Most libraries involved to any extent with total quality management (TQM) realize that successfully gathering information from their customers is the key to improving services. To do this libraries must employ a variety of methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative primary data is usually collected in libraries by…

This interpretive study of a 22-year-old male student teacher in an elementary setting examines how he dealt with the contradictions inherent in the role of "student teacher" by making tacit "treaties" with the cooperating teacher. Data were collected through interviews and observations. Field notes taken during the 5th through…

A study examines qualitatively the extent to which college students indicate that cocurricular theater activities impact on psychodynamic development in J. Katz's five areas--separation anxiety, peer influence, adult role models, personality development, and occupational choice. Subjects, 15 male and 15 female students involved in the theater…

This paper focuses on the role that job analysis plays under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The most obvious use of job analysis data is in defining the essential functions of each job. The job analysis technique used should: list the functions of the job, define which functions are essential rather than marginal, and offer proof of…

In seeking ways to address racial problems on college campuses this study applied a hermeneutical approach to social relations which acknowledges the centrality of actors' perspectives in the creation of social reality. In this model, based on the hermeneutical theory of Hans-George Gadamer, conflict has neither a negative or positive influence on…

The usefulness of authentic assessments as formative tools for teachers is well documented and supported. However, when educational institutions use these assessments as summative tools for evaluating programs and meeting accountability needs, several problems emerge. One set of problems relates to the difficulty of fitting authentic assessments…

Using findings from qualitative research with teachers in one urban, public high school, the study argues that teachers need to be teacher centered in order to change their practices and work toward improvement for the benefit of themselves and their students. Teachers (N=9) in this study recognized that, in order to do their best for students,…

This pilot study examined attitudes toward play and how play is facilitated among early childhood teachers, administrators, and college educators. Classroom observations, interviews, and questionnaires were used to identify attitudes toward the value and relevance of play for early childhood development and education, respondents' knowledge base…

Using a symbolic interactionism theoretical perspective, this project examined the merits of team collaborative action research as a tool in comprehensive staff development for middle- grade teachers. The specific question examined during the action research was how inclusion of special needs students affects the academic and social achievement of…

A study explored the vocabulary development available in a variety of current preschoolers' television shows. A quantitative analysis of seven programs on two networks (PBS and Nickelodeon) was undertaken over a total viewing time of 40 hours; a qualitative analysis of techniques used to present vocabulary was also documented for these shows.…

"What is it like to be in teaching together?" has been the guiding question for this hermeneutic phenomenological study with the full-time faculty of a small engineering college. It notes the faculty struggles and conflicts arising from diverse ways of knowing associated with gender and academic discipline differences. It also explores differing…

The major purpose of the workshop, "Setting a Global Agenda for the Nineties," was to identify an agenda for International Council for Distance Education (ICDE)-sponsored research. Three papers that were prepared for the workshop make up the major part of this report: (1) "Marrow Bone Thinking: Toward a Fair Representation of…

Seven combined or multi-grade classes, ranging from grades 2 to 5, were the focus of a qualitative, naturalistic inquiry. In each of the four elementary schools visited for the study, the decision to have combined classes had been made shortly before school started for administrative reasons. The study sought to determine the manner in which the…

The National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) is a training trust established by an industry trade association and a union to maintain the supply of well-trained competent elevator mechanics. The NEIEP conducts Train the Trainer seminars that present a skill-building program to give each instructor a range of techniques and strategies…

This study looked at the experience of four high school teachers as they worked to develop a collegial community by implementing the "Connections" program. The teachers were on the faculty at Cedar City High School in southern Ohio where their subjects were, respectively, English, Social Studies, and Physical Science; one teacher was in…