This paper focuses on experiences with real-time communication in distance classes that contrast with the face-to-face setting from which teachers and students brought their teaching-learning perceptions and behavior. Observing the uncomfortable and unforeseen experiences that distance teachers and students have, the authors studied the reasons…

The assumptions that high-stakes testing is useful in raising educational standards for all students and that higher standards lead to higher educational performance for all students have not been tested in schools along the Texas border with Mexico. This study analyzed the effects of the high-stakes testing policy on students in a small rural…

The relationship between teachers' and students' personal constructs regarding intrinsic motivation in the mathematics class were examined in this study. Participants were six middle-school mathematics teachers and 30 students from 5 classes. Videotape, direct observation, individual interviews, and repertory grid tasks focused on the ways in…

This study was designed to determine students' abilities and difficulties in articulating the relationship between function and derivative. High-school students were presented 15 problems during two 75-minute interviews in which they were asked to construct functions experimentally in three different contexts: motion, fluids, and number-change. In…

This paper presents a summary of a qualitative research study which evaluated, in case studies of three families, what it means to have a child with a disability. The research developed out of practice in early intervention and work focusing on optimal developmental environments for persons with disabilities. Background information on each of the…

One possible reason for ambiguous findings regarding changes in work skills is the way work skills are defined and measured. Five conceptual bases for defining work skills are illustrated in the research literature: abilities of individuals, behavior requirements of jobs, ability requirements of jobs, behaviors exhibited at work, and abilities…

The case study presented in this paper describes and articulates a beginning teacher's perceptions of the key rules, roles, and relationships within the context of the technical culture of an inner city elementary school. Data were collected through interviews, participant observations, and teacher and school produced documents. Experienced…

In response to the need for more qualified primary school teachers in Lesotho, the Lesotho College of Education (LCE) introduced the Distance Teacher Education Programme (DT EP), an in-service training programme for unqualified and underqualified teachers. As part of the curriculum in this programme, the more than 1 200 student teachers who were…

The past decade has witnessed a proliferation of state standards and their associated tests in public schools in order to hold schools, teachers, and students accountable for learning outcomes and achievement. In this qualitative study of eight world history and world geography teachers, the degree to which the Virginia Standards of Learning…

Implementation of cutting-edge technology has enabled higher and postsecondary education to create new learning environments by affording greater access to education for more students via virtual classrooms. Although virtual instruction in its asynchronous mode has been reported as to be at least comparable, and sometimes better than conventional…

How do organizations cope with the increased speed of technological change? How do leaders optimize resources with tightened budgets? How do staff and students acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in the midst of constant change? Electronic learning (e-learning) is one form of learning that utilizes technology to deliver, interact or…

This final report documents the findings of a study designed to evaluate the quality and efficiency of early education programs for handicapped children in Louisiana during 1985-86. More than 400 classes in 65 formal programs (residential, home-based, and center-based) serving approximately 5,000 handicapped children ages 3-5 were studied. The…

The purpose of this report was to explore one way in which quantitative and qualitative paradigms in program evaluation can be employed to reinforce each other. An evaluation was conducted of a large number of special education programs for preschoolers with handicaps in Louisiana. Since 1978, Louisiana has funded programs in 65 public school…

The research foundations for understanding strategies of second language learning are outlined. Three research themes are highlighted: the importance of second language learning strategies, the effectiveness of strategies as demonstrated by research, and the definition and classification of these strategies. Second language learning strategies are…

A research study of American Indian high school students and dropouts in the Milwaukee Public Schools explored cultural factors which affect Indian students' decisions to remain in or drop out of urban, middle-class American schools. Enculturation, i.e. acquisition of Indian culture, and its effect on acculturation, i.e. adopting traits of another…