The study of higher education can seem extraordinarily complex because what counts as knowledge is contestable and the higher education research community is, like Hemingway's Paris, a moveable feast. A lack of epistemological precision and field uncertainty is partly due to the fact that those who study higher education tend to work in higher…

A field study with 16-year-old students in senior general secondary education was undertaken with the following research question: "Do students working in pairs on investigation tasks with the computer attain more conceptual level raising in mathematics when they are supported by a teacher who stimulates their interaction (process help) than when…

This article argues in favour of a situated approach to understanding learning in practice at trade vocational school and at trade in vocational education. Boundary crossing is regarded as contributing to expansive situated learning by apprentices across trade vocational school and the trade. The purpose of the article is to show that the…

This paper is a qualitative case study of a Korean first grade child. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of a first grade Korean child's oral language interactions with teachers, parents, peers, and community members and to examine how a child's oral language impacts his literacy learning in English. The data were…

Dissertation writing is often the most challenging aspect of the doctoral program. In an effort to raise completion rates and lower time-to-degree as well as increase student satisfaction with the program, professors in an Ed.D. program developed a semester-long course to support students writing their dissertations. This case study describes the…

The focus of this paper is on the theory of ethnographic methodology. A body of observational studies in social science and educational research is noted, demonstrating methodological statements about ethnography. Methodological procedures are described, along with possible standards of adequacy for their use. The use of the methodology is…

THIS STUDY OF STRATEGIES FOR EDUCATIONAL CHANGE CONCLUDES THAT THE AEXPERIMENTAL, OBSERVATIONAL, OR FIELD STUDY APPROACH IS PREFERRED TO THE EXPERIMENTAL OR LABORATORY APPROACH, BOTH FOR CHANGE RESEARCH, WHICH IS CONCERNED WITH THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF CHANGE, AND FOR EVALUATION, WHICH IS CONCERNED WITH THE ASSESSMENT OF SINGLE PHASES OF CHANGE.…

This annotated bibliography of approximately 100 items, represents a continuing effort to identify statements dealing with field study methods and problems relevant for research in formal educational settings. The bibliography emphasizes, but is not limited to, contributions by anthropologists. A thoughtful perusal of this bibliography and a study…

Questions the use of a large mainframe computer and special software to assist with data analysis. Raises the following three cautions: (1) labor and expense; (2) access and control; and (3) reductionism. (LHW)

An evaluation of helical scan video tape recorders. (JW)

The development of a new psychoeducational facility is analyzed in light of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale by which some members of the organization described their collective experience. The argument is that researchers can perceive otherwise inaccessible operative dynamics by studying the symbols, tales, and legends used by organization members.…