A STUDY OF OLDER STUDENTS ATTENDING UNIVERSITY CLASSES

Recently, March, Hooper, and Baum (1977) described a sample of 99 nonstudent elders in terms of their demographic characteristics and their attitudes toward lifelong learning. The sample was found to be well‐educated (mean years of education = 13.61, SD = 9.43), active in the community, well‐read, and fairly affluent. The majority demonstrated a quite open attitude toward the appropriateness of formal education in old age, but also felt that learning can be acquired outside the classroom: “living is learning.”

The present study was undertaken to similarly describe a sample of elderly people enrolled in the University of Wisconsin guest student program, and to contrast these respondents with those in the earlier study. The student group was found to be significantly younger than the nonstudent group (mean = 70.78, SD = 7.21 vs. mean = 74.69, SD = 8.45; t = 2.87, p < .001). Although there is no difference in the mean years of education of the two groups, there is significantly greater variability in years of education in the student group (F = 10.98, p < .001), with 50.4% of the nonstudent group versus 21.6% of the student group having 12 years of education or less. Additionally, it was found that only 10 of the 139 student respondents did not have either personal or vicarious personal (through familial significant others) experience with higher education in youth.

The respondents’ stated preference for class format and student group age is also summarized, and some implications for educational gerontology are discussed.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relations Among Professional Development,Educators’ Beliefs and Perceived Skills,and Response-to-Intervention Implementation

ABSTRACT

Professional development is a critical systems-level intervention thought to facilitate Response-to-Intervention (RtI) implementation. The current study examined the relations between professional development, educator outcomes, and problem-solving implementation within an RtI framework using growth curve modeling. School leadership teams from pilot schools (n = 34) participated in 3 years of training. Pilot schools also received job-embedded coaching. Comparison schools (n = 27) provided a referent group. Results indicated that problem-solving implementation increased faster at pilot schools (β = 0.10, SE = 0.05, t = 2.03, p < .05). In addition, beliefs regarding data-based decision-making (β = 0.36, SE = 0.17, t = 2.13, p < .05) and perceived problem-solving skills applied to academics (β = 0.30, SE = 0.10, t = 3.07, p < .01) positively related to implementation. Implications include the needs to further explore professional development activities and for consultants to utilize evidence-based professional development principles when supporting RtI implementation.     

The Evolution of GIS Services within North American Academic Libraries: Documenting Change through the Decades (1995–2016)

This review was conducted to identify articles written about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) services offered in the United States (US) and Canadian university and college libraries. In the early 1990's, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) GIS Literacy Project, in partnership with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), helped enable ARL member libraries to create GIS services within their libraries. By the mid to late 1990's, librarians from academic institutions began to write articles that discussed how their library developed GIS services and the components involved with operating a GIS service. Writing about GIS services in academic libraries continued on into the 2000's and 2010's. This review of the literature will document the areas of staffing, service, technology, and data provision for GIS service units from three decades (1990's, 2000's, and 2010's).     

Design Research as a Mechanism for Consultants to Facilitate and Evaluate Educational Innovations

Schools across the nation are implementing innovative practices; however, questions remain regarding how to facilitate quality implementation. Research designs that emphasize high degrees of control over independent variables result in findings with internal validity, but that may not generalize to complex, dynamic educational systems. The purpose of this article is to propose a design research framework as a mechanism for consultants to facilitate and evaluate innovation implementation. Information on design research principles and processes is provided, and issues to consider when applying the framework are discussed. An illustration of how a design research framework was applied in a large-scale initiative to implement and evaluate Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation is also provided. Finally, issues and questions to consider relative to consultants' use of design research principles are explored.     

A note on attrition among college presidents, 1971–1974

Returning to the same stratified random sample of American colleges and universities studied by Cohen and March (1974) during the 1969–1970 academic year, the authors explore the extent to which theoretical estimates of attrition rates presented by Cohen and March predict recent presidential departures within their sample. They find that in the past four years (1971–1974) there has been little change in the attrition pattern among college presidents in this national sample. If there has been any change it is very small and in the direction of slightly longer tenure among presidents of large universities.     

Design optimization on the front wheel orientation parameters of a vehicle

1. Introduction In order to improve the driving operation performance, the front suspension of a vehicle is generally of McPherson independent style, which can simplify the structure, lighten the unsprung mass, and conveniently arrange the engine and steering system. Moreover, it can adapt to many types of springs and is of advantage to adjust the height of the vehicle. In such a system, the axis of the kingpin is the line between the upper damper end and the intersection of the transverse ar…     

Children's early child care and their mothers' later involvement with schools

Theory and policy highlight the role of child care in preparing children for the transition into school. Approaching this issue in a different way, this study investigated whether children's care experiences before this transition promoted their mothers' school involvement after it, with the hypothesized mechanism for this link being the cultivation of children's social and academic skills. Analyses of 1,352 children (1 month-6 years) and parents in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development revealed that mothers were more involved at their children's schools when children had prior histories of high-quality nonparental care. This pattern, which was fairly stable across levels of maternal education and employment, was mediated by children's academic skills and home environments.     

An evaluation of a program to prevent the sexual victimization of young children

Young children (ages 4 and 5) and school-aged children (6 to 10) from a day-care center were randomly assigned to a sexual abuse prevention training group and a wait-list control group. Children in the prevention training group were exposed to a three-hour program teaching common sexual abuse prevention concepts (e.g., the difference between OK and not-OK touches). Children in both groups were given a structured interview before and after the prevention group received training. Results of a repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance indicate that children in the prevention training group significantly increased their knowledge of prevention concepts while children in the control group did not. Older children learned more than younger children. Both younger and older children had greater difficulty learning prevention concepts of an abstract nature than concepts of a specific nature.     

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS RELATED TO ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUNG ELITE FEMALE GYMNASTS

A sample of 162 young Australian elite and non elite competitive female gymnasts were administered the Sport Competition Anxiety Test for Children, the Coopersmith Self‐esteem Inventory, the Perceived Competence Scale for Children and the Children's Nowicki‐Strickland Internal‐External Control Scale. Stepwise discriminant function analysis showed that the elite gymnasts could be discriminated from non elite on the basis of higher levels of general, physical, and cognitive competence, and higher levels of self‐esteem. The results supported the findings of previous investigations and indicated clear differences in psychological factors between elite and non elite gymnasts.