Discusses recent changes in mathematics education and assessment in England and Wales against the background of research on mathematics performance and assessment. Reports findings from qualitative research with 10- to 11-year olds undertaken with the object of exploring the validity of the pilot pencil-and-paper tests in mathematics. Contains 49…

Analysis of the coping strategies of 40 adult women who had been sexually abused in childhood found that overall, abuse characteristics did not predict outcome. However, women who "deliberately suppressed" the abuse incidents were more likely to have low self-esteem and women who "reframed" the sexual abuse event were significantly less likely to…

Describes a qualitative ethnographically informed case study of an electronic text center in a large academic library designed to reveal the underlying metaphors that library staff and patrons used in thinking about electronic texts. It draws upon theories from cognitive anthropology concerning metaphors and mental scripts. (Author/LRW)

Based on qualitative research (interviews with 39 elementary teachers and case studies of two schools), demonstrates that two important concepts can clarify school leaders' crucial role in teachers' professional development. If principals create workplace conditions that offer learning space and opportunities, learning experiences will happen.…

Interviews with 11 high school-aged students with physical disabilities found participants felt driving would add freedom, independence, and responsibility to their lives and increase their educational, employment, and recreational choices. Most preferred to be included in high school driver's education, however, enrollment was either delayed or…

Describes a qualitative study that explores the perspectives of 16 senior student affairs officers. Describes the predominance of student learning as an overarching framework for understanding their work. Findings suggest that the work of student affairs remains largely unchanged on many campuses, except for an increased emphasis on student…

A metatheoretical framework is reviewed, and the qualitative/quantitative dichotomy, prevalent in library and information science (LIS), is critiqued. Standpoint epistemology, as a critique of existing power-knowledge relationships, is discussed as a research strategy that can provide a starting point for re-conceptualizing LIS research. (AEF)

Effects of qualitative researchers' competing self-identities on decision making in the research process are addressed and illustrated with examples from the author's research with African American/Latino, low- to middle-income families of children with disabilities. (Author/DB)

Examines the consequences of the application of different research methods in the field of experiential education. Discusses the meaning of "science"; aims of science, research, and evaluation; systematic, empirical, technological, or emancipatory power of a theory; importance of nomothetic and idiographic rules; researcher-subject…

Explores the concept of the five-step "resilience cycle" in the lives of two of five Dominican American students attending New York University. All five students were high achieving but with a low socioeconomic background. Considers the role of adaptive, complementary, and situational protective factors in producing academic resilience…

Reports on a qualitative study in which 1,382 parents of first-year students at two institutions used interactive websites to list their hopes and goals for their students' overall college experience. Top goals include: quality education; job preparation; maturity/independence; fun/enjoyment; and academic success. (Author/GCP)

A qualitative study of four faculty members serving as group leaders during a distance-learning project involving Texas A&M, the University of Nairobi (Kenya), and the University of Zimbabwe determined that extended planning time and extensive collaboration between faculty members in participating countries are essential for multinational…

Finds Bloom and Tinker's description and measurement of active, integrated, and situated children to be a credible scientifically rigorous paradigm for language acquisition research. Highlights their use of the naturalistic, observational method to understand the changing patterns of integration and use of multifaceted abilities in child language…

Contributes to the conceptualization of the complex terrain that is mathematics teacher education development. Postulates a framework consisting of four stages of development that are distinguished by the domain of activities reflections may focus on and the nature of those reflections. (Author/MM)

This article discusses the use of personal narrative in social science research and in helping individuals with learning difficulties renegotiate their sense of identity. One woman's story of her life is used to illustrate the corrosive effects of institutionalization in identity formation. (Contains references.) (DB)