This document contains the 12 issues of the newsletter "Rural Policy Matters" published in 2000. Issues examine recent educational research on small and rural schools; report on state standards and court litigation related to rural schools, the efforts of communities to save their local schools, and the condition of rural facilities;…

Areas of business education that need to be researched were identified through a two-round study. First, 2 groups of more than 40 Delta Pi Epsilon members generated ideas for research topics at regional and national conferences. The resulting list of topics was edited and rated by a Delphi panel consisting of 15 educators from postsecondary and…

The Life History Project at Denmark's Roskilde University is a 5-year research project that was initiated in 1998 to examine learning and participation in adult and continuing education from a life history perspective. The project was designed to build on a broad range of qualitative interview studies and case studies into learning processes. The…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a project that developed, demonstrated, evaluated, and disseminated information about a specialized inservice training model to prepare early interventionists, special education teachers, and related service personnel to provide family-centered programming to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who are…

The applications of biographical concepts in educational settings were examined through a case study of one researcher's use of the biographical narrative interview to examine the connection between subjective and structural conditions and coping strategies in individual lives and to inform adult education practitioners. The biographical approach…

This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the…

A survey of literature on adult learning and learners conducted for Palau Community College (PCC), Koror, Palau, found a lack of literature specific to the United States-affiliated Pacific region. Background information was compiled on development of formal education in Palau. A survey was administered in fall 2001 to adult learners working toward…

This report focuses on three major areas of disability research information. Part 1 discusses findings from a series of online focus groups conducted from July 2001 through June 2002 that explored types of additional disability-related research information consumers would like to see. Of the total responses received, persons with a disability…

Adult and continuing education in the arts can and does play a role in the development of cultural identity. Dimensions of culture include ethnicity, location, age, social class, and time. This definition of culture leads to the conclusion that cultures are generally small and are dynamic rather than static. Research shows that individuals in what…

English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) student writers are often labeled as having poor language proficiency skills, poor writing skills, and poor organizational skills. These labels can negatively affect teachers and students. They have become yardsticks for guiding teachers' instruction and measuring students' performance. Often, ESL writing…

This paper documents one university's use of action research to encourage preservice teachers' ongoing critical reflection as they negotiated diversity and community in their classrooms. Several supervisors developed a self-study research plan, meeting over 1 year to study several strategies for engaging preservice teachers in critical reflection.…

This booklet, which is intended for United Kingdom further education (FE) college staff at all levels, illustrates ways FE colleges have used information technology (IT) to manage their college information and ensure its accuracy. Section 1 provides an overview of the information-related problems encountered by FE colleges and summarizes key…

A study of a single-sex learning environment was conducted in a public school, Edward Hand Middle School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students were grouped homogeneously by sex for all major subjects for a period of one semester and grouped heterogeneously for one semester. The study examined the effects that the…

This book contains six papers: "Studying the Teachers Life and Work" (Ivor F. Goodson); "Mindful Orientation in Teachers' Pedagogical Thinking" (Jukka Husu); "The Way Thinking is Once Again" (Pertti Kansanen); "Preparing Prospective Elementary Teachers to Teach Mathematics: A Problem-Solving Approach" (Frank…

This report reviews a study to identify individual factors that affect adult learners' success and persistence in college programs. Part 1, a historical analysis, uses past records of students to analyze patterns of persistence and success. It examines how demographic variables relate to continuing enrollment, grade point average (GPA), and degree…