Explores the nature, origins, and purposes of collaborative research in early childhood, and identifies the challenges that arise in conducting such research. Discusses how other articles in this issue illustrate diverse approaches to collaboration and provide examples of how challenges are dealt with in practice. Notes that equality between…

The purpose of this article is to provide an alternative interpretation of the National Reading Panel's meta-analysis on phonics instruction. The NRP based its conclusion that phonics instruction was superior to other approaches on the interpretation of mean effect d statistics reported in its meta-analysis. In addition to looking at these d's, we…

While universities can play a major role in advancing research-based community development, academic discourses of rigor, quality and ethics often conflict with the participatory and collaborative approaches required by community development principles. While experienced academics often have difficulty negotiating these issues, they present…

Researching the intersection of class, race, gender, sexuality and disability raises many issues for educational research. Indeed, Maynard (2002, 33) has recently argued that "difference is one of the most significant, yet unresolved, issues for feminist and social thinking at the beginning of the twentieth century". This paper reviews…

Whether a study is qualitative or quantitative, the process of data collection is not as orderly as it may seem when described in published research reports, articles, or books. Data collection may be more challenging when conducting research across national and linguistic borders. In this article, I share and reflect upon the complex and messy…

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has endorsed a "Closing the Gap" agenda designed to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. The agenda is distilled in a series of targets, one of which is the goal of halving the gap for Indigenous students in Year 12 attainment or equivalent (Certificate II or above) attainment rates by…

The new "Weighted Student Formula Yearbook 2009" from the Reason Foundation provides a simple framework for touting the successes of states and urban school districts that grant greater fiscal autonomy to schools. The report defines the Weighted Student Formula (WSF) reform extremely broadly, presenting a variety of reforms under the WSF umbrella.…

Engaging with research methods requires, we argue, not only adherence to ethical codes of conduct, but caring for the researched. Researchers, who are also workers in the same organisation or community where the research will take place, have an additional duty not to violate the dignity of the researched, and that is the ethic of care. We discuss…

The belief that randomized controlled trials provide a "gold standard" for evaluating therapeutic interventions is challenged. The need for research designs that produce valid and reliable information about interventions, which is clinically/educationally relevant and personally important, is discussed together with possibilities for broadening…

This paper presents an inside look at the rhythms of a year-long teacher research group by highlighting the experiences of four alternatively certified urban middle school teachers of color as they engaged in practitioner research about issues of gender equity, racial identity, and culturally relevant teaching. Using examples from "data dilemma"…

Using "error bars" on graphs is a good way to help students see that, within the inherent uncertainty of the measurements due to the instruments used for measurement, the data points do, in fact, lie along the line that represents the linear relationship. In this article, the author explains why connecting the dots on graphs of collected data is…

The question of how the realms of research and practice might successfully relate to one another is a persisting one, and especially so in education. The article takes a fresh look at this issue by using the terminology of collaboration scripts to reflect upon various forms of this relationship. Under this perspective, several approaches towards…

The third-year evaluation of the federally funded Washington, D.C. voucher program shows that low-income students offered vouchers in the first two years of the program had modestly higher reading scores after three years but showed no significant difference in mathematics. Students were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, and the…

Introduction: There is much in the literature regarding the potential for commercial bias in clinical research and in continuing medical education (CME), but no studies were found regarding the potential for bias in reporting original research in CME venues. This pilot study investigated the presence of perceived bias in oral and print content of…

This paper examines the development of fieldwork methodology in a study that investigated the parenting experiences and parent support needs of a group of parents with an intellectual disability. It considers the ways in which the original planning for the project changed as the fieldwork unfolded, requiring adaptations to our methodological…