per term for one or more subsequent semesters when first planning courses for the current semester. Long-range planning was positively correlated with the number of years students had already spent in college and with students' perception of the following factors: course planning utility, degree of certainty about pursuing one's current first choice of career, and degree of commitment in using college coursework as a means of achieving a career goal (all p < 0.001). Long-range planning was negatively correlated with the anticipation of a possible change in academic interests. Such planning was not significantly correlated with students' entrance examination aptitude scores or grade point averages. Thus, students' long-range planning of courses was associated more strongly with career commitment than with recent academic performance or aptitude.