Introduces this special issue on mental health and Head Start. Presents a rationale for exploring mental health issues in Head Start children. Notes that the Head Start program presents a unique opportunity to expand the knowledge base regarding the prevalence of mental health problems and the factors contributing to emotional functioning among…

Argues that a zealous focus by reading researchers on differences creates the impression of utter chaos in the field, and serves students, teachers, and the public poorly. Argues that researchers can contribute to educational policy (rather than forever nullifying one another) by focusing on the considerable consensus about literacy. (SR)

Argues that Wade's Male Reference Group Identity Dependence Theory seems to cover familiar groups in respect to gender issues. Also holds that Wade's theory is not sensitive enough to individual differences. Discusses the status of the groups in the study. Offers suggestions for future research. (MKA)

Provides a rationale for the use of graphic organizers (GOs), traces their history and development, reviews 16 studies that have used GOs as text adjuncts, and discusses limitations that have made GO research nonsystematic. Suggests future research should examine and answer how GOs can be constructed for classroom use. (PA)

Discusses the factors restricting access to the outdoors and the social and environmental aspects of the changing ecology of childhood. It calls for a new sense of child-biosphere relations and points to the international conventions and other venues where this theme is being taken up. (GR)

Discusses hypotheses and methodologies needed to extend understanding of the ethnic representation of students with serious emotional disturbances. Technical methods are discussed to ensure that estimates for the extent of disproportionate representation are accurate. Research needed to produce better conceptual understanding of why…

Traces development of Native American place name studies from Boas (1880s) to the present. Argues that place names convey information about physical environments but also reveal how people perceive, conceptualize, and utilize their environment. Suggests the utility of place names as a framework for cultural analysis and describes recent…

Argues for stronger research on aspects of learning and teaching as influenced by the use of the World Wide Web and describes salient Web characteristics regarding this issue. It also discusses student learning and communication and qualitative research in Web-based learning as topics that can support a number of meaningful research questions…

Supports findings from a 1996 meeting of two school health organizations that there is a need for additional research on school nursing, reviewing existing research, describing the group process used to establish a research agenda on school nursing, presenting results of the process, and offering recommendations for the next steps to be taken by…

Discusses the definition of dyslexia, reintroduces the concept of marker variables, proposes a strategy for developing an updated marker variable system, presents a preliminary working set of dyslexia marker variables, and calls for eventual adoption of this or similar marker variable systems to facilitate future research efforts. (Author/CR)

Describes experimental approaches used to demonstrate perception without awareness. Maintains that experimental findings based on all four approaches lead to the conclusion that stimuli are perceived even when observers are unaware of the stimuli. Asserts that future research should assess the functions of information perceived without awareness…

Synthesizes various theoretical approaches and concepts central to communication competence, simultaneously interspersing this framework with illustrations in the context of international management. Provides information that is useful for developing research questions, pedagogical models, or effective management communication practices. (RS)

This article discusses self-determination for people with significant cognitive disabilities and their families. It argues that there is inadequate attention to the profound influence of significant cognitive disabilities on achieving self-determination and that cultural values influence one's definition of self-determination. Research needs are…

Examines criticisms of school-effectiveness research (SER) in two papers by Martin Thrupp and by Roger Slee and Gaby Weiner in this special issue. Despite critics' focus on SER's overclaiming, undertheorizing, and political ineptitude, the main issue seems to be researchers' dismissive attitudes and their suppression of scholarly debate. (Contains…

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)