This book addresses the validity of think-aloud protocols (TAPs) in L2 writing research through a mixed methods study and proposes effective approaches for their valid implementation. The book uncovers the reactive effects that TAPs have on L2 writing performance and processes, and examines how individual factors moderate this reactivity. It…

This book explores the interplay between English for specific purposes (ESP) and English-medium instruction (EMI), the complementary ways in which EMI and ESP are implemented in different contexts, as well as teaching and assessing challenges. Furthermore, it considers teaching practices used by ESP professionals and the kind of support given to…

This book investigates the content of the grammar syllabus typically employed in mainstream English Language Teaching. Using a mixed-methods approach, the author examines how the syllabuses used in coursebooks are actually constructed, how they evolved and how valid their contents are as a basis for teaching. The research reported consists of a…

This book is the first comprehensive investigation of interlanguage pragmatic issues in a primary school context that is based on both primary school teachers' statements on their own teaching realities, views and preferences, and a thorough investigation of materials used by teachers and recommended by teacher educators in the state the primary…

This book is unique in bringing together studies on instructed second language acquisition that focus on a common question: "What renders this research particularly relevant to classroom applications, and what are the advantages, challenges, and potential pitfalls of the methodology adopted?" The empirical studies feature experimental,…

This book is the first to bring together a collection of recent empirical studies investigating languaging, an important construct first introduced by Swain in 2006 but which has since been deployed in a growing number of L2 studies. The contributing authors include both established and emerging authors from around the globe. They report on…

Cross-cultural studies of mental health and illness generally adhere to one of two agendas: the comparison of mental health between sites using standard measurement tools, or the identification of locally specific ways of discussing mental illness. Here, we illustrate a methodological approach to measuring mental health that unites these two…

This article develops the idea that the sciences of the design perspective offer a more adequate solution for bridging the gap between explanations and prescriptions in educational research. This idea is developed over the following steps: first, the scope of the analysis and the problem of the relationship between explanations and prescription…

Higher education research is a developing field internationally, attracting more and more researchers from a great variety of disciplinary backgrounds within and beyond higher education institutions. As such, it is an arena within which a wide range of theories, methods, and methodologies are being applied. As an expanding multidisciplinary area…

This paper is meant to highlight the occurrence of Simpson's Paradox when using aggregated data obtained from two IEA studies in Israel, while ignoring the effect of a powerful intervening variable in the local context--the ethnicity factor. It will demonstrate faulty conclusions regarding either the absence of relationships between a contextual…

In this paper we discuss several key challenges encountered when conducting a study of the continuity of participation in the child care subsidy program. While many of these issues are familiar to those who have studied participation dynamics in other assistance programs, and to those familiar with survival analysis, we describe these challenges…

The nation is showing an unprecedented focus on increasing the rigor in education and preparing students for college. The college readiness trend is driving changes in the ways in which the nation uses student test data. Educational data are no longer limited to static data snapshots showing the status of a student performance at one point in…

Eight different variable selection techniques for model-based and non-model-based clustering are evaluated across a wide range of cluster structures. It is shown that several methods have difficulties when non-informative variables (i.e., random noise) are included in the model. Furthermore, the distribution of the random noise greatly impacts the…

The treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a matter of ongoing research and debate, with considerable data supporting both psychopharmacological and behavioral approaches. Researchers continue to search for new interventions to be used in conjunction with or in place of the more traditional approaches. These interventions run the…

The purpose of this paper is to offer an analytic perspective to policy makers and educational practitioners regarding how to use longitudinal achievement data to evaluate schools. The authors further discuss the potential practical applications of their models for superintendents, researchers, and policy makers. The premise of the study is that…