Factors affecting persistence of Deaf college students

A study of attrition after the first year of college was conducted with the 1984 entry class of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. A path-analytic model of 9 factors affecting student persistence was tested using LISREL (N = 233). The results indicate that social integration is an important factor in college persistence. Grade point average is not a critical factor in first year attrition. While provocative, the reasons behind these findings may be specific to NTID. For example, many students come to NTID specifically for its social community. It is concluded, therefore, that while these results were somewhat different from those of studies with hearing students, they support the proposition that studies of college attrition cannot be generalized across institutions.     

An Analysis of the Predictive Validity of the New Ecological Paradigm Scale

Abstract

The widely used New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale was recently revised to address concerns about its dimensionality and validity. As an ever larger number of researchers from an increasing variety of disciplines incorporate environmental issues into their research, the need for environmental concern measures such as the NEP will broaden. The authors evaluated the predictive validity of the original and revised versions of the NEP scale, some abbreviated NEP-derived scales, and a non-NEP environmental attitudes scale. All of these scales explained a significant amount of the variance in a measure of intention to engage in proenvi-ronmental behavior. Based on the results, the authors suggest how researchers should use these scales in their research.     

Greater Mindfulness is Associated With Better Academic Achievement in Middle School

Despite increasing interest in improving academic outcomes for students by enhancing mindfulness, there is a paucity of evidence that greater mindfulness is associated with success in school. We measured mindfulness with the short‐form Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in over 2,000 urban students in Grades 5–8. The MAAS had good internal consistency and scale homogeneity. Greater mindfulness correlated significantly with better academic achievement as measured by grade point average and standardized tests of mathematics and literacy, greater improvement in academic performance from the prior school year, better attendance, and fewer suspensions. The relation between mindfulness and academic achievement was similar across demographic characteristics. These findings support the reliability of the MAAS as a measure of mindfulness among youth and provide initial evidence of an association between mindfulness and academic achievement. This association strengthens the rationale to explore whether mindfulness‐based interventions can enhance academic outcomes by leveraging the malleability of mindfulness.     

Effects of Early Field Experience on Student Teachers’ Self-Concepts and Performance

This research was designed to determine whether (1) selecting a pre-student teaching field-based experience brought about significant differences in secondary student teachers’ self-concepts and performance; and (2) whether self-concept scores were predictors of performance ratings. Student teachers who had selected Project Interaction (PI) and those who had no early field experience (NF) were pre-and posttested on four self-concept variables, and rated on performance by cooperating teachers, supervisors, and by self-ratings. Pretest self-concept scores were correlated with performance ratings. Results indicated the PI group had significantly more conflict on the pretest, which was reversed on the posttest to produce a trend toward significantly less conflict. The PI group had significantly higher self-esteem than the NF group on the posttest. No significant differences were found on performance ratings, but cooperating teachers’ ratings did correlate with pretest self-concept scores. It was concluded that early field experience appeared to have latent positive effects on self-concept.