A centralized evaluation unit within the California State Department of Education is responsible for evaluating programs administered by the state. Focusing on these educational program evaluations, the principal objectives of this study were to: (1) Describe the major components of the current program evaluation system; (2) Examine the planning…

Some 450 studies and other items judged to be of key importance to research on television and human behavior are summarized. For empirical research, each summary presents: (1) principal findings; (2) design and methodology; (3) theory and discussion. For theory, review and nonempirical works, each summary presents: principal conclusions and theory…

Using either an individuals' socioeconomic or ethnic status to predict his prospects for academic achievement or future employment is considered likely to be inaccurate and perhaps even immoral. The action implications of present socioeconomic and ethnic patterns of goal attainment are said to be in dispute. In order to contemplate the value of…

The report presents the findings of a study conducted to determine priority areas for research in vocational-technical education in Maine for 1975-77 as perceived by practitioners. A list of vocational education research areas was developed as a survey questionnaire and administered to 244 professional staff members of the seven postsecondary…

This article provides an overview of the research in the area of black family studies which directly relates to sex role development. Weaknesses in the early black sex roles research are outlined, and insights from recent studies are cited. Several statements are made about sex role development in black families, as this has been described in the…

Three obstacles appear to frustrate the potential contribution of empirical research and social science to policy formulation. First there is the inherent conflict in the political decision making process; second, reality is so complex it defeats our ability to locate the sphere of understanding which we should apply; third, knowledge presupposes…

Appendix A, "Data Analysis When Students Change from Smaller to Larger Schools between the Pre-test and Post-test of the First Year," discusses a methodological problem involved in planning the approximate number of questionnaires to be administered in program. Appendix B, "Estimates of Sample Sizes and Data Collection Costs," includes five…

The significance of this essay for English educators and research specialists lies in its analysis of the demands of and criteria for valid research, frequently ignored by researchers in English today. Using as a case in point Roger K. Applebee's article, "National Study of High School English Programs: A Record of English Teaching Today"…

This report outlines three aspects of research and innovation in higher education. First, the relevance of social science research methods to educational policy is discussed in relation to the bureaucratic and democratic distribution of power in higher education. Second, research and innovation are discussed and applied toward determining the…

This document comprises three presentations made on March 23 at a symposium sponsored by the Southern Regional Council focusing on Human Intelligence, Social Science and Social Policy. The first of the three parts of the document is the text of the principal presentation, made by Dr. Leon Kamin, Chariman of the Department of Psychology at…

This article suggests a method for determining and depicting language dominance through the use of parallel tests of aural ability in two languages. In addition, the use of a two-dimensional graph consisting of the proficiency levels within each language appears fruitful as a means of depicting such dominance scores in the initial placement of…

Three common methodological problems in the analysis of observational data include: (1) failure to base degrees of freedom for the analysis on the appropriate sampling unit; (2) the validity of the design and data are inconsistent with the generalizations reached; (3) the statistic used to calculate coder reliability is often inappropriate and…

The first of the two experiments reported here was designed to test the assumption that the phenomenological feeling of success or failure can be translated into behavior. Forty-five male undergraduates at Princeton University were given a task to perform. They then received feedback that they had been either very successful, mediocre, or very…

A follow-up study of students who had been enrolled in the adult basic education (ABE) program sponsored by Gateway Technical Institute during 1973, 1974, and 1975 was conducted in order to ascertain the program's effectiveness in both the cognitive and affective areas of the students' lives. Data were collected from a random sample of former…

A general interest in attrition, or loss of units from a study, stems in part from the observation that the infrequency of attention to attrition exacerbates problems of data interpretation. As a substudy of the national evaluation of Project Follow Through, the potential biasing effects of attrition of subjects from the sites were investigated.…