Discusses the effectiveness of computer mediated communication (CMC) in higher education. Highlights include a review of pertinent literature; factors associated with successful CMC resources; activity theory; helping users establish a shared purpose; methodological problems; evaluation methods; a conferencing system; and the patterns and content…

Notes only a small number of widely-circulated studies are central to the idea that teachers should specifically teach phonemic awareness skills to young children. Shows that they selectively and misleadingly cite other studies out of context to support their argument and that their statistical procedures do not support their propositions. Offers…

Review of research on adolescent employment found the following: (1) employment patterns were relatively unchanged in 40 years; (2) emerging literature challenges the assumption that "floundering" is necessarily bad; and (3) increasing amounts of work negatively affect school performance. Methodological issues include selection bias, sampling…

Traces the different paradigmatic pathways followed by educational sociology and educational administration. Educational sociology has followed ideostructural, interpretive, and psychosocial paradigms, with emergent holistic critical perspectives and sociobiological materialism. Educational administration has had one dominant tradition,…

Examines unresolved problems and future prospects for research concerning school quality. Asserts that the proportion of variance among factors such as, school system, school type, grade levels, individual schools, and learning groups makes consideration of the schools as a homogenous whole doubtful. Includes numerous statistical tables and…

Considers the competing demands placed on evaluators in relation to the service (characteristics of the intervention), the sample (people participating), and methodology or research design. Explores compromises that may be required between scientific ideals and real-world limitations, and assesses implications for obtaining meaningful results in…

This commentary on a previous article that demonstrates three ways of analyzing qualitative interview data (content, cultural models, and narrative analyses), discusses the need for greater articulation of the complexities of interpretation and a greater emphasis on verification procedures in early intervention qualitative research. (CR)

This article explores psychometric characteristics of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS), one of the most widely used instruments to assess the prevalence of violent and other high-risk behaviors in secondary school settings. Response patterns were analyzed for a subset of 414 youths who indicated that they had carried a weapon to…

This study examined the influence of survey validity screening on the results from three group-administered school surveys administered to samples totaling approximately 5500 students in 19 schools. The estimated levels of risk behaviors, antisocial behaviors, and victim experiences were substantially reduced when respondents who gave multiple…

This article uses the development of a "Research Quality Framework" in Australia as a focus for reflection on the way in which quality is assessed in relation to education research, and a consideration of the role and situation of a national association of education research in relation to that. The study examines ways in which…

Objectives: To provide recommendations that will build a better foundation for research on youth smoking cessation. Methods: The Youth Tobacco Collaborative Cessation panel evaluated youth tobacco cessation literature and convened meetings to reach consensus. Results: Methodological issues include design, recruitment and retention, follow-up,…

A project conducted in Tennessee from 1984 through 1989, Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (Project STAR), serves as a context for a discussion of educational research. The decisions required in major research projects and the problems in carrying out research are seldom discussed in conferences that present research results as completed efforts.…

Some methodological issues in the study of levels of knowledge are reviewed, and needs for further research are explored, drawing on an analysis of 12 studies reported since the late 1970s. In the 12 studies, 16 quantitative experiments were conducted. These were assessed for internal and external validity. Analysis revealed some shortcomings in…

University and school-based members of the League of Professional Schools, a collaborative formed to support school renewal, engage in disciplined inquiry on the effects of this school/university collaborative on life in member schools. Essentially, the League conducts action research on action research. The League and its definition of schoolwide…

Comparison of data gathered in the late 1970s to data gathered in the early 1990s indicates that while communication researchers remain convinced that effects of intercultural mass media exist, they also acknowledge that no clear, useful theoretical framework exists. Data were analyzed, compared, and reported in the late 1970s from three…