This paper considers the recent introduction of Citizenship Education in England from a governmental perspective, drawing on the later work of Foucault to offer a detailed account of the political rationalities, technologies and subjectivities implicated in contemporary education policy in the formation and governance of citizen-subjects. This is…

A typical card sort is an activity in which students are given a set of cards with a single concept written on each card and asked to organize the cards by grouping related concepts. The nontraditional card sorts described in this article foster critical thinking and add elements of inquiry as students use them to develop flowcharts for complex…

In many practical settings, essentially the same differential item functioning (DIF) procedures have been in use since the late 1980s. Since then, examinee populations have become more heterogeneous, and tests have included more polytomously scored items. This paper summarizes and classifies new DIF methods and procedures that have appeared since…

States in the U.S. are required to provide transition services to young people in special education to increase the likelihood of positive post-school outcomes (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990, IDEA, amended 1997). Fourteen years later the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 strengthened transition…

The New Media Consortium's Horizon Project is an ongoing research project that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact in education and other industries around the world over a five-year time period. The chief products of the project are the "Horizon Reports", an annual series of publications…

The rush to do qualitative enquiry in education in the past decade has spawned a variety of methodologies and non-methodologies. The desire for absolute rules and lawlike procedures lingers and the current search is for certain rather than good judgments about educational phenomena. A methodology described as "quasi-historical" is…

Communication scholars should be skilled in the use of focus groups in communication research and in interpreting the data this approach generates. The focus group is a discussion group that concentrates on a particular topic or topics and typically consists of eight to 12 participants. The group is facilitated by a moderator who follows a…

Focusing on actors' employment problems, part 1 of this report describes data collected by Actor's Equity primarily in terms of: (1) membership files; (2) the organization's contract department; (3) pension and welfare funds; and (4) employment statistics. Part 2 analyzes these data sets in relation to employment, unemployment, risk factors for…

This 1987 study replicates a social work education program. Reviews factors affecting practice in rural areas and current educational trends. Results indicate drop in preparation for rural practice since 1980, especially at bachelor's degree level, and a trend away from rural course offerings. Includes charts and references. (Author/TES)

Computer-based management systems offer an efficient means of recording, categorizing, and summarizing data on student discipline. This article furnishes basic information on developing student files, entering data, and generating meaningful reports, such as individual student profiles, date and period frequency, student referral distribution, and…

Argues that teaching is both art and science, but that it is possible to evaluate effectiveness empirically. Discusses common research problems, including the large number of variables that can affect successful teaching; the validity of measurement instruments; and the relevance of research to actual classroom practices. (KH)

Summarizes the major findings of a study on the nature and scope of support for foreign languages by private and corporate foundations. The study identified 83 supporting foundations and 178 recipient organizations as well as 340 grants made in support of foreign language education during the 1973-84 period. (SED)

Describes a classroom project that allows students to learn the scientific method by going through the entire process of data collection, hypothesis generation, data analysis, and hypothesis testing. This instructional activity concerns "book carrying behavior" and is aimed at introductory anthropology students. (KH)

The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is to have 100 percent of America's public school students "proficient" by the year 2014. As Rosenberg points out, however, there are multiple interpretations of proficiency, including: (1) Different methods of setting performance standards yield different meanings of proficient; (2)…

Finding good help is difficult enough these days, but trying to hire a qualified sign language interpreter can be especially difficult if you don't know what to look for. This paper provides some ideas that may help in your search. These include such considerations as using an interpreter referral agency versus direct hiring and certification and…