This paper reports the results of a sub-study in which middle school students were asked to provide their perspectives and understandings of World War II during a study unit and final project. An investigation was undertaken to determine how students' perspective-taking skills were influenced by the use of a variety of teaching methods regarding…

What and how do students learn from motion pictures, and how does this knowledge interact with the history they learn in school? This is a complex problem-space and one that has seen little empirical research. To lay the groundwork for exploring these questions, a pilot study utilized a qualitative methodology in which high school students viewed…

Participant observation is a classic qualitative methodology in which the researcher is immersed in the particular setting as a participant, rather than an outside observer. In this pilot study of an Even Start program, the methodology was modified by using actual program participants as observers and reporters. This enabled the crossing of…

In 1993, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) decided to mount a 2-phase study of civic education, the first phase being more qualitative and the second more quantitative, to complete testing before the end of the 20th century and to be released early in the 21st century. Countries participating in…

This study compared the effects of three forms of online instruction on memory, belief change, and argumentation skill. Reading of a pro/con text was followed by: (1) online discussion in pairs compared to reading of the same text followed by two forms of individualized study techniques derived from the cognitive memory literature; (2)…

This paper concerns the inclusion of information literacy and skills training in the undergraduate curriculum. Students were studied to determine their strengths and weaknesses in terms of their information literacy and skills. The methods used to study the students included a number of qualitative techniques applied while students conducted a…

Students of early childhood education studying at teachers' colleges in Israel are usually required to spend 1 to 2 work days weekly in a preschool, supervised by a faculty member who visits the student on site. This study examined the faculty member's perception of self in the role of fieldwork supervisor. Participating in this descriptive…

A qualitative research conversation needs to include a critical examination of a study's relational dimension. Excerpts are presented from two doctoral dissertations that discuss the nature of the researcher-participant relationships formed through the studies. The first dissertation, "Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: Educational Portraits of…

This qualitative study, investigating the claims, concerns, and issues arising within the design stages of problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum units, was conducted during two masters-level classes during the summer of 1999. A hermeneutic dialectic discourse among veteran teachers (who were novice PBL curriculum designers) was facilitated by…

Administrators, trained Reading Recovery teachers, teachers in training, classroom teachers, and parents of Reading Recovery students from across the state of Maine were asked to complete surveys about their impressions of the Reading Recovery program during the 1994-95 school year. Respondents' comments were summarized by Reading Recovery team…

A followup study of 10 prereferral teams within a rural, northwestern state investigated common causes for prereferral teams to be discontinued within schools and examined effective methods being used to maintain the prereferral teams. Prereferral teams assist general educators with academic and behavioral concerns they encounter with their…

In this study, 24 9th-grade students investigated several issues related to modern Israeli society. In their investigation, students were engaged in activities such as data search, data sorting, making inquiries, project writing, and construction of a new computerized database related to the subjects of their investigations. Students were…

My purpose was to understand the essence of a specific change effort that occurred in a select group of public community colleges in Florida. This phenomenological study was undertaken to discover how leaders from seven Florida Community Colleges perceived their experience of organizationally changing their institutions through a unique…

In this volume, researchers, practitioners, participants, and scholars address the proliferation of methodologies, ethical and disciplinary concerns, and issues of equity and diversity such research raises from a wide variety of viewpoints. "Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research" also presents a broad assortment of articles by authors…

A study involving interviews with 50 academic leaders revealed that college fund raising is a team effort; the institution's president is typically the central player; presidents should focus fund-raising attention on major gifts and administrative leadership; academic quality and institutional prestige are critical factors; and fund raising is…