The review of current evaluation practice indicates a failure to provide information relevant to policy makers and service consumers due to investigation of restricted range of outcomes, inattention to ecological context of behavior, and methodological weaknesses. Promising directions in measuring quality of life and pertinent environmental…

Discusses the issues surrounding changes in the quantity and quality of kindergarten programing. The problems of conducting research comparing the over-all effectiveness of three types of kindergarten schedules are described. The controversial aspects of each are illustrated. Such kindergarten programs are improved by quality planning, curriculum…

Outlines the recent transition, within educational research, from conflict to cooperation between quantitative and qualitative approaches. Asserts that compatibility is based on a confusion between method as technique and method as logic of justification. Argues that the claim of compatibility cannot be sustained and blocks an interesting and…

Reports aspects of a case study of educational politics relating to early childhood education in California. Confirms the complex and political nature of evaluation and lists evaluation dilemmas played out in the policy arena. (RH)

Notes that major changes have occurred in the factors investigated and the data collection procedures employed in teacher effectiveness research and that the generalizability of significant findings continues to be limited by methodological and experimental design problems. (FL)

The review examines evaluations of the efficacy of special education programs for mildly disabled children. The author suggests that serious methodological flaws make our present knowledge in this area very weak and proposes a methodology to address and overcome many of the limitations of previous research. (Author)

The argument made by Gaffuri, Wrench, Karr, and Kopp (Teaching of Psychology; v9 p229-30 1982) that student ratings of instruction are correlated with and possibly biased by grades is critiqued. (RM)

Linda Flower and John Hayes respond to Marilyn Cooper and Michael Holzman's "Talking About Protocols," pointing out errors in their understanding of protocol analysis and a study in which the data appear to contradict what Cooper and Holzman assume the researchers should see. Includes reply by Cooper and Holzman. (HTH)

The article presents a critical overview of research on the integration of moderately mentally handicapped children in Ontario schools. Findings suggest that the literature is still inconclusive or, at best, equivocal. Indeed, like their predecessors, recent studies have been based, for the most part, on descriptive or impressionistic evidence.…

Presents a sampling of commentary about epistemological function, about the diverse research processes that result from a particular philosophical position, and about technical implementation of various attempts to discover knowledge. Discussion of the qualitative versus quantitative research debate highlights ethnography, controlling for bias,…

Existing data on illegal immigration in the U.S. is inadequate. The limited availability of macrodata on the size of the annual flows and of the accumulated stock of individuals as well as of microdata on their influence on selected labor markets has been used to forestall policy reform efforts. (Author/RDN)

Acknowledges a number of studies that show an association among children, but warns that such an association does not prove causality. Calls for the implementation of such controls as IQ and social class in research on the effects of television on achievement. (GC)

Research indicates that factors other than media patterns--including such variables as home environment, role models, and personality characteristics--appear to influence reading behavior. New, sophisticated theoretical models are needed, however, to examine the relationship between television and reading. (Author/GC)

The problem of determining which of several populations has the largest mean is considered. The procedure described by Dudewicz and Dalal is extended to the case of unequal sample sizes. (JKS)

The author argues that one of the worst aspects of logical positivism is its attempt to construct a value-free science and to exclude values from the scientific process. (Author/PN)