Learning styles advocates claim long-term improvements in four aspects of teaching and learning: curriculum design, instructional methods, assessment, and student guidance. The application of learning style theory encompasses three pervasive problems: confusion in definitions, weakness in measurement reliability and validity, and identification of…

Reviews the role of statistical significance testing, and argues that dominance of such testing is dysfunctional because significance tests do not provide the information that many researchers assume they do. Possible reasons for the persistence of statistical significance testing are discussed briefly, and ways to moderate negative effects are…

Presents guidelines for recognizing and avoiding potential problems associated with conducting graduate work in a developing country. Guidelines include methods for setting objectives, initial planning, knowing cooperating organizations, making a preliminary visit, on site activities, and communication with faculty advisors. (MDH)

In "On the Desirability of Own-Group Preference" (1993), Michael L. Penn, Stanley O. Gaines, and Layli Phillips argue that misguided and mythical ideal of racial-social integration in America is the only reasonable and effective foundation for real African empowerment in American society. Serious intellectual battle will be required to…

Examines the extent to which race is a factor of white parents' choice of schools in light of increased school choice in the United Kingdom. Reports mixed evidence of the degree and direction of the impact of school race composition on choice. Notes data problems contributing to this outcome. (DSK)

Relates questions that the authors' asked when reviewing Ronald Evans and David Saxe's "Handbook on Teaching Social Education." Extends points from the original review: (1) the "Handbook" sends mixed messages about the nature of issues-centered teaching; and (2) it leaves unanswered questions concerning the relationship between…

An emancipatory researcher morally committed to reciprocity, or sharing results with study participants, felt extremely uncomfortable when disclosing findings about power definitions to one friend and participant. Clearly, this participant felt betrayed, not emancipated, when findings were applied to her own situation. The researcher learned a…

Lack of statistically significant input/achievement relationships in many production-function studies has bolstered "money doesn't matter" arguments. This study uses detailed national student data to estimate an education production function that omits restrictive assumptions, concluding that school inputs (especially instructional…

Recounts the pedagogical history of the Anglo-Welsh Adams family that spans the 1840s to the 1930s in England and Wales. Comprises summarized biographical details of relevant family members and offers generalizations drawn from this longitudinal case study. Argues that this study highlights neglected aspects within educational history. (DSK)

Replicates C. Haas and L. Flower's 1988 think-allowed reading study. Finds that, when reading a passage on a topic more familiar to first-year students, the undergraduates generated substantially more rhetorical comments than they did with the Haas and Flower passage. Cautions researchers and teachers to avoid hasty assumptions about underlying…

Applaudes National Art Education Association research efforts, but suggests that a major weakness in the program, and in art education in general, is the lack of a distinct philosophy of art education. Criticizes art-education researchers' over-reliance on theoretical authorities from outside of the field and neglect of their own experiences. (DSK)

A strategy proposed by T. Cook and D. Campbell (1979) was used to investigate attrition in a community-based literacy program, focusing on 287 Head Start families. Data revealed interactions among intervention program-centered characteristics and person-centered characteristics that have implications for study validity and generalizability.…

Discusses issues and challenges inherent in early research in the field of intervention and prevention of conduct disorders, including recruiting and working with parents who are stressed by the effects of poverty; designing appropriate interventions for young children; and using outcomes measures that reflect developmental continuities, subject…

Examines the issues that language researchers may face when planning and executing research in facilities which are not traditionally or frequently involved in research with individuals who have language disorders. Addresses informed consent procedures, administrative approvals, staff education, and enlisting the help of staff speech-language…

Addresses the mismatch between educational research methodologies and its application to generic features of practice and proposes a problem-based methodology that better links research with problem solving. Implications of this methodology are discussed from recent research on school tracking. (GR)