A study was conducted to determine the extent and nature on non-respondent bias in the follow-up survey in 1981 of Michigan secondary vocational education students from the class of 1980. The response rate to the annual survey has been approximately 76 percent in past years, yet there remains a significant non-response bias potential. This study,…

Designed as a forum for the exchange of information among research and planning professionals, this journal presents articles on institutional research studies and practices. In "The President's Forum," Mantha Mehallis focuses on the changing role of research evaluation and planning in community colleges. Next, Linda Greer, in her article,…

Among the variables contributing to the therapeutic relationship between counselor and client, empathy has received much attention in counseling process research. Most of this research has relied on brief segments as a sampling unit; seldom have these segments been compared with entire counseling sessions. Segments of sessions and entire sessions…

A review of literature relevant to equal educational opportunity is presented in order to support an argument for the use of normative models in educational research. The literature review shows that confusion over the 1966 Coleman Report was due to a mismatch between the implied reform objective of the report and its statistical approach. The…

The effectiveness of schools and the levels of investment in schooling have been in question since the 1966 Coleman report "Equality of Educational Opportunity." Based on a theory of "knowledge-ability," this study challenges the assumption that given "inputs" will yield equivalent effects or "outputs." In…

Practical information is provided, in a question and answer format, for community college officials who are planning to conduct a community needs assessment. A brief discussion of the usefulness of needs assessment surveys to the college planning process is followed by descriptions of eight steps to be followed in planning and conducting a survey:…

The research on work and retirement attitudes is discrepant; some studies report a positive relationship between work attitudes and retirement attitudes, while other investigations find a negative or no relationship. Anticipated work changes and work and retirement attitudes were examined to determine patterns of withdrawal from occupational roles…

Perspectives on interdisciplinary research are considered in terms of project planning, the choice of problem-solving approach, the research field, project organization, informal organization, and integration of knowledge. Interdisciplinary studies were investigaged through following a number of research projects by means of field trips,…

The findings and 13 recommendations of a NSF Advisory Council task force that evaluated universities as centers of basic research are presented. Listed are the major strengths of universities as centers for basic research (including continuity and tradition, freedom of research, interactions among disciplines) and such threats to their viability…

The paper compares evaluation requirements established under P.L. 94-103 (Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act) and P.L. 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act). The correspondence of the requirements to traditional evaluation models is noted, and obstacles to implementation of the evaluation procedures are…

The educational research on schools and classrooms is burdened by the unresolved images of children and their place in society. Most educational research exaggerates the dominance of the teacher and neglects the presence and power of children. This tends to support the irresponsible, dependent, and powerless role assigned to children in our…

This paper discusses current studies of economic instruction in early childhood and primary elementary school grades. While it is true that the study of economics has shifted downward to the primary grades, it is unknown exactly how widespread the teaching of economics is at this early level. The few research studies reviewed in this paper use…

This document, product of a review of eighty-one final performance and evaluation reports of elementary and secondary career education projects to identify needed improvements in career education program evaluation, has four parts. Part I, a critique of common evaluation practices, covers overall evaluation designs, reporting, questionnaires and…

The subject of this report is an approach to teaching that has become known in recent years as "open education." An attempt is made to answer the questions, What is a research variable? and, Can openness be a variable in educational research? Part 1 serves the purpose of a position statement. Certain principles are declared to be the…

Findings from several recent studies suggest that the gender, cultural background and age of observers may influence their perception and evaluation of nonverbal communication. There is ample evidence to warrant using raters of only one sex (preferably female) and only one cultural background when the rating task involves decoding nonverbal…