Three major national longitudinal studies have been conducted in Great Britain, each based on a week's births in, respectively, 1946, 1958, and 1970. This paper focuses on the implications for educators of the findings of the 1958 study, which examined the development, over 23 years, of approximately 5,000 children born in Britain in one week of…

Educational policy research is discussed as it concerns the utilization and programming of research. Following a brief review of the development of the educational research system, Part 1 discusses the following utilization concerns: the gap between research and policymakers; the relationship of organizational setting to utilization (comparing…

IN A DISCUSSION OF THE EFFECTS, PRESENT NEEDS, AND FUTURE OF RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH, THE POSITION OF THE TEACHER IN ENGLAND IS EMPHASIZED. IN CONSIDERING THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF RESEARCH IN ENGLISH TEACHING, THE IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE FUNCTIONING BETWEEN TWO ASPECTS OF RESEARCH--COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION--IS STRESSED. ALSO…

EVALUATING PROGRAMS FOR THE DISADVANTAGED IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE THERE IS NO CLEAR THEORETICAL OR OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF THE TERM "DISADVANTAGED." THE PROLIFERATION OF SCHOOL PROGRAMS ALSO CREATES EVALUATION PROBLEMS, FOR OFTEN EVALUATION TAKES PLACE BEFORE THE PROGRAM IS EITHER FULLY IMPLEMENTED OR HAS FUNCTIONED FOR A SUFFICIENT PERIOD OF TIME.…

The scientific method has little credence in inner-city communities. Often the methodology has been contaminated with prejudicial biases, self-enrichment, appeasement, compromise, distortion, and failure to communicate the intent, findings, and interpretation of studies. The community's confidence in research can, with some difficulty, be…

Reactions to H. Lee Swanson's paper "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities" are outlined, and his arguments are applied to reading disabilities, focusing on the importance of the scientific attitude, the misuse of ecological validity, interpretation of Thomas Kuhn's work, modularity and reading disability, and scientific progress…

Discusses classroom literary practices related to teacher questioning, retelling, literalism, and figurative language for children in the concrete operational stage; concludes that recent research on response to literature may say as much about what children are taught to do as what they do developmentally. Offers suggestions about teaching…

In one federally funded program, the third-party evaluator was under contract with the program evaluated and not the federal funding agency. The social structure of this arrangement has implications for information utilization. (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104, single issue, $6.95.) (Author/GDC)

Reviews the 1886 reading research findings of J. McK. Cattell, and their confirmation by E. B. Huey in 1908; points to considerations that militate against accepting the Cattell/Huey evidence on word recognition processes as support for pedagogical practice. (GT)

This paper explores the evidence of a substantive paradigm shift in curriculum theory by examining the questions that have caused Elliot Eisner's radical shift from an empirical-analytical research model to a critical-theoretical one. The role of theory development and of ethics and values in research have propelled Eisner's theoretical shift. (TE)

This article examines the relationship between research and service provision to persons with severe mental retardation, notes frequent methodological deficiencies in current research, and proposes establishment of Australian research centers to coordinate research efforts and link research to service delivery. (DB)

A winner of the Council for Exceptional Children Research Award reflects on the enabling effect of a supportive context for research, lessons learned relating to career successes and failures, and the value of applied research. The need develop a program of long-term research is discussed. (Contains references.) (CR)

This article examines the social skills training research-to-practice process and argues that a logical and attendant line of rigorous study is lacking. Areas of social inquiry are drawn from to discuss the need for conceptual frameworks to guide investigation and offer a way for research to be designed and interpreted. (Contains references.)…

Noting that there are signs of a relaxation in the long tension caused by the methodological "cold war" between quantitative and qualitative research proponents, this paper points to communications research as one area where the trend is developing. Placing communications studies in the framework of current public attitudes toward…

This article focuses on the linkage between the quantitative and qualitative distance education research methods. The concept that serves as the conceptual link is termed "complementarity." The definition of complementarity emerges through a simulated study of FernUniversitat's mentors. The study shows that in the case of the mentors,…