This symposium paper examines policy formation in early childhood education in terms of the functions, consequences, and implications of ideological conflicts. A definition of ideology is presented, and reasons are given in the context of this definition as to why an unreliable data base is the cause for current ideological battles in early…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate empirically the effects of violations of the assumption of homogeneity of within-group regression slopes on levels of significance in the F test of fixed-effects ANCOVA (analysis of covariance). The study used a Monte Carlo computer simulation procedure to generate data under the following…

When analysis of variance is used, statistically significant differences may or may not be of practical significance to educators. A large part of the problem is due to the fact that a "zero difference" null hypothesis can always be rejected statistically if the sample size is large enough. If, however, a method based on the noncentral F…

The right of man to communicate is likely to be a concern of the Speech Communication Association for some time to come. The communication era promises to unfold in the period from 1970 to 2020--the next five decades. The communications models of the future will emphasize both transmitting and receiving capacities and will be concerned with the…

This review of studies comparing early childhood education models focuses on the trends and problems of this kind of research. The 8 "qualitative" studies reviewed, all pertain to aspects of instructional theory centering around teacher-child interaction. In the 19 empirical studies discussed, a dichotomy between "structured and unstructured…

Any attempt to derive conclusions from the literature regarding leadership in education is limited because much of the literature consists of untested opinion and most empirical studies are based on information from one school or one school district and are thus very limited. Most studies utilize variables that are unique to the particular study…

This study utilized the Delphi Technique to collect and synthesize the perceptions and experiential insight of persons involved in the early career education effort. Its specific objectives were to identify possible future efforts in career education and assign priorities to them according to their significance and to identify the level of…

This is a response to the criticism of "Sesame Street" by Herbert A. Sprigle in the December, 1972, issue of "Childhood Education." It is maintained that Sprigle misconstrued and misrepresented the program's mandate and objectives and that the design and reporting of his study are so flawed that his conclusions are virtually…

Some of the requirements and consequences of rigorous and valid educational evaluation research are explored in terms of problems in achieving two types of external validity, population and ecological. The former refers to the generalizability of inferences to subjects not included in a study, while the latter is concerned with the…

This report reviews the results of some 35 studies completed between 1956 and 1970 which attempted to relate systematically observed teaching behaviors to adjusted measures of student achievement. Information in each study includes investigator, date, population, time, tests used, and significant and non-significant results. The studies are…

Bayesian statistical methodology and its possible uses in the behavioral sciences are discussed in relation to the solution of problems in both the use and teaching of fundamental statistical methods, including confidence intervals, significance tests, and sampling. The Bayesian model explains these statistical methods and offers a consistent…

This report presents the problem and a solution to the treatment of students by age interactions. It considers the plight of an educational researcher who wishes to demonstrate that a particular treatment effect changes from age to age. In analysis of variance language, he is seeking a treatment by age interaction. The report presents a rationale…

DIALOGUE WAS PRESENTED AT A SYMPOSIUM FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTION FOR A SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND PRACTICE. PARTICIPANTS AND DISCUSSANTS AT THE SYMPOSIUM WERE SCHOLARS IN ANTHROPOLOGY, ECONOMICS, EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT, AND SOCIOLOGY. AUTHORS OF MAJOR PAPERS INCLUDED SOLON KIMBALL, FRED STRODTBECK, ARTHUR ROSS,…

The paper describes a variety of analytical difficulties facing prospective users of the first follow-up of the National Center for Education Statistics National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) and suggests some possible approaches to coping with these. The primary focus is on the causes and consequences of selective…

Discusses the problem of choosing the proper unit (e.g., class or individual student) for the statistical analysis of educational research. Describes a study that was statistically analyzed eight different ways and discusses the various results and implications. Suggests that the problem of selecting the proper experimental unit may be less…