Examines the charter school concept as a means for educational improvement. Concerns over quality and equity are briefly discussed, and reasons why educators and researchers need to be included in the debate are highlighted. Suggests that charter schools can pilot new teaching strategies and curriculum offerings, and introduce productive…

Highlights several articles that raise questions about the role of research in educational reform. These articles argue over the use of National Assessment of Educational Progress results for accountability purposes; and the advisability of using cost-benefit analysis in critiquing educational reform proposals, and particularly, in evaluating the…

This paper reviews what is known about the effectiveness of the more controversial use of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy with people who have mental retardation. It examines self-management approaches (problem solving, anger management, and cognitive therapy) and psychodynamic psychotherapy. The paper concludes that there has…

Ideas from postpositivist thinking have been particularly challenging for comparative education scholarship and its metanarratives. Analysis of articles in major comparative education journals in the 1990s examines the integration of ideas from 10 poststructuralist thinkers and explores in detail the appropriation of Foucault's ideas and…

Describes a study by the ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) that identified strengths and weaknesses of current access methods to peer-reviewed electronic journals in the fields of science and technology, focusing on perceptions of public service librarians. Topics include cataloging, links on Web sites, aggregator databases, and…

This article discusses evidence for functional behavioral assessment (FBA) procedures in terms of the meaning and interpretation of different forms of reliability and validity in FBA. It concludes that additional research needs to be conducted with various target behaviors across different settings to support the continued use of FBA. (Contains…

Presents a concentric research design model based on need for research which transcends individuals' historic or experiential bias concerning choice of study design, tools, and data reduction strategies. Describes the following "rings": theory/knowledge orientation; theory versus applied research; quantitative versus qualitative research…

Analyzes the development of collective interest in children's moral and physical well-being. Proposes alleviation of the dichotomy between "moral progress" and the "discourse of suspicion" which sees reform as the imposition of one social group over another. Discusses and illustrates trends with data from the Children's Aid Society and the New…

To enhance the study of abstract knowledge and to make it a central concern in the study of cognition, and to explore the nature of abstractions and the function of abstraction, the seven chapters in this special issue formulate researchable hypotheses, propose working hypotheses, identify major phenomena, and outline possible educational…

Charges that virtually all existing educational research perspectives are laced with epistemological racism. Discusses five categories of racism and their linkages to research. Concluding comments offer suggestions about what initially needs to be done to address epistemological racism. (GR)

Research on rural mathematics education should adopt a conservative approach to method that accepts the existence of a knowable reality; a liberal approach to content that views rural issues broadly and sidesteps deficit models of rurality; and a radical perspective on application that recognizes that the use of research findings in the policy…

This article discusses a workshop that explored research barriers in early intervention for children with autism in the United Kingdom. Following a summary of presentations, recommendations are made for the research agenda, basic research design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of tests, improving statistical power, and a research…

A study examined the dynamics of female-female and male-female instructor pairings in challenge-course instructor training workshops. Thank-you notes from 47 participants indicated that women instructors were seen differently from men and were also seen differently when working with each other. Whether this is due to actual differences or…

Presents four challenges faced by libraries and proposes research designs to address each of them. The challenges involve: invisible infrastructure; content and collections; preservation and access; and institutional boundaries. Proposes a mixture of research methods that includes surveys, case studies, documentary analyses, and policy analyses.…

Reviews variables, measures, and studies associated with the child care quality perspectives of researchers and professionals, parents using care, child care staff, and children in care. Argues that given the preponderance of studies conducted from the professional/researcher perspective, more effort should be directed to studying child care…