Observes that the United Kingdom's National Curriculum pressures primary teachers to change their teaching methods, but research shows equivocal results. Argues that the problem stems from the way characteristics of classroom organization have been defined in various studies. Reports on nine case studies of change in rural primary schools. (DSK)

A case study of the conversational development in a 7-year-old girl with profound deafness explored the relationship between mode of inquiry and findings resulting from using qualitative research methodology. Findings led to the discovery of the child's language competencies and revealed contextual features that contributed to conversational…

Reviews Tennessee's Project Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) and puts the results in the context of other nonexperimental evidence about class size. Nonexperimental evidence does not support any achievement gains attributable to class-size reduction, and empirical evidence from STAR has design and implementation flaws that cast doubt on…

Analyzes methodologies used by those embroiled in the "mainstreaming debate" (whether a basic writing curriculum is the best way to help entering college students). Finds methodological confusion leading to monologues going in circles rather than constructive dialectic. Argues that researchers ought to consider the evidence and arguments of those…

Presents a critical appraisal of resilience, a construct connoting the maintenance of positive adaptation by individuals despite significant adversity. Addresses common criticisms, proposes solutions for those considered legitimate, and clarifies misunderstandings surrounding less valid criticisms. Concludes that work on resilience possesses…

Raises questions about the validity and reliability of doing research online via the proliferation of academic databases. Finds different versions of the Lexis-Nexis database have differing search capabilities. Argues that dependence on database research findings means dependence on decisions made by a few people who design search engines and…

This article discusses the withdrawal of a publication that tracked British local education agency (LEA) trends in placement of pupils with disabilities in special schools. It describes the data problem encountered by counting pupils in non-LEA special schools within the boundaries of LEAs that did not place the students. (CR)

Offers a retrospective deconstruction of research compromises undertaken during "quick and dirty" contract evaluation. Identifies constraining changes in the nature of research contexts and develops a positive view of methodological developments, that might create "transgressive validity." Considers notions of "hybridity" in research methodology…

To be mindful of diversity issues, educational research must expand its dimensions, analyze assumptions, include researchers with authentic perspective, rethink the impact of research consumption, and redefine parameters of researchers' work. Also important are the gatekeeping function of refereed journals, multidimensionality of diversity, choice…

Offers an "outsider's perspective" on social education by someone who worked in other subfields of education before entering social studies. Discusses problems in social education, for example, the paucity of research in the field and the lack of perceived importance of social education. (DSK)

Describes a random effects discrete time survival model that addresses problems of measurement error and sample design complexities. Demonstrates the effectiveness of the model in an analysis of retrospective report data on the age of onset of smoking from two cross-sectional school-based studies. (JPB)

Suggests ways researchers can use international comparisons to improve student learning, using math performance of U.S. and Chinese sixth-graders on four types of tasks. Chinese students did better on computation; U.S. students excelled at process (open performance) assessment tasks. U.S. kids need to develop symbolic and algebraic thinking. (MLH)

Examines the potential for evidence-informed policy and practice (EIPP) in relation to educational leadership. Considers definitions, models, and factors promoting and inhibiting development of EIPP as a professional norm. Discusses two collaborative efforts to organize the validation stage of the EIPP cycle. (Contains 60 references.) (MLH)

A review of 913 studies involving students with learning disabilities found treatment outcomes were significantly affected by the following violations: teacher effects, establishing criterion levels of instructional performance, reliance on experimental measures, using different pretest and posttest measures, using a sample heterogeneous in age,…

Examines evidence that the research community studying infants' object concept and the community concerned with adult object-based attention have been studying the same natural kind. Maintains that the discovery that the object representations of young infants are the same as the object files of mid-level visual cognition has implications for both…