Educational researchers and policymakers need to understand the ecological correlation fallacy, since so much bad research (and policy) has been based on it. Aggregate data may or may not yield results that are true for individuals. Only individual-level data can correctly answer questions about the relationship between variables for individuals.…

When students are taught with approaches matching their preferences as identified in Rita Dunn's "Learning Style Inventory," they demonstrate statistically higher achievement and attitude test scores than when taught with approaches mismatching their preferences. Learning styles must be identified with a reliable instrument, because…

Using observational data on classroom teachers, statistical procedures are presented for studying two questions on the stability of teacher behavior over time: (1) Is the individual teacher's behavior consistent? and (2) Are individual differences among teachers consistent? Approaches and methods of previous temporal stability studies are…

There is probably no widespread educational practice as thoroughly discredited as retention in grade. If the research undercutting this practice is sound, the task is to uproot outdated misconceptions appealing to educators'"common sense" wisdom. An Arizona study's influence on the attitudes of community leaders, local teachers, and…

People leading renewing lives typically recognize and break out of ruts; engage in self-inquiry; view education as a lifelong process; embrace failure as a learning experience; and pursue mutually respectful, caring relationships--a complex process. Reformers often ignore organizational complexities in pursuit of outdated accountability notions.…

Forty-five brief papers cover four areas: research integration methodology; standard curriculum topics in educational research and evaluation; individual differences and special programs suited to particular groups of students; and programs of research integration being conducted by the University of Illinois-Chicago Circle and the National…

Learning styles represent a type of aptitude-treatment interaction suggesting that a person's distinctive characteristics (aptitudes) can be matched to a specific treatment (instructional method) yielding a more effective outcome than could otherwise have been achieved. Special education research does not support categorizing youngsters or using…

A review of literature relevant to equal educational opportunity is presented in order to support an argument for the use of normative models in educational research. The literature review shows that confusion over the 1966 Coleman Report was due to a mismatch between the implied reform objective of the report and its statistical approach. The…

Presents a framework for conceptualizing development of individual differences in reading ability that emphasizes the effects of reading on cognitive development and on "bootstrapping" relationships involving reading. Uses the framework to explicate some persisting problems in the literature on reading disability and to conceptualize…

This volume represents an effort to develop a definitive reference work on research in mathematics education. The reference is divided into two parts. Part 1, on the research process, focuses on problems of research methods and their relevance to research in mathematics education. Part 1 also introduces the beginner to some of the issues and…