Argues teachers must be able to correctly interpret and evaluate research design and results to effectively use research to improve instruction. Offers five guidelines for teachers to consider before changing teaching methods in response to research results. Favors longitudinal and cross-sectional studies for best long-term results from…

Addresses challenges of enrolling and retaining racial and ethnic minority students in higher education. Issues of human resource development needs, the underrepresentation of minorities, and participation of minorities in the skilled labor force are related to institution-level attrition research. Intervention should be based on recognizing…

Reports on a review of 25 content analysis studies of social studies textbooks published between 1982 and 1992. Finds that many of the problems noted in other types of social studies research also are evident in these studies. Provides recommendations for improving the quality of content analysis studies. (CFR)

Describes some of the basic principles of total quality management (TQM) and its application to education. A case example of a principal's experience implementing TQM is presented, and implications for researchers and practitioners are drawn. Without critical dialog about purpose, TQM will worsen rather than improve educational inequalities. (SLD)

Lists doctoral dissertations that were completed during 1996 that relate to children and adults with hearing impairments, including the education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, early intervention, hearing loss, teacher inservice training, cochlear implants, substance abuse, sign language, and socialization. (CR)

This report, submitted during the 1996 Liddell court case on school desegregation in the St. Louis (Missouri) city schools, has been revised. Part 1 analyzes the effects of race on student achievement, using school district data. Part 2 uses national survey data to focus on the effects of race on education, employment, and attitudes. (SLD)

Argues that much of the recent scholarship on school choice, marketization, and diversity has ignored issues of gender. Provides an overview of several recent studies examining gender issues and parents' perspectives on school choice. Maintains that gender is a significant, if often, contradictory factor in these decisions. (MJP)

Considers ways that technology can enhance teaching and research within the preservice classroom and assist research into national issues affecting art teacher education. Recommends a more thorough integration of multimedia technology into preservice teacher art education. Discusses Internet sites of particular interest to teachers. (MJP)

Asserts that government sponsored educational research has been seriously compromised by the introduction of restrictive conditions. These contractual conditions restrain researchers from discussing any aspect of the research, limiting all information dissemination to the sponsoring body. Contains examples of government suppression and…

Although some teacher educators hoped that the creation and use of standards would help to professionalize teaching, the discourse of standards and accountability is now being used to erode teacher education. Many teacher educators who anticipated the thrill of professionalization through standards are now experiencing the agony of deletes,…

An eight-year study of 49 schools purporting to practice and apply Quality Management (QM) techniques and processes uncovered some revealing differences between what respondents thought "should be" happening in these schools and what they reported was happening. The gaps uncovered could be recognized as differences between rhetoric and…

This paper describes the advancements that have occurred in the use of educational technologies over the past ten years (1995-2005) and argues that progress has been slow and reminiscent of the slow progress observed in the previous decade (1985-1995). The paper argues that one of the principal reasons for the less than spectacular results stems…

Critics of distance education frequently assert that completion rates are lower in distance education courses than in traditional courses. Such criticism comes despite sparse and inconclusive research on completion rates for distance and traditional education courses. This article reviews some of the existing research and then describes some of…

E-learning is increasingly being used in higher education settings, yet research examining how students use e-resources is frequently limited. Some previous studies have used the think-aloud method (an approach with origins in cognitive psychology) as an alternative to the more usual questionnaire or focus groups, but there is little discussion in…

This article provides an introduction to the TLRP Learning How to Learn Project and a context for the articles that follow in this special issue. The origins of the research, in a concern to investigate the organizational and network conditions that support innovation in teaching and learning, and in a perceived need to align research on pedagogy…