In the last 20 years, research on language has gone from an area that specialists in composition and rhetoric took quite seriously to one that specialists now pay little attention to. This shift can be accounted for because (1) some teachers appear to have given up on using any insights from linguistic analysis in their teaching of composition;…

Developing oral language skills, although an essential element in the California English-Language Arts Framework (1987), is often neglected due to the current emphasis on reading and writing. Creative drama is a vehicle for integrating oral language, cultural literacy and creative expression elements from the state frameworks for the development…

Millions of young children in the United States are cared for daily by someone other than their parents, and a growing number are cared for in child-care centers. This research and policy brief, a quarterly synthesis of issues addressed by investigators and affiliates of the National Center for Early Development & Learning, focuses on quality…

Students often fail to store new information in memory in a way that is accessible or useful. The information they have acquired is inert. This paper examines the inert knowledge problem in the context of learning from informational expository text. Kintsch and van Dijk (1978) have suggested a framework for understanding learning from expository…

This paper provides insight into the history and growth of the National Reading Research Center (NRRC), that was charged to engage in research aimed at improving the reading proficiency of all students and to develop a broad, comprehensive model of reading acquisition that integrates the various cognitive, social, motivational, cultural, and…

This digest focuses on early marriage--the marriage of children and young people under the age of 18--from a human rights perspective. Research into early marriage has tended to concentrate on specific aspects of its impact, such as the effects on reproductive health and school drop-out. There has been little examination of the practice as a child…

Noting social and demographic changes provoking a trend toward openness in adoption practice, this book presents the findings from a nationwide study examining the impact of variations in openness in adoption on participants in the adoptive kinship network: adopted children, adoptive parents, and the children's birth parents. The first chapter of…

A review of the literature indicated that few empirical studies have been conducted on either what factors influence or what factors deter women from pursuing information technology (IT) careers. Much of the information that is available is anecdotal. Several studies have focused on broader areas of women in science and/or technology; however,…

This paper compares and summarizes empirical research on the outcomes of outdoor education (OE) and related programs. Most frequently, OE outcomes have been researched using post-program surveys of staff and participant attitudes. Such reports are vulnerable to many potential distortions. A second major approach to examining OE effectiveness…

The Miscellaneous section of the Proceedings contains the following 6 papers: "The Effect of Membership in the Society of Environmental Journalists on Inclusion of Enabling Information in Stories on Water Quality" (Michelle M. Tedford); "Press, Privacy and Presidential 'Proceedings': Moral Judgments and the Clinton-Lewinsky…

This document is the first comprehensive statement on research in education issued by the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board (NERPPB) that draws on systematic inquiry over the past 4 years. Recommendations are made for legislative and administrative changes to improve research, development, and communication of research…

Research findings are providing increasingly valuable information about the effects of welfare changes on families receiving public assistance. This working paper outlines past and current research activities related to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), describes research reports scheduled for…

Observations on the American educational research scene are provided by a scholar from India. Various aspects of American research such as the quantitative approach, the operational manipulation of abstract concepts, decision-making, classroom practices, and the need for cross-cultural studies are discussed. (NE)

Describes a Committee on Basic Research in Education that was formed in 1968 and that worked for four years in cooperation with the U. S. Office of Education to identify problems to be attacked by basic research in education and to develop and try out plans and procedures for stimulating and supporting such research. (Author/JM)

Evaluates the activities of the Committee on Basic Research in Education (COBRE), pointing out that its work was based on the premises that basic research is oriented to the academic disciplines, that its outcomes are scientific knowledge as opposed to products or solutions, and that its outcomes are unpredictable. (Author/JM)