This symposium on research issues in human resource development (HRD) consists of three presentations. "The Influence of Theories of Action on Action Research Initiatives: One Dying Division's Case" (Linda Neavel Dickens) reports an interpretive case study to illuminate how individual, team, and organizational practices and theories of…

This report provides a comprehensive look at the challenges facing mothers and children during and after armed conflict. The examination is divided into the sections "Mothers in War,""Mothers Rebuilding," and "Call to Action." Key findings include the following: (1) the nature of war has changed dramatically in recent…

The American public continues to be concerned about crime in schools and the safety of students. This report is the first to focus on data collected by the 1999 School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Following the introduction and background, nine chapters report and provide statistics on various facets of school…

This report summarizes a 3-year dialogue among educators, administrators, students, boards, committees, parents, and project researchers launched by the Friends Council on Education to study moral growth in Friends high schools. Steering committees were established in each of the 24 participating Quaker high schools across the country and surveys…

This study compared the culture-dependent attitudes of Finnish teachers (N=147) and American teachers (N=160) toward gifted education. The teachers from both countries represented preservice teachers, regular classroom teachers, and teachers of the gifted. Emphasis was on the relationship of attitude to culture from which the teacher came. The…

This report provides financial data on Oakton Community College for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998. The report is divided into four parts: (1) the introductory section, which includes letters from school officials, an organization chart, and a copy of a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting earned in 1997; (2) the…

This study examines the relationship between college student alcohol use and the construct of social responsibility. For purposes of the study, alcohol use was defined by average number of drinks a week and frequency of binge drinking; social responsibility was defined by employment, marriage, living with children, living with parents, and hours…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) measures the educational achievement of nationally representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Local educational agencies tend to view the NAEP as a benchmark to which the educational achievement of their students can be compared. In particular, state departments of education…

The field of higher education has, until very recently, seldom been invaded by the educational researcher. Efficiency tests and statistical measurements have been applied to the work of lower schools, and the literature recording the results with increasing frequency. The literature of higher education however, is still predominantly of the…

The effectiveness of the Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) as an aid in placing students into introductory English courses was studied by relating test scores to course outcomes for students entering the University of Houston between the fall of 1977 and the spring of 1981. For students placed into the regular introductory English…

Two competing definitions of test fairness and their differing implications are explained and illustrated, and data from a number of published studies on test bias are reanalyzed; the focus is on unfair bias that may exist in tests that are approximately equally valid for both majority and minority groups. (Author/JM)

This paper comments on the impact of computers on statistical analysis and presents a concise, nontechnical overview of five statistical methods now being applied in educational research. Appropriate uses of these techniques are pointed out, along with dangers concerning misapplications. (PP)

Describes an introductory educational statistics course taught at the University of Maine using an interactive computer system for graduate students having no skills in statistics or computers. Details given include course schedule, instructions for using terminals, statistical packages and files, and a sample file and deck setup for SPSS. (EAO)

A comparison of Ohio's financially troubled districts (FTD) with its financially nontroubled districts (FNTD) revealed that FTD are characterized by special cost students, limited fiscal capacity, and low tax effort. FTD also tend to be either large city or rural districts, and are not characterized by overstaffing, severe declining enrollment, or…

Clues in the answers given to the Spanish Advanced Placement Examination questions can identify the test-taker as having learned the language in the classroom or as a native speaker. The Educational Testing Service has found mechanisms to ensure that the tests are equally suited to the two groups. (MSE)