This guide, which is one in the "Exploration" series of curriculum guides intended to assist junior high and middle school industrial educators in helping their students explore diverse industrial situations and technologies used in industry, deals with research and development. The following topics are covered in the individual lessons: product…

In this book, which applies the state of the art in qualitative research to special education, qualitative research is used as a generic term for investigative methodologies described variously as ethnographic, naturalistic, anthropological, field research, or participant-observer research. Chapter 1 introduces and defines qualitative research and…

Replication of the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS) in Ontario, Canada, is described and assessed. The curriculum and testing program covers numerical methods, geometry, and algebra. Whereas classical studies focused on mean scores of a system's students and on percentages of teachers for opportunity to learn (OTL), SIMS aggregates…

State practices affecting the reporting of Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) data were surveyed. Although all but three states coordinated the HEGIS collection and reporting effort for at least some group of institutions in the state, the survey revealed a relatively weak state role in editing the data collected from the…

This study adds to the effective schools debate a criticism of existing criteria--based on standardized achievement test profiles--for targeting schools for intervention programs. Qualitative and quantitative methods of gathering data result in conflicting assessments of the magnet elementary school studied as needing or not needing intervention.…

Hearings on the charging of processing fees to low- and middle-income students who apply for federal student assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act are presented. Attention is focused on whether the Department of Education's decision to eliminate the "check-off" option from the forms provided by the major processors…

A project was undertaken to develop a microcomputer program that would allow vocational agriculture instructors and students to enter information concerning a supervised occupational experience program (SOEP) into the computer. From there the program was to assist students to summarize that information from multiple entries and to print it out in…

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a seminar on planning and policy analysis is offered for doctoral students who wish to conduct planning and forecasting studies for their doctoral dissertations or who simply wish to learn such techniques. One of the major projects of the seminar is the development of an environmental scanning…

A study of high school dropouts and programs in Appalachian regions of 13 states also sought exemplary programs and methods of replication. The high school dropout rate was found to be 5.8% higher than the national average of 23.9%. Within the region, rates were 19.1% in the northern, 38% in the central, and 30% in the southern region. Differences…

The value of microcomputer modeling tools and spreadsheets to help college institutional researchers analyze proposed capital projects is discussed, along with strengths and weaknesses of different software packages. Capital budgeting is the analysis that supports decisions about the allocation and commitment of funds to long-term capital…

Results of a national study of the use of funds provided by the 1974 amendments to Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act by the state education agencies (SEAs) are presented. The study was undertaken to (1) describe and analyze SEA policies and activities regarding bilingual education, (2) describe and analyze the SEA-level…

An executive summary of the results of a national study of the state education agencies' (SEAs) use of funds provided by the 1974 amendments to Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act are presented. The study was undertaken to (1) describe and analyze SEA policies and activities regarding bilingual education, (2) describe and…

Eleven Talent Search (TS) projects and six Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) were evaluated. Designed to increase college enrollment by low-income youth and adults, these federal programs provide students information, counseling, and other support. Recommendations for national policymakers, U.S. Department of Education officials, and local…

Basic issues concerning interpretive research, and theories and methods of using interpretive research to study teaching are discussed. The concept of interpretive research may also be known as ethnographic, qualitative, participant observational, case study, symbolic interactionist, phenomenological, or constructivist. Interpretive research…

This paper uses inquiry-based learning to introduce primary students to the concepts and terminology found in four introductory engineering courses: Differential Equations, Circuit Analysis, Thermodynamics, and Dynamics. Simple electronic sensors coupled with everyday objects, such as a troll doll, demonstrate and reinforce the physical principles…