Purpose: This article develops a methodological framework to support qualitative analyses of legal texts. Scholars across the social sciences and humanities use qualitative methods to study legal phenomena but often overlook formal legal texts as productive sites for analysis. Moreover, when qualitative researchers do analyze legal texts, they…

With a personal and narrative style, preeminent educational historian Marybeth Gasman presents her research pertaining to HBCUs conducted over her 25-year career. In addition to conducting historical and large-scale qualitative studies related to HBCUs, Gasman has also served as a board of trustee member at three HBCUs--Paul Quinn College, St.…

This chapter provides an overview of the purpose, history, and process of accreditation and a context for understanding the legal considerations of accreditation.

Study abroad programs have proven beneficial for both the international student as well as the domestic community and school population interacting with the student. In an effort to promote cultural awareness, intercultural communications as well as opportunities for future study abroad program success, universities must take care to provide…

Behavior management can be a key to student, teacher, and district success. When students with disabilities are served, effective behavior management is even more critical. Failure to implement proper discipline with students with disabilities can have financial consequences. For students, the emotional toll can be greater, albeit intangible.…

Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death among college students in the United States. This complex issue on college campuses is often overlooked, and this book combines the efforts from several leaders in the field of suicidology in an attempt to grasp a better understanding of college student suicide. The book is divided into four…

The central failure of conventional, or positivistic inquiry has been the inability to handle deception in research and the violation of societal ethics, moral and legal caused by such deception. Moral dimensions include tests for whether the research would be approved by reasonable persons, whether it might pass the test of publicity, and whether…

Contemporary scholars researching the courts' impact on schools would profit from examining the well-funded studies conducted in the 1960s and early 1970s. This article discusses the substance of early judicial impact research and explores its relevance for today. Most 1960s impact studies dealt with United States Supreme Court decisions in three…

Twelve years have elapsed since Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), was passed by Congress. This paper accordingly reviews the far-reaching effects of EAHCA on the educational enterprise, focusing on the legal, administrative, and instructional challenges of disciplining handicapped students in a…

Presents R. Scarce's account of his jailing for refusal to divulge to the authorities information gathered for his doctoral research. Revealing the information would have been a violation of the American Sociological Association's Code of Ethics. Concludes with 13 concerns and suggestions for protecting scholarly research from legal intrusion.…

This exploratory study of 42 cases with sexual abuse allegations and polygraph results found that polygraph findings were unrelated to other evidence of likelihood of sexual abuse, including the child's statements, medical evidence, psychological symptoms, or indicators of sexual abuse. When alleged offenders passed polygraphs, criminal…

Recounts an incident where a sociologist heard stories challenging violations concerning toxic chemicals. Lawyers advised that corroborating these stories would obligate the sociologist to inform the authorities, thereby jeopardizing his sources. Discusses the ineffectuality of the American Sociological Associations' code of ethics and legal…

Pure research in school law is not possible, since the researcher must rely on inquiry that can be verified by experience and observation in the field. The studies produced in the past year tend to fall into the following classes: compliance, accountability, impact, cost-effectiveness, Supreme Court decisions, and the process by which minority law…

This summary reports the highlights of a survey on microcomputer usage in institutions of higher education which was sponsored in part by EDUCOM. Software issues are emphasized, including assistance in evaluation, integrating software into the curriculum, and policy and procedures concerning illegal access and duplication. (LRW)

The following administrative aspects of scientific experimentation with human subjects are discussed: the definition of human experimentation; the distinction between experimentation and treatment; investigator responsibility; documentation; the elements and principles of informed consent; and the administrator's role in establishing and…