Piaget's early contribution to theorizing about play is discussed critically with reference to three major interrelated problems. These are: (1) that despite their equipotentiality in Piaget's theory of intelligence, imitation and play are not conceptualized as making an equal contribution to cognition, play taking a subordinate role; (2) that…

This document discusses methodological issues involved in tracking panel respondents. (Panel studies are descirbed as a type of longitudinal study which requres gathering data from the same individuals at more than one point in time.) First, an overview is presented of representative studies which follow different tracking methodologies that have…

This review of research involving children's moral judgment of literature indicates that such research has been plagued by serious methodological problems stemming largely from the fact that the stimulus materials used to assess children's comprehension and evaluations have tended to be poorly constructed. It contends that this forces children to…

Needed research refers to both the kind of study and the area in which the work is done. Design elements and characteristics for needed research include (1) normative studies, (2) statements of statistical significance, (3) precisely formulated problems, (4) carefully defined hypotheses, (5) well-defined populations and randomly selected samples,…

This progress report describes the method used in acquiring the verbal behavior of teachers during class time. The method of acquiring this data is an important part of the larger study concerned with the evaluation and standardization of coding categories for use as an observation and research tool in analyzing teacher behavior. In fact, the…

External political pressures which influence the role and methodology of evaluation are described in the lead article by Henry M. Brickell. These influences, according to the author, are constantly present and are often more powerful in their effect than the actual evaluation findings. Based upon his experiences as an evaluator of educational…

Communication researchers have typically specified either cognitions or behaviors as the crucial units of analysis. This cognitive/behavioral dichotomy is evident in current conceptualizations of social relationship as a summative combination of separate behaviors, or a joint product that goes beyond the constituent parts. Choosing cognitive or…

This paper zeroes in on a subset of descriptors and predictors of undergraduate success, namely those which are neither cognitive measures (such as, high school grade point averages or aptitude test scores) nor personality test variables. The descriptors and predictors considered are broadly classed as: high school related; family and peer…

A three-day research development seminar planning a comprehensive research program on the deanship in educational administration featured papers and responses to the papers delineating the domains of inquiry. The topics of the papers and responses summarized (1) suggest a framework for analyzing the growth and development of a field of…

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of induced affect as a pregroup training experience for coping with stress related to participation in an encounter group. Twenty-six subjects who volunteered to participate in an encounter group randomly were assigned to three treatment groups: Induced Affect Training plus the Encounter…

There are three main reasons why reading research has not had a stronger influence on what goes on in schools. The first reason is the powerful impact of social forces such as the bandwagon effect, the pendulum swing, and the prevailing climate of opinion. These factors determine to an unfortunately large degree whether or not particular research…

Systematically reviewing and integrating the literature of a field of study may be considered a type of research using a particular set of research techniques and methods. The works of other writers comprise the integrator's raw data. Using bibliographies and reviews, he must locate all references that seem relevant to a given topic. Special…

After a review of previous research, a critical review of "Comparative Values and Achievement of Mexican-American and Anglo Pupils," by Audrey J. Schwartz, and "Educational Achievement and Aspirations of Mexican-American Youth in a Metropolitan Context," by C. Wayne Gordon et al., is constructed. The objective of this paper is to extend and expand…

In order to ascertain the effectiveness of programed instruction as compared to teacher instruction and to evaluate the quality of classroom research by teachers, the Canadian Teachers' Federation offered ten instruction programs on mathematics and chemistry to teachers throughout the country and asked them to evaluate the effectiveness of the…

This paper on infant behavior offers a program to positively change decelerating mental development curves in infants. It attempts to (1) suggest a theoretical model, (2) present a developmental matrix derived from observation using the model, and (3) note specific instrumentation for infant observation and an experimental-stimulating responsive…