Presents three studies investigating discrepancies in published American research on participation and its outcomes. The first study, a longitudinal review of research published between 1950 and 1985, showed societal trends affected research questions, methodology, and magnitude of reported effects. The other two studies corroborated these…

A 20-year study of 31 artists as students and as professionals reveals that skills in finding and formulating problems are significantly related to creative achievement. Accordingly, educators should turn their attention to teaching such skills. (MCG)

This case study is a continuation of a research project that investigated 149 mentoring teams in four school districts over a two-year period. The primary goal in the first phase of the study was to identify mentoring teams that were regularly encountering problems, introduce intervention procedures, and assess the effectiveness of those…

A longitudinal, comparative case study examines the impact of enrollment decline on and the response to it by 15 suburban school districts in 2 metropolitan areas. Data were collected during 1978-81 through interviews, observation of public meetings, documentary and statistical sources, and case histories developed for each district from 1964-81.…

Problem behavior at school "interferes with the educational process and places a burden on teachers" (U.S. Department of Education 2002, p. III-17). Disciplinary problems have long been linked to negative outcomes for students with disabilities, such as course failure and dropping out of school (Wagner et al. 1991). Parents, administrators,…

A study investigated possible differences in standardized patient examination scores for three groups of undergraduate (n=176) and graduate (n=221) medical students assessed at different sites over two years. Results show no systematic change in scores over testing dates, suggesting no problems with breach of test security. (MSE)

Reveals findings of a longitudinal study concerning high school dropout rates among African-American students. Identifies a link between maternal educational attainment and the likelihood that a child will complete high school. Concludes that initially poor academic performance, aggressive behavior, and poverty increase the likelihood of…

Reports on the impact of an introductory biology course sequence that incorporated experience-based, group learning. Achievement results indicate that students were not disadvantaged by this new approach and, in fact, displayed a superior grasp of group-work, open lab utilization, and creative problem solutions. Attitudes regarding anxiety over…

This final volume of a six-volume study of an elementary school called "Kensington" in a school district code-named "Milford," examines its own assumptions and procedures. After the brief, introductory chapter, which presents the methodological appendixes of the preceding volumes as a serial, chapter 2 discusses exploratory and…