This article is the second in a series of three articles about microaggressions. All of the articles are tailored specifically to help enable faculty developers, provosts and directors of diversity and training, faculty, and administrators to address the most critical issues related to this topic in higher education. Specific responses to and…

This systematic review of the relationships between principal characteristics and student achievement was created for educators, administrators, policy-makers, and other individuals interested in a comprehensive catalogue of research on relations between principal characteristics and student achievement. It synthesizes what is known about…

In joint partnership, Achieve, The Council of Chief State School Officers, and Student Achievement Partners have developed a Toolkit for Evaluating the Alignment of Instructional and Assessment Materials to the Common Core State Standards. The Toolkit is a set of interrelated, freely available instruments for evaluating alignment to the CCSS; each…

In joint partnership, Achieve, The Council of Chief State School Officers, and Student Achievement Partners have developed a Toolkit for Evaluating the Alignment of Instructional and Assessment Materials to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The Toolkit is a set of interrelated, freely available instruments for evaluating alignment to the…

This qualitative study explores the nature of undergraduate commuter students' social involvement with peers during the transitional first six months of their university experience. Focus group interviews with 46 participants provided a student perspective of the role of social interactions in students' transition to university life. Findings…

A literature review, the experiences of the authors, and the results of the Project To Improve and Reward Teaching (PIRT) at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, are used to derive suggestions for change in academic departments. A qualitative study of change in eight PIRT departments has provided data to support the suggestions. Assessing the…

Useful reference material and a list of professional associations are provided for the institutional researcher interested in qualitative research. (MSE)

This paper explores six phases of a research project designed specifically to engage high school students as co-researchers in a multisite qualitative study exploring perceptions of tobacco use among high school students in four schools. It describes how university researchers collaborated with the high school students and summarizes seven major…

Groups from two Michigan-based science education projects, funded through the Kellogg Foundation Science Education Initiative, used networking conferences with cluster evaluation processes for their program assessment format. Cluster evaluation is categorized as a type of naturalistic evaluation, and it includes negotiated common cluster outcomes,…

As part of the revised method for quality assurance in higher education in England, a Task Group was established to identify the categories of data, information, and judgments about quality and standards of teaching and learning that should be available within higher education institutions (HEIs), and those that should be published. The Task Group…

By not specifying what they will attend to, and by virtue of the relatively extended amount of time they devote to exploring their phenomena, qualitative inquirers have practically no limit to what they can uncover. This is illustrated through data on the role of ethnicity in an ethnically diverse high school. (Author/BJV)

Policy analysis in higher education is distinct from but is informed by and can contribute to both institutional research and institutional planning. Policy analysis extends beyond data analysis, using many qualitative research methods and a degree of intuition, and focuses on specific issues, not systems as does planning. (MSE)

Ethnographic interviews offer the academic decision maker an alternative lens with which to gather information, develop hypotheses, and implement plans. Specific procedures must be followed to use the technique properly, and other research methods should accompany the ethnographic interview for increased validity. (MSE)

Qualitative research methods were used to examine practices at an elementary school providing inclusive schooling for students with and without disabilities. Findings indicated that systems change occurred slowly, intentionally, and with a collaborative process of decision making which stressed development of policies, conditions, and supports…

This book is a guide is for school practitioners who want to know more about planning and conducting focus groups as an aid to decision-making. It emphasizes practical and cost-effective ways to ensure accurate results. After defining the focus group, chapter 1 offers ways focus groups can be used in schools and reasons for using them. Chapter 2…