This report describes the methods and procedures used for the full-scale data collection effort of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study First Follow-Up 1996-98 (BPS:96/98). These students, who started their postsecondary education during the 1995-96 academic year, were first interviewed during 1996 as part of the National…

While there are severe limitations on the availability, comparability, and reliability of education statistics for the United States and other major foreign nations, a comparison of data reveals that the relative ranking of the United States among other nations with respect to educational participation in general is high, but that it is low in…

A discussion of in-depth interviewing as a method for research on language teaching and learning situates the technique within the continuum of research methodology and differentiates it from quantitative research methods. The strengths and weaknesses of in-depth interviewing are examined, methods of sampling are discussed, and advice on the…

The development of a science education that includes a focus upon the nature of science suggests the need for "pedagogic tools" that can be used to engage children with the procedural understandings that are central to the scientific approach to enquiry. This paper reports on a collaborative action research project that focused on the…

The study of consciousness requires a language for exact and precise communication. This research project investigated how workers from different cultural contexts value information that is relevant to their job performance. Thirty-five randomly selected mechanics, from Sweden, England, West Germany, Italy, and the United States, were selected as…

This study explored some practical issues for single-case researchers who rely on visual analysis of graphed data, but who also may consider supplemental use of promising statistical analysis techniques. The study sought to answer three major questions: (a) What is a typical range of effect sizes from these analytic techniques for data from…

The Arlington, Washington, School District--a mostly rural district with enrollment of 2,790--conducted a survey of its public using both blanket mailing and random sampling procedures in order to compare the views of the total population with the views of the typically small percentage who mail back a questionnaire. The questionnaire contained 29…

Since educational statistics, which are relatively easy to obtain, can only attempt to measure "quality," this paper asks how quality in higher education is assessed and how educational rankings, which are defined as benchmarks or attempts to measure, contribute to this process. The paper notes that while attempts to rank institutions of…

The Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CCSEQ) is an instrument designed to determine how community college students spend their time and what quality of effort they put into learning. Specifically, the content of the questionnaire focuses on four elements: who students are and why they are at the college; how extensively and…

The Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CCSEQ) is designed to determine how community college students spend their time and the quality of effort that they put into the learning process. This updated manual describes elements of the CCSEQ and presents findings from 56 community colleges that have administered the questionnaire as…

This report examines issues related to the performance indicators used for international comparisons of Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system. Chapter 2 examines main sources of international comparisons of VET and main features of indicator frameworks used for comparisons. Chapter 3 presents an outline of these two main…

Data from the Work History and Attitudes survey of the Social Change and Economic Life research initiative (SCELI) enquiry of 1986-1989 and the first wave of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) were analyzed to determine their continuity and comparability with regard to employee attitudes in general and job satisfaction and work centrality…

The contribution of occupational profiling to explaining and forecasting job satisfaction were analyzed by using data on job satisfaction for 33,249 workers from waves 1-7 of the British Household Panel Survey. Overall job satisfaction gradients were defined for major and minor groups of occupations in the United Kingdom's Standard Occupational…

The data presented in this National Education Association report provide facts about public educational resources committed by local, state, and national governments for state and local affiliates, researchers, policymakers, and the public as a tool to examine public education services. Regardless of state-by-state variations, improvements in…

This Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development report documents the growing demand for learning around the world. A quantitative description of the functioning of education systems allows for international comparisons and the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to providing quality education. Chapter 1,…