A critical analysis of the current knowlege concerning the development of the concept of death in childhood is the purpose of this paper. Theoretical models and methodological limitations of the literature are addressed. Many factors have been implicated as contributing to the development of the concept of death. (Author/BN)

From a priori and post hoc data collection perspectives, this paper describes the interrelations among (1) power, alpha, effect size, and sample size for hypothesis testing; and (2) precision, confidence, and sample size for interval estimation. Implications for special education researchers working with convenient samples of fixed size are…

Reactions to H. Lee Swanson's paper "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities" are outlined, and his arguments are applied to reading disabilities, focusing on the importance of the scientific attitude, the misuse of ecological validity, interpretation of Thomas Kuhn's work, modularity and reading disability, and scientific progress…

Although successful dropout assistance programs depend on effective implementation, casework, and long-term followup activities, the literature only occasionally addresses these practices. This article reviews data collection problems, major risk factors, reforms aimed at actual and potential dropouts, and alternative school programs. Second…

Three kinds of research concerning quality in higher education (reputational, objective indicators, and quantitative correlate) are described and illustrated, the merits and disadvantages of each are discussed, and the present state of research on educational quality is examined. (MSE)

Examines secular trends in research on Afro-American children appearing in CHILD DEVELOPMENT between 1936 and 1980. A statistical analysis revealed dramatic changes in the frequency and type of research on this population, and identified some of the changing social issues and perspectives that are reflected in the research. (Author/BB)

How social studies researchers can use National Assessment of Educational Progress Public Use Data File tapes to delimit the problem of generalizability of research results is described. An example using data from a trend study of a citizenship education project is used to demonstrate the procedure. (Author/RM)

Raymond Cattell's efforts to sort out the relationships of genetic or environmental patterns to personality factors have contributed to behavior genetics. Early writings on the projected decline of intelligence in Britain, studies using Multivariate Abstract Variance Analysis, and other miscellaneous studies on personality factors and mental…

Reviews empirical studies dealing with the relationship between teaching effectiveness and teachers' research activities. Looks at the intricacies involved in measuring teacher effectiveness. Presents reasons for continuing to promote research by teachers (e.g., to prevent burnout and to expand sensitivity to the discipline). (DMM)

The role of content validity in policy-relevant research is illustrated in a study contrasting results of surveys concerning public opinion toward gun control. Inadequate content validity threatened inferences about the overall level of support for gun control, but not about opinion difference between sexes or respondents of varying political…

Conventional wisdom about the differential performance of White, Asian, and Afro-Caribbean pupils in the United Kingdom are challenged. Examined are the way in which the notion of underachievement has been conceptualized in research studies and literature reviews and how the evidence for Black underachievement has been generated and presented. (RM)

The procedures used in a successful mailed evaluation questionnaire effort are described, and guidance is given to those who are unfamiliar with the methodology. (Author)

Status, issues, and future of research in instructional design and technology are described. Several steps are recommended to encourage, improve, and expand collaborative research which fall into four general needs: identifying topics and methods; improving quality and quantity; providing greater opportunities; and increasing dissemination. (MBR)

Several conceptions of schooling are outcome-bound: input-output models, school effectiveness models, classroom learning models, and systems theory models. Problems with each of these conceptions are identified, followed by a brief discussion of an outcome-free approach in which schools are viewed as cultural ecologies. (BW)

Mathematics achievement differences among sixth-graders were analyzed in a four-wave design and explained by aptitude and instructional variables in a structural equation framework. The results demonstrate the local nature of achievement models in that neither their measurement nor structural components proved generalizable across two groups of…