This text was written to help the reader acquire a base of knowledge about classical psychometrics and to integrate new ideas into that framework of knowledge. The material is organized into five units: (1) introduction to measurement theory; (2) reliability; (3) validity; (4) item analysis in test development; and (5) test scoring and…

Educational research is designed to generate valid and reliable information needed by decision-makers. The issue of research utilization is of utmost importance, especially as it relates to the federal government; however, much of the research has not found its way into the policymaking process. This issue precipitated a survey of 141 Mid-South…

The administrator preparation reform issue is affected by a split in loyalties between the "professional" model and the liberal arts model. Whereas recent calls for reform follow the professional model, most professors of educational administration, who must implement the reforms, are products of the liberal arts tradition. This paper reviews…

A historical perspective of agricultural education is needed in order to understand its role in the future. Agriculture as a science did not exist prior to the 19th century. The Morrill Act contributed greatly to this development. With the realization that higher education could serve persons interested in the agricultural and mechanical arts came…

An integrated language perspective on teaching in the elementary school is outlined in this book. The text provides the theory on which the perspective is based and provides many examples of how it may be translated into practice. Chapter one provides the general principles of the integrated language perspective. Chapter two describes the…

Designed to raise the full range of hermeneutic concerns regarding evaluation of student writing, and to spur further research and discussion, this collection of essays focuses on a reconsideration of the interpretation and evaluation practices of writing teachers. Essays include: "A Reflective Conversation: 'Tempos of Meaning'"…

The biggest concern with whole language instruction lies in ignoring some of the obvious problems in implementation or denying that there could be any problems at all. Problems mentioned by Maryland reading supervisors involve: teacher competence; phonics/spelling/skills instruction; responses of whole language advocates when asked what direction…

To assess the extent to which the results of implementation studies relating to elementary and secondary schools were generalizable to vocational education contexts, a study of two specific curriculum innovations in vocational education was undertaken in Western Australia. It was designed to yield information about the context of curriculum…

This document presents findings from a study conducted to examine the relationships between jails which were represented at the 1978 Special National Workshop on Mental Health Services in Local Jails and the various components of their local mental health systems. Chapter I explains the origins and scope of the study, describes the sample of 33…

Noting research suggesting that something more than rote memorization is involved in the process of spelling, this paper describes effective instructional strategies to help students improve their spelling abilities. Following an introduction on the memorization/cognition camps in spelling research, the paper discusses current, but less effective,…

This booklet was written to help teachers plan their own research. It concentrates on how to translate an issue of general concern to a teacher or group of teachers into a worthwhile and feasible piece of research. The booklet is divided into four sections: section 1 deals with the purpose of doing research. It stresses that research questions can…

This paper describes recent research on the topic of assessment that has been conducted at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. It is argued that assessment built around an interesting and challenging project that explores a particular domain (such as music, writing, drawing, mathematics, science, or programming) offers an…

A study examined: (1) the extent to which teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) possess beliefs about second language learning and teaching consistent with the major theoretical explanations in the field of ESL; (2) the extent to which these beliefs are associated with classroom instructional practices; and (3) perceptions of ESL teachers…

The current challenge in distance education is to determine the ways in which research can assist practice in fostering communication. Research in distance education may be broken down into three approaches: (1) practical and descriptive studies that give little attention to conceptual underpinnings; (2) application of conceptual models from…

This paper summarizes the research on the factors influencing marital satisfaction, selected research on locus of control, research on the measurement of locus of control, and the recent research on locus of control and marital satisfaction. It analyzes this research from the standpoint of criticisms of the research on locus of control and makes…