This book, in its second edition, is intended as a practical guide to conducting action research in schools--it outlines the process of designing and reporting an action research project. Contending that action research can be used as a powerful tool that can contribute to school renewal and instructional improvement, the book defines and presents…

This study examined the process of action research in two schools that were part of a larger action research community in a suburban and urban school setting. The study used a qualitative multiple-case study research design using ethnographic techniques to follow the two schools as they conducted action research during the 1993-1994 school year.…

If students are to think historically, then teachers must think historically. One place where future history teachers might gain such cognitive practice is in history courses designed to focus on the ideas and methods of historians. A study focused on teaching future history teachers how to think about history. A course, "Philosophy and…

When one high school English teacher became engaged in active research, she reflected on her practice and learned to have faith in her students as learners and in herself as a teacher, and to ground her teaching practice consciously in theory. Her investigation centered on the question of whether teaching literary theory in the high school English…

This paper describes a cross-cultural online writing project in which three English-as-a foreign language (EFL) college instructors in Ukraine, Russia and Saudi Arabia and their undergraduate students participated. The aim of the project was to develop students' writing skills in EFL, to develop their awareness of local and global cultural issues…

Little is known concerning the satisfaction of newly admitted graduate students with their program's orientation process. In fact, Pruitt-Logan and Isaac (1995) called graduate students' experience "the great unaddressed academic issue in higher education." Some research has addressed specific aspects of graduate student orientation and retention,…

This qualitative study sought to determine what academic and social difficulties are encountered by community college transfer students in adjusting to their transfer institutions. Data was collected from interviews with 12 students who transferred from Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) to the University of Virginia (UVA) in the fall of…

This introductory level text provides a background for understanding the uses of qualitative research in education, its theoretical and historical underpinnings, and specific methods of educational research. This revised edition places qualitative research into the context of current discussions of research methods and alternative ways of knowing.…

This small, qualitative study examined how interactive television educators go about teaching in electronically-mediated environments where students remain separated from them. Three interactive television instructors were interviewed, and 15 hours of field observation was conducted. Although the study's original goal was to yield prescriptions…

This qualitative study investigated the following questions: (1) How quickly can first graders master basic e-mailing skills? (2) Does communicating through the Internet and e-mail provide motivation or incentive for children to read or write? (3) Will children write with specific conventions due to having an identifiable audience to whom they are…

This document contains papers from the Annual State Data Conference and includes the following: (1) "Does Money Matter for Minority and Disadvantaged Students? Assessing the New Empirical Evidence" (David Grissmer, Ann Flanagan, and Stephanie Williamson), which demonstrates that additional money matters for minority and disadvantaged…

Noting that play is the natural medium in which children express themselves and develop motor, cognitive, and social skills, this qualitative study examined the contribution of symbolic play and technology-assisted play and the classroom environment to the literacy development of third graders. A literature review of play theory and play-related…

A qualitative pilot study, guided by an ecological framework, illustrates the complexities involved in studying the unique linguistic situation in Paraguay between Spanish and the indigenous language of Guarani, and its relationship with education. The pilot study interviewing eight kindergarten children. Seventy five children have been…

This report tells the story of the inception and growth of the Gender Project of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension (UMCE) (Sanford, Maine) and shares the results of an evaluation study of program impacts on the lives of individuals, families, and communities over the past six years. Information in the report can guide the growth and…

Noting the difficulty in translating constructivist theory into effective practice, this study examined how primary school teachers implemented constructivist education into their kindergarten through second-grade classrooms. Participating in the study were six teachers who had received master's degrees from a constructivist program and who had…