The purpose of this study was to determine the leadership practices needed to improve academic achievement and generate positive change in school organizations. The study was also conducted to provide insight to principal preparation programs and school districts about effective transformational leadership practices. A quantitative research method…

This article reports on how design-based research methodology was used to guide a line of intervention research that developed, implemented, revised, and evaluated online learning science curricula for middle school students, including general education students and English language learners (primarily of Hispanic origin). The iterative,…

This dual case study utilizes qualitative research methods to examine the experiences of two mothers of young children with special needs. Over the course of ten months, the researcher spent many hours interviewing both mothers about their experiences with Early Intervention (EI) professionals. Observations of medical appointments, team meetings,…

Children's right to participate as enshrined in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is increasingly evident in the rhetoric of policy documents as well as in practice and research with children and young people. Children's participation in research is being facilitated in a range of creative ways, including as…

The purpose of this case study was to understand engagement in action research as a form of professional development for practicing principals and the subsequent knowledge constructed as a result. The research team followed five principals through 1 year of professional development, which focused on supporting each principal in the design and…

Design-based research is a burgeoning research paradigm holding the promise of introducing more socially responsible studies to transform education. However, there is a lack of methodological standards and established research processes to inform this type of study. Although there are general principles and procedures on design-based research,…

This study assessed the types of research and the statistical methods used in three representative health education journals from 1994 through 2003. Editorials, commentaries, program/practice notes, and perspectives represent 17.6% of the journals' content. The most common types of articles are cross-sectional studies (27.5%), reviews (23.2%), and…

This article develops the concept of "second generation" e-learning as a new paradigm for thinking about online learning. Whereas "first generation" approaches have been effective for developing technical skills, the same approach has not proven effective for developing management soft-skills (e.g., in the field of leadership education). The…

Many academics do not view community engagement as a priority in their work. Yet, in an increasingly competitive funding environment, there is evidence that many benefits arise from the creation of university-community partnerships. This paper describes a study that documents the experience of seven academics successfully establishing community…

Discusses the reason for the delay of designing and executing a case study method for writing center tutorials. (EL)

Six case studies are discussed, which illustrate the experimental and pragmatic epistemological paradigms as they function independently, compete with one another, or complement each other. Researchers should consider not only the substantive goals of an evaluation, but also the epistemological goals. (SLD)

This is a qualitative case study of a collaboration among multiple stakeholders in science education who came together in order to create environmental field trips and the surrounding classroom curriculum. The collaboration involves 4 major facets of science education: formal education at the elementary and university levels, informal education,…

Training health professionals within university environments has traditionally focused on face-to-face methods. Practitioners working within the UK National Health Service (NHS) have found it difficult to gain leave from work to attend for study due to the demands of the NHS and staff shortages. In response, the authors developed a distance…

Action Research has been used in many fields of endeavour as a useful means of improving practice. This article describes how this methodology was used to develop a programme of language learning at the University of the Free State. The researcher was tasked with the development and implementation of an English language access programme for…

The six chapters of this theme issue attempt to define conceptual and methodological issues in the evaluation of integrated services systems and to begin to synthesize some of these issues. An introduction to these evaluation issues is followed by case studies and a discussion of implications for program and policy development. (SLD)