Education is identified as one of the major goals of zoos. Research studies of the educational goals of different audiences associated with zoos and aquaria are reviewed in this report. These audiences include: (1) the zoo staff; (2) volunteers or docents; (3) general community members in formal programs; (4) students (elementary through graduate…

Application of the natural science-technical research model to the study and development of teaching has had a distorting and disintegrating effect on education. Teachers must be encouraged to participate in the study and development of their profession, and learning environments must be studied singly and in their full context. (JC)

The study presents a methodology for collecting detailed naturalistic data on preschool teachers' instructions and children's compliance as well as a descriptive analysis of variables related to instruction rate and compliance probability. The study also illustrates the effects of context on teacher and child behavior. (Author/DB)

Policy issues for early childhood special education programs in the areas of exit decision-making and follow-up procedures were generated through extensive naturalistic case studies of four early childhood education programs. Guidelines for exit decision-making and follow-up procedures conclude the report. (Author/DB)

Scientific inquiry used in special education research has limited effectiveness and applicability to practice. Three interrelated areas are discussed in the context of improving research methodology and utilization: alternative approaches to research in special education; the class distinction between teachers and researchers; and practical…

Through a description and comparison of standards for evaluation and criteria for judging naturalistic inquires some potential conflicts in using naturalistic methods are identified. Analysis of problems suggests that compromises in the use of evaluation standards and criteria for naturalistic procedures are usually necessary. (Author/JAZ)

Describes two types of feedback (explicit and implicit) in the responses of four mothers to their two-year-old children and investigates whether these mothers respond differentiallly to their children's well-formed and ill-formed utterances with either type of feedback. Results demonstrate that a high proportion of maternal responses qualify as…

Differences in agreement between observers and analysts of naturalistic narrative data cause problems in observation research. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of several possible solutions. (Author/GDC)

Results of a naturalistic, observational analysis of 43 self-contained classrooms serving severely handicapped students indicated that during designated instructional periods, slightly less than half of all student time was spent on-task. When students were on-task, almost two-thirds of their time involved nonfunctional instructional tasks.…

If one undertakes naturalistic evaluation without formal training, there are some important considerations and sources of information to keep in mind. Labor intensive qualitative approaches are discussed in terms of field relations, data collection and analysis, and writing. (Author/LMO)

Describes the basic method of using naturally occurring settings for research on media effects. Suggests research questions that could be studied and identifies settings (and media markets) most promising for such research. (PD)

The final result of this inquiry study will be the compilation of a Literacy Portfolio on a targeted reader. The data included within the portfolio will come from strategies and tools teachers were introduced to in Year One of the Reading Initiative and for which teachers gathered data both on themselves and on younger learners. The study revisits…

This report presents focal case studies of two working-class mothers who are building bridges between their individual homes and Parker Elementary (located in a small midwestern city) where both of their children attend school. The report delineates a study which examined how the literacy practices within the two women's households related to…

This paper describes a study in which a group of young African-American children responded to literature in a multiage primary classroom setting. This naturalistic study sought to: identify the modes of response preferred by the African-American children in this class, examine the content of those responses for evidence of links to ethnicity, and…

This paper contends that, historically and today, "readiness" functions as a key symbol in discourses of early childhood. Schools and teachers need to make "ready" for different children in a very different world than that in which many people grew up. The interest in the paper, however, is not only in individual difference but…