For 30 years, the "theory movement" in educational administration pursued a logical positivistic paradigm and a goal of developing a "science" of administration. Since Kuhn (1962), that model has been challenged but not widely recognized until Weick's 1977 study on loosely coupled systems. This article suggests possible…

Reviews existing literature on school-based management (SBM) policy and research, highlighting methods to increase SBM's effectiveness. Offers new research directions, based on current knowledge and knowledge deficiencies. Future policy and research should look beyond delegation of budget, personnel, and curriculum decisions to schools and view…

Theories may fail to explain or predict outcomes of educational programs because outcomes are influenced by variations in educators' behavior and attitudes during program implementation. A theory-oriented evaluation approach includes reflection by educators on their personal and professional theoretical patterns that shape their educational…

After outlining the history of action research, this paper distinguishes two varieties that are important and useful to the second-language field. The benefits of small-scale intervention as a type of action research are discussed. (100 references) (Author/LB)

Discusses the ongoing debate over qualitative versus quantitative research, recommending an alternative conceptual organization of educational research dimensions that assumes that qualitative-quantitative research paradigms are best organized into a series of interactive but parallel continuums called Q-continuum. The model interprets the best…

Argues that traditional approaches to professional development--whether in university classrooms or school settings--are unlikely to create change because they are based on an artificial dichotomy between theory and practice. Revitalizing educational practice requires that we examine our own beliefs and practice to modify our approach to…

Future teachers need ongoing professional development that is systematic and focused on the problems of racism. They need additional means beyond college classes to examine their values, beliefs, and prejudices. Without this continued systematic examination, we could be condemning another generation of urban children to the purview of teachers who…

Factors that have slowed progress in middle grades reform include (1) emphasizing school-level, structural changes, such as merging curricular areas and instructional assignments, which do little to change the experience of students; and (2) basing reform more on rhetoric than research. Reviews the articles in this special issue, which seeks to…

Focuses on three informal assessment tools (reading, retelling, and interviewing) for early literacy behaviors, and describes their use with a second-grade student. (SR)

Argues that college faculty, including English teachers, must work to maintain a healthy, whole person in the midst of their maddeningly busy schedules. Outlines the pressures and responsibilities faced by college faculty. (HB)

The theory-practice relationship has been handled more rhetorically than empirically. The dissemination of scientific research to professional groups is examined empirically and conceptually, using a model representing key variable sets in this field. Sustained, interactive dissemination may be of as much value to researchers as to practitioners.…

Staff development is crucial in educational reform. The Readings in Educational Research (RER) project emerged out of a need for teacher-researcher communication, providing packets of original research reports in areas of interest to teachers. Teacher study groups using RER indicated they found RER a very positive experience. (SM)

Argues that both the increased theoretical productivity in the field of communication as well as the increased confusion about theory are best explained by the influence of a third variable: a general transformation of the human sciences characterized by blurred genres. (SR)

Examines the relationship between existing research and theoretical writings dealing with general job satisfaction, teacher job satisfaction, and William Glasser's quality school concept. Educational organizations must provide genuine opportunities for teacher empowerment, initiate discussions about total quality and internal motivation, consider…

Includes "Intelligence Is More than IQ" (Sternberg); "In Search of Intraterrestrial Intelligence" (Wagner); "On Changing Fundamental Conceptions of Undergraduate Experience" (Guskin); "Experience and Intelligence" (Gotlieb); "Assessing the Value of Cooperative Education" (Williams et al.); and…