The initiatives taken by one school district to support professional development for principals in using data for school planning and reform were studied. A data-planning training model was developed in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) (California) to build skills principals need to read, interpret, and use multiple sources of…

The second research and evaluation conference of the Annie E. Casey Foundation attracted many participants from the public and private sectors. In spite of their diverse backgrounds and approaches to evaluation, the participants shared a sense that researchers and evaluators need to find better ways to collect and use information. The primary…

In this volume, researchers, practitioners, participants, and scholars address the proliferation of methodologies, ethical and disciplinary concerns, and issues of equity and diversity such research raises from a wide variety of viewpoints. "Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research" also presents a broad assortment of articles by authors…

Needs analysis is often ambiguous, leading to five types of misconceptions: (1) information needs can be easily identified; (2) information is best handled in institutional settings; (3) all information is of potentially equal value; (4) given sufficient information, decisions can be made; (5) information and education are unrelated. (Author/JM)

There is a communications gap between library users and the cataloger. Library of Congress classification may not seem logical to the user not indoctrinated into Library-Think.'' The author urges reference workers to be aware of and try to bridge the gap. (DH)

East Bay Municipal Utilities District in California opened its watershed area, about 2500 acres, for an environmental/ecological education project. (MB)

Explores premise that research has not contributed to institutional management because those responsible for planning and doing research have not learned how to become involved early enough in the administrative process as it deals with problem identification. (Author)

Suggests that current techniques for assessing school effectiveness are based on narrow concepts of effectiveness; hide inconsistencies in findings across types of students, grades, or subjects; and do not reflect curricula. Emphasizes that school improvement plans should be based on classroom/school-centered research rather than on comparisons of…

Public access to scientific research obtained by faculty employed at state universities, it is suggested, should be restricted until proprietary rights have been secured. Public access to a state university's research denies that institution a proprietary right, and severely discourages the promotion of high quality basic research. (MLW)

Describes a lesson for junior high social studies which uses a comparison of research findings to teach students about international political socialization. Students answer questionnaires about their own attitudes and knowledge of international political socialization and then compare and contrast their responses to responses of American,…

Lawrence Kohlberg's empirical research does not, in itself, justify the claim that his higher stages of moral development are more adequately moral than lower stages; consequently, using Kohlbergian interventions to promote student development through these stages is unjustified. Empirical research, while necessary for planning and executing…

Three types of macro-level variables for program analysis--cultural, economic and demographic--provide a context for evaluation and offer alternative explanations for program success or failure. The problems of causality and availability of data, as well as the usefulness of macro variables in meta evaluation are discussed. (Author/CM)

A congressman discusses adverse effects of Federal policy and budget cuts on social programs for children, holds that children's lack of political visibility means that their interests are not always protected, and examines the role of psychologists and the Congressional Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families in promoting child welfare.…

Describes school improvement programs established by universities, state agencies, and school districts. All are based on effective schools' research. (Author/JM)