Good educational practice relies increasingly on educational data, yet much of the present research findings are inconclusive or inapplicable. Difficulties in obtaining time, money, subjects, and appropriate designs have hindered experimental research studies. (FG)

School research should be more social in nature, i.e., contextualized, interactive/dynamic, and sensitive to participant conceptions. To explore the possibilities and limitations of the social study of social studies, a conception of social research is delineated, using recent social studies classroom research as illustration. Research utilization…

Teachers' problems are inadequately understood, and conceptions of their behavior are inadequate. As a result, expectations of rapid change in education have been disappointed. To understand people's actions, one must understand their intentions. Personal construct theory can help with the understanding of teachers. (PP)

Presents current research on childlessness and the one-child family. The nine articles in this special issue include studies on the relationship of childlessness to marital satisfaction, childlessness and one-child families in the Soviet Union and early twentieth century America, voluntary childlessness, and effects of being an only child. (JAC)

Describes the development and content of a comprehensive measure of perceived parental role responsibilities among individuals employed fulltime. Responses from 600 working women and men were used to select items. The final 78-item measure consists of 13 scales, all of which showed good reliability and construct validity. (Author/RC)

Notes the trend in educational research away from the model of the physical sciences toward a view that sees teaching, development, and research as interrelated modes of inquiry. (JL)

Recent enrollment shifts and current knowledge of the dynamics of competition in higher education are examined. Results of a study identifying several structural characteristics of competing college groups in New York State are reported and implications for future enrollment patterns there and elsewhere are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Reviews research showing that children beginning to read are often confused by the task. Suggests that this confusion is the result of factors both in the home and at school and calls for research that would identify those factors. (FL)

Discusses the economic rationale for providing educational and day-care facilities to young children, using an expanded social cost-benefit framework. Argues that very little is known about the socioeconomic effects of providing kindergarten and nursery facilities and proposes an interdisciplinary research agenda. (Author/RH)

Focuses on another aspect of intergenerational ties--extended family relations between adolescents and their grandparents. The nature of this relationship is explored, and factors affecting the quality of the relationship are discussed. The ways in which grandparents may influence the development of their adolescent grandchildren are described.…

Discusses three research questions pertinent to person-perception research: (1) identification of dimensions employed by adults in the process of interpersonal perception; (2) developmental changes in the content of expectations; and (3) developmental changes in the role expectations play in influencing behavior. Discusses implicit personality…

Describes a systematic approach to determine interventions which will efficiently increase the retention rates of certain categories of college students using small-sample research methods. Presents six steps designed to reduce student attrition rates among distinct groups of college students. (RC)

Studied potential differences between two older student age groups and a younger group. A random stratified sample of undergraduates completed the Supportive Services Survey and the Omnibus Personality Inventory. There were greater significant differences within older student groupings than between the younger and closely age-related older student…

A survey of 332 dissertations and journal articles examined what types of administrators are studied, how they are studied, what characteristics are focused on, and how often the studies are cited. The findings indicate researchers focus too much on administrator traits and attitudes and not enough on administrator impact. (RW)

Reviews and analyzes studies conducted on functional literacy among older adults. The results indicate conceptual confusion, an obviously undereducated older population, inadequate measurements, and samples with disproportionate percentages of older persons. Conclusions indicate the need for educational gerontologists to increase efforts at…