Reviews the process employed in evaluating the national 4-H program. Holds that the evaluation design was influenced by political, rather than methodological, concerns. Takes examples from the 4-H evaluation to illustrate dilemmas that have emerged in current evaluation process and theory. (Author/GC)

Many problems are encountered when evaluating a complex, decentralized national program such as 4-H. Good effects of the federal evaluation mandate include local concern with program quality. Bad effects include that local agencies are forced to utilize noxious methodologies or to collect information they consider to be unimportant. (Author/GC)

Social and communicative behavior of 28 preschoolers, some developmentally delayed, was classified under various conditions by four observers. Inter-observer agreements from observations of developmentally delayed and normal children were compared. No significant differences were found. Results are discussed in terms of reliability problems in…

Aimed to determine whether the diagnosis of depressive disorder in childhood has construct validity and to develop a self-rating scale for depression in childhood. (Author/DB)

Described is a research study comparing the achievement of undergraduate biology students in individual investigations with and without written guidelines for problem formulation. The authors conclude that the problem formulation stage is crucial to the success of student investigations. The quality of students problems improved significantly with…

There is currently no way to determine whether educational benefits of arts programs are myth or reality because the learning experiences have never been verified. Art educators, instead of aiming for vague general goals, must develop specific educational objectives and undertake the research to validate them. (Author/JM)

Characterizes the United States "Social Indicators" reports and considers how they differ from those produced by other nations. Explains how data in the reports can be used by social science researchers, policymakers, and social reporters and predicts how such data might be used in the future. (DB)

Shows how one medium-size daily newspaper operation in Louisiana has set up a viable polling system at modest cost. Points out some of the problems involved. (RL)

Presents methodological and factual analyses of children's use of imitative speech as a strategy in language acquisition. The impact of conversational interactions and picture-story books on the speech of one girl aged 20 to 32 months is demonstrated. Four methodological problem areas are analyzed. (Author/RH)

Suggests that indirect process oriented teaching methods are not too successful with elementary school social studies students because there is a tendency for teachers to provide too little information to enable a rational child to discover the ideas he or she is supposed to learn. Modifications in the form and application of the teaching strategy…

Looks at the state of the field of educational administration in the United States in terms of the place and priority given to research, the involvement of professors in research, and the changing institutional arrangements for supporting research. (Author/IRT)

Two methodological problems often arising in dyslexia research are considered. The first problem concerns the validity of experimental measures and the related problem of interpreting null results. The second problem involves the effects of sampling from a disabled population if the disorder under investigation has multiple unknown origins.…

Problems with the scope, validity, and accuracy of statistical data on Puerto Ricans have led to difficulties in research on that population. This situation has contributed to the restricted access of Puerto Ricans to government-sponsored programs and to public services, such as education, that are necessary for social equality. (Author/GC)

The current state of social psychology is assessed in light of its historical and social context. The discipline is viewed as a social system, and it is argued that the properties of this system have influenced the research techniques, substantive content, and theories of contemporary social psychology. (Author/RD)

The authors trace and critique various thrusts operative in British educational sociology since its beginnings in the 1950s: structural functionalism, school-level analysis, the interactionalist "New Directions" approach, and the Neo-Marxist perspective. They also comment on the place of educational sociology in teacher training. (SJL)