A case study of the conversational development in a 7-year-old girl with profound deafness explored the relationship between mode of inquiry and findings resulting from using qualitative research methodology. Findings led to the discovery of the child's language competencies and revealed contextual features that contributed to conversational…

Based on the author's teaching/counseling experience, describes the micropolitics of race and privilege manifest in one elite independent school that threatened academically gifted African-American high school students' success. Privileged education must be reexamined before advocating it for students currently ill-served by public schools.…

Uses qualitative methods to examine the similarities and differences in the meaning of aging for young and older adults. Results show that younger adults associate aging with major events in their lives and perceive aging negatively. By contrast, older adults associate aging with everyday events and they perceive aging positively. (Author/GCP)

Examines mistakes in following instructions in an electronics factory. Explores the significance of the mistakes and a range of explanations for why they occur. Offers an expansive definition of what it means to be a literate, skills-rich worker, and urges vigilance against the tendency in both schools and workplaces to label and mislabel. (SC)

Examines closely the processes, both theoretical and enacted, a teacher undergoes when making changes in methods of reading instruction. Chronicles, using a qualitative-research case study, a teacher who after 19 years of teaching strictly by the basal began changing toward a balanced literature approach. Includes a model of transition…

Explores the encounter between teachers and research literature, examines whether this encounter has any prospects, and determines the features necessary for a meaningful encounter. Illustrates that research literature is not part of the typical teacher's library and that there is a gap between the researcher's world and teacher's world. (CMK)

A case study of Queensland, Australia, elementary principals found their jobs significantly affected by school-based management. Principals are expected to lead their communities through the change process and facilitate cultural change while responding to greater accountability demands from the system. Managerialism has eclipsed educational…

Analyzed the discourse about television programs of 1,300 5- to 13-year-olds from England and Wales. Found that discourse expressed socially responsible and public service values in evaluating programs. Explained finding in terms of children's adaptation to task requirements and ability to access different kinds of adult discourse available in the…

Conducted focus groups with 37 high school students receiving mental health services, 24 students not receiving services, 28 parents, and 47 therapists, administrators, and health care staff to gauge the quality and effectiveness of an expanded school mental health program. Identifies effective aspects of the therapy and discusses implications for…

Analyzes the educational practices that contribute to the success of a model inclusion program at the Connolly Elementary School focusing on the school culture. Identifies three components of the Connolly school culture that contributed to the success of inclusion. Suggests that a school's culture should be understood when implementing inclusion.…

Studies the life story and perceptions of literacy of a highly literate Latina female college student who developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Finds that the woman's ability to write had been the foundation on which her social meanings of literacy rested: her life story revealed how her identity was influenced by societal values for writing and…

Describes approaches for evaluating the effectiveness of a school's music program. Discusses the expertise-oriented approach (relies heavily on professional judgment of committee members), objectives-oriented approach (examines curricular goals and outcomes), and naturalistic approach (uses qualitative inquiry techniques). Includes a list of…

A study investigated the experience of being a gifted student at a public residential high school by using ethnographic and phenomenological inquiry. The social system that emerged, one that the students judged as atypical, is described. Contextual factors are presented in an effort to understand the students' experience. (Contains references.)…

A 3-year qualitative study documented and critiqued a city school system's efforts to enlighten faculty and staff through multicultural professional development. Examples from the study show how the district attempted to introduce a more inclusive schooling approach and extend the virtues of multicultural professional development. (Conatains 31…

Parents (N=250) of Mexican and Puerto Rican origin and with young children with developmental delays were interviewed concerning the role of religion in their lives. Most parents viewed both church and faith as supportive. Thematic analysis revealed specific religious beliefs and practices parents viewed as supportive and the religious frameworks…