This reprint of an article from 1909 responds to a study that found the oral method was not effective in teaching speech to students with deafness. It charges that the investigation was unscientific and driven by economic influences. (CR)

Haas criticizes Kannapel et al for conducting their "rural" research with school professionals and asks what it would take for rural schools to engage their communities and what, besides geography, makes a school rural. Kannapel et al claim that community concerns are not limited to rural schools and that advocates of systemic reform and…

Alternative perspectives are presented on the issue of rational suicide. An operational definition is provided; areas needing clarification are highlighted. The meta-issues are reviewed with regard to specific points raised by Lokhandwala and Westefeld. Concerns with research often cited to question the possibility of rational suicide are…

Gilligan's work at Harvard University has centered about the study of female thinking and moral decision making. She and her colleagues tried to repair the omission of girls' voices from the psychological literature. She is currently studying boys' narrowed self-expression and wants schools to amplify children's voices. (MLH)

Focuses on methodological issues involved in choosing instruments to monitor behavior, once a comprehensive evaluation has suggested trials on Ritalin. Case examples illustrate problems of teacher compliance in filling out measures, supplying adequate placebos, and obtaining physical cooperation. Emerging school-based methodologies are discussed…

Two decades after two U.S. and UK studies jump-started the school-effectiveness research movement, the American Educational Research Association invited the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement to present a symposium on international developments. The six papers herein critique and assess the movement's contributions.…

Education lacks scientifically sound studies, whether researchers are examining promotion versus retention, class-size effects, or private voucher schemes. American public schools have educated the world's most productive work force, test scores are rising, and more kids graduate than formerly. Educators should demand compelling evidence before…

Educational reforms fail because they are usually based on certain myths about training, advocacy, theory, knowledge dissemination, complete restructuring, paradigm shifts, and small-scale studies. These misconceptions result in wasted resources for staff development and dissemination, few professional validation standards, repeat cycles of…

Reviews the past 25 years of the journal "Theory and Research in Social Education," exploring the advent of historical research within the journal's content to the publication of historical research as very typical. Indicates a maturation of social studies regarding research, considering the caveats of historical research. (CMK)

Supports the view that children's developmental status and varied family, school, and cultural contexts all caution overgeneralization on empirically supported treatments. Supports Hughes' notion of developmental psychopathology as a relevant asset for school psychology practice and intervention research. Discusses several obstacles when applying…

Discusses research on the negative impact of television and movies, scientific research on television violence and aggression, laboratory research, criticisms of laboratory research, field research, correlation studies. Concludes there is no evidence that viewing television violence increases aggression in children or adults but viewing it can…

Aserts that it is unclear how the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional ratings link to other critical child and family risk factors. Identifies questions regarding how well individual dimensions of social behavior are measured and concerns about the partial overlap between competent and problem behavior. Expresses concerns about the…

This tutorial reviews auditory research conducted with monolingual and bilingual speakers of Spanish and English. Based on a functional view of bilingualism and on auditory research findings showing that the bilingual experience may affect the outcome of auditory research, it discusses methods for improving descriptions of linguistically diverse…

Synthesizes findings from 36 studies that validated the Dunn and Dunn Model of Learning-Style Preferences. Questions are raised regarding the validity of the model, the nature of the literature base, the interpretation of the meta-analytic findings, and the conclusions. The article concludes that the model has not been adequately validated.…

Argues that political scientists need to pay more attention to research in subfields of the discipline outside of their own. Suggests research that does not limit itself in terms of possible generalizations. Provides examples of good uses of cross-field research. Reviews obstacles to change and ways to overcome them. (DSK)