The last decades have seen the completion of an increasing number of qualitative comparative research projects on teaching. Challenges and benefits which might arise from a qualitative international comparative research design have been considered. However, very little has been published on challenges and benefits which may arise from using…

Education reform is increasingly portrayed as a quest to achieve a "world class" education system through a process of identifying and adopting the practices of those systems whose pupils perform best in league tables of achievement. This is the rationale for the range of new policies proposed by the coalition government in the schools…

This document is part of a series of chapters described in SO 011 759. Addressing the problems of studying change and the change process, the report argues that sociologists should study coupled changes in qualitative and quantitative outcomes (e.g., marital status and earnings). The author presents a model for sociological studies of change in…

A SUGGESTED MODEL FOR ADEQUATE DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS CONSIDERS FOUR PRIMARY BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION--(1) DIVISION OF PERSONNEL LABOR INTO TASK ROLES, (2) INSTITUTIONAL DISTINCTIONS, (3) DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE GROUPS, AND (4) GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS. SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS INCLUDE LINKING SYSTEMS AND ROLES,…

The document, part of a series of chapters described in SO 011 759, examines sociological research methods for the study of change. The advantages and procedures for dynamic analysis of event-history data (data giving the number, timing, and sequence of changes in a categorical dependent variable) are considered. The authors argue for grounding…

The document, part of a series of chapters described in SO 011 759, considers the problem of censoring in the analysis of event-histories (data on dated events, including dates of change from one qualitative state to another). Censoring refers to the lack of information on events that occur before or after the period for which data are available.…

This paper provides a critical review of the state of the comparative study of educational innovation and reform and proceeds to identify a number of theoretical issues and challenges on which further comparative work is likely to shed additional light. The review portion of the paper deals with the heuristic, political, and theoretical utility of…

Considers comparative education's relevance to Asian educational development, recommending ways to improve the effectiveness and research base of comparative education. Examines Asia's diversity and comparative education's role in solving common problems. Highlights the Asian and Pacific Programme of Educational Innovations for Development (APEID)…