This paper describes collegial model approaches to the interactions between rehabilitation researchers and individuals with disabilities or their family members. The approaches, called participatory research and participatory action research, grew out of a 1989 conference sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation…

Much has been written on the ethics of teaching syllabi that pursue a particular social agenda. Depending on the commentator, these syllabi have been characterized as transformative, socially responsible, political, politically correct, unethical and immoral. Throughout this literature, however, the assumption is that the teacher presenting the…

This qualitative, ethnographic study documented an upper primary school teacher's thinking as she planned to integrate a block play center into her classroom. Data was collected through a series of seven interviews in May, July, and August. Other methods of data collection included journal entries, stimulated recall, drawings, pictures, and notes…

This paper provides a general overview of the type of problems encountered in the field of research so that individuals who are contemplating conducting research in an underdeveloped country for the first time are better prepared, and hence, better able to complete their research. The paper recounts a female researcher's personal experiences in…

This qualitative study asked three elementary principals what they did to learn about their school's culture, what informative sources were available, and what hindered their progress. The two principals having a successful year were aware of and responded to school culture; employed various strategies for gathering information from numerous…

A study investigated the relationship between classroom discussion and literacy development in a college developmental reading classroom. It explored the implementation of C. Goldenberg's instructional conversation model (1992/93), focusing on the relatively untested assumption that discussion promotes reading comprehension, interpretation, and…

Subcellular processes like meiosis are frequently problematic for learners because they are complex and, except for the extent that they can be observed under a light microscope, occur outside of our direct experience. More detailed characterization of what underlies various degrees of student understanding of a process is required to more fully…

Uses of quantitative research for studying the relationship between school leadership and educational reform are discussed in this paper. Perceived inadequacies of quantitative methods are that such methods are inadequate for dealing with real-life complex phenomena, and that they require degrees of control that cannot be realistically achieved.…

This paper examines the evolution of computer software programs designed to support the qualitative research process; the differences between existing qualitative software and Metamorph(TM); and the use of Metamorph(TM) for qualitative research. The paper begins by presenting an overview of computer use in qualitative research, which includes a…

Traditional histories of American college composition instruction in the 19th and 20th centuries examine primarily the textbooks used in those courses, then draw conclusions based on the content of those textbooks about the activities and attitudes expressed in the classroom. The canon of composition historiography is lacking in several ways: the…

Using qualitative inquiry, this study provided a descriptive autobiographical revelation of the various developmental experiences of a preservice French teacher. A major focus on the subjective aspects of the teacher candidate's development provided additional information concerning her mental and personal life and the influence they have on her…

I. Roseman, M. Spindel, and P. Jose (1990) had previously demonstrated that specific appraisals of events led to discrete emotional responses, but this model has not been widely tested by other research teams using alternative research methods. The present study utilized four qualitative research methods, taught by Patti Lather at the 1994…

When conducting a two-year college program review, there are several advantages to supplementing the standard quantitative research approach with qualitative measures. Qualitative research does not depend on a large number of random samples, it uses a flexible design which can be refined as the research is executed, and it generates findings in a…

A qualitative study focused on the experiences of 20 teachers required to use portfolio assessment in a summer program for at-risk kindergarten and first-grade students. Three questions guided data collection: What types of information did the teachers aggregate?; What definition of literacy emerged from the acquired information?; and What guided…

This paper explores possible intergenerational socialization into science on the part of mothers who are scientists in relation to their school-age daughters. Its aim is to describe ways in which mothers who are scientists foster or fail to foster orientation to science fields. The exploratory and naturalistic study is conducted in the "context of…