Reports on a qualitative study in which 1,382 parents of first-year students at two institutions used interactive websites to list their hopes and goals for their students' overall college experience. Top goals include: quality education; job preparation; maturity/independence; fun/enjoyment; and academic success. (Author/GCP)

A qualitative study of four faculty members serving as group leaders during a distance-learning project involving Texas A&M, the University of Nairobi (Kenya), and the University of Zimbabwe determined that extended planning time and extensive collaboration between faculty members in participating countries are essential for multinational…

Finds Bloom and Tinker's description and measurement of active, integrated, and situated children to be a credible scientifically rigorous paradigm for language acquisition research. Highlights their use of the naturalistic, observational method to understand the changing patterns of integration and use of multifaceted abilities in child language…

Contributes to the conceptualization of the complex terrain that is mathematics teacher education development. Postulates a framework consisting of four stages of development that are distinguished by the domain of activities reflections may focus on and the nature of those reflections. (Author/MM)

This article discusses the use of personal narrative in social science research and in helping individuals with learning difficulties renegotiate their sense of identity. One woman's story of her life is used to illustrate the corrosive effects of institutionalization in identity formation. (Contains references.) (DB)

Uses data over a seven-month period from three teams' use of a collaborative electronic technology ("Team Room") to illustrate that genre systems--sequences of interrelated communicative actions--are a means of structuring (deliberately or habitually) six dimensions of communicative interaction: purpose (why), content (what),…

Based on Habermas (1971), asserts that knowledge about teaching can be communicative and emancipatory as well as instrumental; these aspects of teaching therefore call for interpretive and critical evaluation. Offers a range of relevant strategies. (EV)

The consequential validity of assessment was explored through a qualitative study of the impacts of assessment practices on student perceptions of learning and their learning behavior. Results from 13 case studies over two and a half academic years show that students experiencing a variety of types of alternative assessment did perceive many of…

Defines the heuristic model of research. Offers a comparison among phenomenology, hermeneutics, and heuristics in research methodologies. Describes the stages of heuristic research and addresses the potential contributions of this model to the field of art therapy and the personal and professional growth of the art therapist. (MKA)

Describes a qualitative study of preservice mathematics teachers' use of higher-order thinking as they used an interactive multimedia program based on a situated learning framework. Analyzes types of talk used by the students as they worked with the program and classifies it as social, procedural, and lower-order and higher-order thinking.…

Uses meta-ethnography to analyze the literature on transformational leadership, including sources specifically related to community colleges. Identifies the following themes, patterns, and connections that define transformational leadership: Creating a shared vision, communicating that vision, building relationships, developing a culture, guiding…

This qualitative case study focused on the nature of science learning through open-ended problem solving with eighth graders. Discusses results of interviews and observation that suggested students only partially derived accurate mental models, and makes recommendations for improving student understanding in open-ended environments. (Contains 95…

Two studies examined how children use talk to learn interaction patterns critical for the use of mental state terms. Qualitative analysis of mother-child talk revealed that criteria were presented in temporal, cause and effect sequences. Children who failed false belief tasks were less competent at recognizing and commenting on important aspects…

A qualitative 3-year case study followed three deaf interpreters in an inclusive school. Results of interviews indicated that, in addition to sign interpreting, the interpreters clarified teacher directions, facilitated peer interaction, tutored the deaf children, and kept teachers and special educators informed of the deaf children's progress.…

Introduces a qualitative spiritual assessment instrument. Reviews existing qualitative assessment tools and presents a new multidimensional spiritual assessment framework. The instrument consists of two components: a spiritual history for consumers and an interpretive framework for practitioners. Spiritual strengths that the framework is designed…