Emergent Mentor Behavior of community college and research university faculty, from hard and soft disciplines, was studied to determine the frequency and type of behavior in which they engaged in their normal role and customary behavior. The investigator utilized a Faculty Activity Questionnaire in seeking the answers to the following questions: (1) Is there a significant interaction between institutional type and academic discipline on emergent mentor behavior? (2) Is there a significant effect of community college or research university on emergent mentor behavior? (3) Is there a significant effect of Biglan's Hard and Soft disciplines on emergent mentor behavior? / Emergent Mentor Behavior was identified as the composite score of seven (7) elements of mentor behavior described by Levinson (1978): teach, sponsor, counsel, host guide, exemplar, developer of skills and intellect and supporter of the dream. / The differences between mean scores of faculty at a community college and a research university in Hard and Soft academic disciplines were computed. An analysis of variance was used to determine the significance of the differences. Type and frequency of behavior was determined by adding scores and utilizing a scale. / Frequency of Emergent Mentor Behavior (EMB) was identified by a composite score of all mentor behavior element scores. Type of mentor behavior was identified by a composite score derived from four (4) behavior statements representing each mentor behavior element. / Faculty were found to engage in emergent mentor behavior, "sometimes", once or twice per month. The most frequent mentor behavior element engaged in by faculty was supporter of the dream and the least frequent behavior elements were host guide and exemplar. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-03, Section: A, page: 0734. / Major Professor: David W. Leslie. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

While studies largely support Tinto's model of student retention, consistent estimates of effects are lacking. Furthermore, many two-year institutions are largely commuter institutions, bringing into question the usefulness of a retention model which stresses social integration. Consequently, the problem is that the effects of academic and social integration on student persistence among residential, two-year college students are uncertain since this population has not specifically been targeted in the field of student retention research. / The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the problem of student departure at Abraham Baldwin College (ABAC), a two-year residential college in Tifton, Georgia, by studying the patterns of student persistence among four student groups: commuting students, residential students, academically high-risk students and students considered not to be at risk academically. / Abraham Baldwin College's student database was the source of data for this study. An institutional survey was conducted during the spring quarter 1991 of 846 students (39.4 percent of the student population) which added to this database items concerning the academic and social integration of the students. The hypotheses were tested using a t-test for contrasting beta weights. / Even though only two of the six hypotheses were statistically significant, the results provided by the standardized regression coefficients were consistent with much of the previous research on student retention. These results indicated that social integration served as a greater estimate of effect on persistence among both the residential students and those students considered to be "not-at-risk" academically. Social integration had a negative effect on persistence among the developmental studies students (academically at-risk students). / Academic integration served as a greater estimate of effect for the commuting students and the developmental studies students. Consequently, the commuting student group and the developmental studies students share patterns of persistence and a mutual need: academic integration. The necessity for all students to become integrated into the academics of college life is vital but more so for the academically at-risk and commuting students. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-03, Section: A, page: 0682. / Major Professor: Louis Bender. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

This study was developed in response to the lack of positive interventions for middle school students with school behavior problems. This study involved the development, implementation, and evaluation of a social-cognitive group treatment program for this group of at-risk students. A total of 35 students were randomly selected from three middle schools. Subjects were also randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group at each school using a pretest-posttest control group design. Scores from the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, Teachers Self-Control Rating Scale, and two collateral measures were used to assess subjects' cognitive and behavioral changes before and immediately following the treatment program. To ensure group equivalency prior to treatment, the pretest scores were analyzed for group differences. Three outside observers rated the group leader on an Observer Checklist form at the conclusion of each group session to ensure that it was carried out in an accurate and consistent manner at all three schools. The interobserver agreement on the Observer Checklist was 81%. / Statistically significant differences between pretest and posttest scores from the N-SLCS and the TSCRS were found for the treatment group but not for the control group. These findings provided evidence that this school-based social cognitive group treatment program produced significant changes in treatment subjects' perceptions of locus of control and teacher-reported self-control. Moreover, since the TSCRS is a teacher-reported instrument, changes on this measure provided evidence that changes in subjects' self-control were generalizable from the treatment setting to the classroom setting. There were no significant differences in outcomes among treatment subjects based upon their race and gender or based upon the treatment setting. The implications of these findings for school social work practice and future research are discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-06, Section: A, page: 2273. / Major Professor: Curtis H. Krishef. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

This dissertation examines the high school dropout problem in Florida using 1980 Census data. The principal advantage of working with Census data is that a microeconomic approach to the dropout question is facilitated by the large number of observations available in the five percent sample. This technique overcomes many of the disadvantages associated with alternative aggregate models. There are three key elements which play a role in the student's dropout calculus: (a) background variables, (b) schooling inputs, and (c) opportunity cost considerations. / U.S. Census data was analyzed using a series of logistic regressions. The results indicated that parental education, the marital status of the parent, marriage before graduation, and early child bearing are the primary determinants of the dropout rate. These findings are consistent with the supporting literature. The data also indicate that minorities are less likely to drop out than their Caucasian counterparts, ceteris paribus. Also significant within the minority community are the adolescent's ability to speak English and living in a household engaged in migrant work. / The results pertaining to schooling inputs and opportunity cost were less harmonious than the results for the background variables. Expenditures per pupil and the student-teacher ratio are the only schooling variables which are consistently significant. The opportunity cost variables are best understood by viewing males and females separately. For males, a farming background and a lower local unemployment rate tend to increase the dropout rate. For females, an increase in the availability of jobs suitable to teens tends to increase the dropout rate. / The Florida dropout model was tested on five additional states (Georgia, Arizona, Louisiana, Connecticut, and Minnesota) and explains 62% of the variation in the dropout rates of these states. The model predicts best for females who live in states with high dropout rates. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1832. / Major Professor: James D. Gwartney. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

This study examined differences in attrition of 17,919 traditional-age students under the age of 25 and adults 25 and older who entered the University System of Georgia as degree-seeking freshmen during the fall, 1983. / Multi-institutional data over a seven-year period were used to compare traditional-age and adult dropout rates as well as the relationship of selected background and college academic variables to withdrawal. Chi-square analysis and analysis of variance determined significant differences between dropouts and persisters. Stepwise discriminant analyses were computed to compare the ability of the combined variables to distinguish between dropouts and persisters in the total student population and in these age groups. / Adults withdrew at a significantly higher rate than younger students, and differences were also noted in the association of background variables and withdrawal. Adult women more than men continued in this higher education system, and older whites were more likely than minorities to persist. Gender showed little association with traditional-age withdrawal, nor did race, once its relationship with other dependent variables was considered. High school GPA, SAT verbal aptitude, and SAT math aptitude showed a stronger relationship to traditional-age dropout than to adult withdrawal. / College academic variables showed little age-related differences. Younger and older dropouts were more likely than persisters to enroll in fewer hours, have lower educational aspirations, and earn a lower college GPA. / Discriminant analysis accounted for 28.4% of the variance between dropouts and persisters, whereas only 10.4% was explained for adults. The discriminant function correctly classified 78% of the younger dropouts and persisters, but only 64.07% of the adults. Discriminant analysis performed on the total population masked distinctions evident in the separate analyses of these age groups. / These findings support the contention that variables associated with younger student attrition may not relate to adult withdrawal. They thus demonstrate a need for a contingency approach in which variables related to adults are identified in order to develop appropriate responses to the specific problems of these students. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1659. / Major Professor: Allen Tucker. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2007. / Title from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 24, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0514. Adviser: Chalmer E. Thompson.

International students attending colleges and universities in the United States are eligible for temporary professional employment to complement their academic training. However, most of these students, who are culturally different, have not had the exposure to career development concepts that would prepare them for the job search and American workplace. Most educational institutions do not have available the specialized career counseling and job placement information needed to prepare this unique population for their cross-cultural vocations. A handbook with a cross-cultural perspective was developed to aid the international student in identifying career resources available in this country, interpret the immigration regulations governing practical training and prepare him or her for reentry into a career in the home country.

In the contemporary society choice of career is sex-stereotyped. There are more females in educational and nursing careers, and there are more males in engineering and science careers. Females and males perceive their roles in the society in a sex-stereotyped way and they try to fit into culturally appropriate sex-roles. People make causal attributions for different situations in life and think and behave according to the causal attributions they make. The research question of this dissertation asks if sex-role and attributional style affect career choices, and if the answer is different across cultures. Two studies were concerned with the relationship between sex-role, attributional style, and career choices at college and high school levels in two different cultures (the United States and Romania). Comparisons were made also between females in single-sex high school and coeducational high schools. A third study determined the changes in career choices following attributional retraining. Results from the studies show that career choices are sex-stereotyped and sex-roles influence choice of career in both cultures. The sex-stereotypical choice of careers is more evident in Romania. Females in single-sex education schools report more adaptive sex-roles and attributional styles, and they choose more diverse career fields than females in coeducational schools. Attributional retraining is related to changes in career choices.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of juveniles who have had contact with the legal system over the past 10 years. However, there is a dearth of research investigating the forensic services provided to juvenile offenders by psychologists. The goal of the present study was to assess the types of forensic services psychologists provide to pre-adjudicated juvenile index offenders. One hundred and thirty-seven registrants of the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (NR) replied to one of three versions of a questionnaire. Data were obtained regarding demographic and professional characteristics of respondents, whether they conduct forensic evaluations, and whether they provide forensic interventions. Results indicated that the majority of psychologists who provide forensic services to juvenile offenders are Caucasian males, approximately 51 years of age, who work in private practice or do private consultations, and who have been in practice for approximately 19 years. Furthermore, the majority of these psychologists are members of the American Psychological Association, received their Ph.D. degree from a graduate program in clinical psychology, and received no formal or supervised predoctoral or postdoctoral training in forensic psychology. The frequent legal/forensic questions psychologists are asked to address when conducting forensic evaluations are placement recommendations, followed by competency to stand trial, treatment recommendations, and whether a juvenile should be transferred to adult criminal court. Regardless of the type of legal/forensic question asked, psychologists frequently use the following assessment methods: juvenile and/or parent interview, a Wechsler Scale of Intelligence, the MMPI, and the Rorschach. They also review archival data on the juvenile, such as educational and psychological records and police reports. Reducing the risk for recidivism is the primary reason why psychologists are asked to provide forensic interventions, and the most common intervention provided is cognitive-behavioral therapy. The most commonly used outcome measure assessing treatment progress is a behavior checklist or rating scale. The results of the present study were compared to the existing literature on psychological services provided to juvenile offenders. Limitations of the present study and suggestions for subsequent research are also discussed.

Counselors are currently being scrutinized as to their place in a community college setting. Administrative units are questioning whether counselors are necessary, and whether they should maintain their past role. But before changes are made, the full scope of the role needs to be examined. Previous studies have concentrated on role definition, looking primarily at which tasks counselors perform and their job satisfaction. I first examine the counselor's role using a role definition format to provide a baseline of data to compare with other studies. Then I considered three other elements--intangible services, professionalization, and the bureaucratic setting--that I proposed were contributing to the uncertain position of counselors in community colleges. This is a qualitative case study of community college counselors. Personal interviews with counselors were utilized as the primary source of data. The case study institution is a large, urban, multi-campus community college. Results indicate that counselors are satisfied with their generalist role of providing primarily career and academic counseling, providing a very small percentage of personal counseling and providing a variety of other services. This is unlike the literature which suggests that counselors are dissatisfied with the generalist role and prefer a more specialized personal counseling role. The counselors in this study were frustrated by their perceived role by other groups. They felt misunderstood and unappreciated. Consequently, they searched for ways to make their services more visible and understandable. They also relied heavily on their professional status to validate their role. But rather than emphasizing their traditional professional counseling characteristics like the use of a theoretical body of knowledge or specialized training and certification, they underscored their similarity to the instructional faculty who command the highest professional status in community colleges. The counselor's role was also highly effected by bureaucratization. The very nature of bureaucracies induces human interaction that is brief and efficient, but not necessarily meaningful. Improving human interaction is where counselors need to focus their efforts, rather than dwelling on professional status. And, administrators must also consider human interaction rather than just dividing tasks and measuring the number of students served.