Although feminist perspectives about research have not been presented in a unified paradigm, feminist theory has helped to expose and demystify the empirical assumption of objectivity as the only way to truth in research. The feminist perspective in research represents alternate, non-oppressive formulations of what constitutes meaningful and valid…

A draft of a book, "School Choice: The Cultural Logic of Families, the Political Rationality of Institutions," received a great deal of media attention. The book contains research from nine different studies of school choice and includes an introduction and conclusion by Harvard professors Richard Elmore, Gary Orfield, and Bruce Fuller. The…

An evaluation of Round One of a pilot study of a system for identifying effective youth organizations around the world is presented in this report. The report begins with a page of general observations about the successes and shortcomings of the pilot study, indicating that in general the study accomplished its objectives but that a need for…

The opinions of distance educators and practitioners around the world were surveyed regarding availability of research information, areas in which research efforts should be concentrated, and priority to be given to these research areas. The sample was randomly selected from registered members of the International Council for Distance Education.…

This book is about colleagues in colleges and universities who sometimes are unethical. It is about episodes that people in universities and colleges prefer not to talk about except in whispers, if at all--clashes over ethics and the dilemmas created by unethical colleagues in research and teaching. The book was written for those members of…

Dropout rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are higher than those of other racial/ethnic groups, but the overall or national AI/AN dropout rate is not known. In an attempt to generate a national rate, data were collected from 26 state departments of education, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and tribally controlled schools;…

It is argued that the debate between qualitative and quantitative research for educational researchers is actually an argument between constructivism and positivism. Positivism has been the basis for most quantitative research in education. Two different things are actually meant when constructivism is discussed (constructivism and…

The Barnum Effect was generated to teach students about the ethics of deception in research and the feelings of subjects who are deceived. The Barnum Effect occurs when individuals are duped into believing invalid results of psychological tests. People are most accepting when given favorable feedback about themselves. They interpret evaluations as…

Children of families in the Showmen's Guild of Australasia have traveled throughout Australia for generations as their families followed show circuits. Educational provision for these children has varied enormously in the past. In 1992, the Queensland Department of Education assigned three teachers at the School of Distance Education (Brisbane) to…

This report discusses the findings of a study that attempted to investigate the participation rates of students with disabilities in the Oregon statewide testing program. The study joined individual student data from the Oregon Statewide Assessment Program and the Oregon Special Education Child Count to examine participation rates. The report…

The methods and findings of studies of the effects and value of preschool education and compensatory education programs, such as Head Start, are reviewed. After introductory comments on ideological controversies and on terminology, section 1 focuses on evaluative studies of the immediate and long-term effects of preschool education and early…

The purpose of this paper is to offer an alternative explanation of why the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, and educational research in general, has such a low status and its connection to education reform is so remote. Emphasis placed on the differences that divide reformers, researchers, and educators instead of similarities that…

This preliminary study investigated the perceptions of the research process of teachers who had newly become researchers and, in particular, it sought to explore the relationship between teacher-conducted research and professional growth. Six experienced English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers were…

Existing qualitative studies of school principals suffer from procedural or conceptual shortcomings that result in failure to clarify the principal's instructional role. This paper describes the methodology and procedures of a year-long, multimethod, multilevel field study of 12 school principals. First, the background for the study (the…

The Berkeley Reading Tests Project has selected as its principal object of study standardized tests of reading comprehension. The interest is in the assessment of such tests, with respect to their performance as measures of the reading comprehension abilities of school children. A serious study of the assessment of reading comprehension requires…