With today's technology, Extension professionals have a variety of tools available for program evaluation. This article describes an innovative platform called VoiceThread that has been used in many classrooms but also is useful for conducting virtual focus group research. I explain how this tool can be used to collect qualitative participant…

Research-informed policy and practice is needed for older caregivers of adult sons/daughters with disabilities. These caregivers are often under tremendous stress because of failing health, financial pressures, bereavement and worry about the future of their sons/daughters. Twenty-nine older parents/caregivers of 27 adults with intellectual and/or…

Children's theatre in the UK is thriving. Debates about why children should watch theatre and what educational, emotional and expressive benefits it can provide inform cultural policy on education. Children aged 4-11 are increasingly taken to watch tailored theatre performances, yet there has been virtually no reflective research on what theatre…

One issue of interest to practitioners and researchers in science centres concerns what meanings visitors are making from their interactions with exhibits and how they make sense of these experiences. The research reported in this study is an exploratory attempt, therefore, to investigate this process by using video clips and still photographs of…

Student victimization in schools is a major concern of educators, policymakers, administrators, parents, and students. Understanding the scope of the criminal victimization of students, as well as the factors associated with it, is an essential step in developing solutions to address the issues of school crime and violence. This report uses data…

Perceptions of children and teachers were examined to address concerns regarding children's welfare following sociometric testing. Third-graders (N = 91) were interviewed; teachers also reported on each child's responses to the testing. Results indicate that children were not hurt or upset by the testing, most enjoyed the procedures, did not feel…

The estimation processes used by fifth through eighth grade students as they responded to computational estimation test items were examined. Interview-based process descriptions were cross-validated using large group test data from an open-ended test and a multiple choice test. Five question formats were used to test different estimation…

Although largely left out of the No Child Left Behind legislation, social studies remains a frequently tested subject on state-level standardized exams. As of 2004, 23 states conducted standards-based social studies tests, 10 of which could be considered high stakes. Where social studies will fit into the national testing picture is uncertain, but…

This study, with 114 children (ages 4 to 10), examined effects of explaining 2 conversation rules ("I don't know" is an acceptable answer, and the interviewer can't help in answering questions) prior to interviewing children regarding a staged event each child had witnessed. Results suggest that the rules reduce suggestibility and could…

Reports research in which 66 Black inner city students in grades 3 to 6 were interviewed about their perceptions of themselves as math learners. Focuses on student responses to questions about the causes of problem difficulty and the effects of that difficulty on their inner speech, feelings, and motivation to learn. (CB)

This article reports on the emotional impact of Threshold Assessment on teachers and schools. Using data from an ESRC funded project, 'The impact of Performance Threshold Assessment on teachers' work' (ESRC R000239286), we seek to contribute to a growing literature on teachers' emotions by sharing some of the insights gained from 76 interviews…

This study compared and analyzed the language capabilities of 10 school-age children raised in either single parent homes resulting from divorce or in two parent families. More specifically, it compared the context and complexity of oral personal event narratives produced by both groups of children. The study also investigated the usefulness and…

The efficacy of the random digit dialing method in telephone surveys was examined. Random digit dialing (RDD) generates a pure random sample and provides the advantage of including unlisted phone numbers, as well as numbers which are too new to be listed. Its disadvantage is that it generates a major proportion of nonworking and business…

A review of current guides for and advice on preparing distance education materials suggests that such aids are inadequate to help solve the problems faced by course developers because of several underlying assumptions: (1) there is no need for advice on the preparation process--establishing an ideal of the desired product is enough; (2) good…

This report summarizes the findings of an impact study of the National Science Foundation (NSF) program of Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching (PAESMT). In 1994, NSF commissioned a company to conduct a series of informal conversations with 115 of the 430 awardees to gather more systematic information on what it…