Important points of the 1982 Oxford Workshop for European and American scholars are discussed: the need for a reorganized core of scholarly concern, methods for studying those concerns, and cooperative efforts among teaching institutions in various countries. Informal networks are seen as the most promising vehicles of collaboration. (KC)

Points out that advances in research include field experiments and panel studies permitting the use of nonexperimental causal-inference techniques. Notes that the scope of recent research has expanded to include cognitive processing of televised information and other types of effects (e.g., children's concepts of social reality). Suggests…

Discusses the current meager state of knowledge of sex differentiation in language variation and concludes that poor theorizing and inadequate methodology are to blame. Describes a study of pronoun usage by male and female Japanese speakers to show that research on sex differentiation in language is possible. (EKN)

Discusses the limitations of current social science research on American Indians, the lack of Indian participation in research and tribal reactions thereto, the dearth of American Indian researchers, and proposals for curriculum integration in educational research training for Native Americans. (SK)

Describes four stages of policy formulation (issue definition, deliberation on policy options, authoritative allocation, and performance oversight) and four types of policy-relevant social research (descriptive, explanatory, critical, and forecasting). Proposes a model showing the linkages among research types, policy-making stages, and policy…

Suggests that both broad policy analyses and country case studies are needed to illuminate relationships between international aid agencies and recipient nations and to delineate the impact that agency educational policies have on international educational development. Part of a theme issue on aid to Third World education. (SJL)

Reveals the potential usefulness of the "medical model" for social work practitioners. Outlines methods of the medical approach that can be used to improve social services and to avoid wasteful or harmful practice. Suggests social workers having negative attitudes about the medical model should reconsider their attitudes. (Author

Notes that after 20 years of research on advance organizers there is little unequivocal evidence regarding their efficacy and optimal use. Discusses two aspects of this research that are probably responsible for these findings: lack of scientifically objective advance organizer construction and definition and the lack of objective and valid…

Enumerates the issues which are at the core of the debate over the New Sociology of Education--the nature of the epistemological foundation, the adequacy of phenomenology as a basis for structural analysis, the stratification of knowledge and the power of elites in determining curriculum, and the nature of the political action implied. For journal…

Previous conclusions regarding the negative effect of illustration on learning to read are challenged. Clarity is also sought on the issue of the effect of illustration on comprehension. (Author/KC)

Drawing on anthropological theories of cultural transmission, the author suggests that the simple notion of teacher education be replaced with a concept incorporating teacher education (instruction in formal procedures), teacher enculturation (role-learning through observation), and teacher schooling (transmission of professional folklore which…

One of the most difficult problems involved in funding research is that of providing for the unexpected. The Biomedical Research Support Grants program of the National Institutes of Health has provided this type of funding but the amount has dwindled to two percent. (MLW)

Suggests areas of future research for oral interpretation scholars: (1) the effects of performance on classroom audience and performers, (2) performance in nonacademic contexts, (3) the functions of nondramatic performance, and (4) the history of performed literature. (PD)

Therapists (N=250) completed questionnaires rating the frequency, severity, and treatment difficulty for 29 problems commonly experienced by distressed couples. Responses indicated a number of potential directions for research in marital therapy. Communication and alcoholism were rated as the most damaging and difficult problems to treat.…

Examines the use of the often quoted remarriage studies done in the 1950s and found that extreme caution should be used in presentations where redivorce is discussed. The traditional family form may not be in as much of a decline as some report. (Author)