Research in psychology and education tend to use large-N group designs that necessitate reporting of mean measures analyzed mostly with null hypothesis statistical testing (NHST), but sometimes with Bayesian, or the estimation approaches in inferential statistics. These approaches all render the average person or student as the the putative…

This article aims to help doctoral students in technical communication prepare themselves for the academic job market and for the subsequent process of earning tenure and promotion in increasingly demanding environments. The authors propose that students do four things: (a) learn to spot and articulate research problems; (b) find their…

In this article, the authors discuss the utility of combining quantitative and qualitative methods in conducting intersectional analyses. First, they discuss some of the paradigmatic underpinnings of qualitative and quantitative research, and how these methods can be used in intersectional analyses. They then consider how paradigmatic pragmatism…

In this article, the author discusses how researchers can use mixed-methods approaches and intersectional analyses to understand college access among first-generation Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). First, he discusses the utility of mixed-methods approaches and intersectionality research in studying college access. Then, he…

In this article, the author argues that current strategies to study and understand students' identities fall short of fully capturing their complexity. A multi-dimensional perspective and a mixed-methods approach can reveal nuance that is missed with current approaches. The author offers an illustration of how mixed-methods research can promote a…

The literature and typical approaches to reducing attrition among college students are critiqued, and a strategy for the identification of different interventions likely to have positive effects on retention rates of different student subgroups is proposed. It is claimed that a small sample approach to empirical testing of the combinations of…

The author describes the evaluation planning done for the Project for Science Integration in Ghana, with emphasis on the contextual limitations in a developing nation concerning the teachers, students, authors, materials, and finances. With careful planning, it was found that illuminating data for instructional improvement could be collected. (SJL)

Some policy initiatives can be effective with some forms of dropout in some subpopulations. Reduction, rather than elimination of attrition, and transfer as a means of meeting student needs should be considered more seriously. (Author/MSE)

Briefly reviews and criticizes recent research into declining undergraduate economics enrollment. Argues that this research fails to consider an integral variable, the student's perspective. Recommends a 1981 student survey profile as a model to follow for future research. (MJP)

Indexes of socioeconomic status (SES) are widely used in school and higher education because of the known relationship of low educational participation and achievement by socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Because an index of SES can predict which areas and social groups need to be "targeted" to improve educational participation,…

Briefly presents the results of a study comparing the responses of Asian Canadian students and European Canadian students for evidence of social responsibility bias. Using the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, the study found little evidence of bias. Discusses implications and weaknesses of the experiment. (MJP)

In response to a request from the California state legislature, a plan is proposed for obtaining information on the number of community college students eligible to transfer to the University of California and the California State University; the characteristics of those students who do and do not transfer; and the persistence and performance of…

The Transfer Assembly is a research effort of the Los Angeles-based Center for the Study of Community Colleges. The Assembly defines transfer students as "all students entering a two-year college in a given year who have no prior college experience, who complete at least 12 credit units at the college, and who subsequently enroll at a senior…

Issues and developments concerning the education of Israeli youth in residential schools are summarized in this report of a seminar which brought together educators from the United States and Israel. The first part of the report describes the residential school and gives its history as both part of a long tradition, and as it particularly evolved…