Some aspects of fourth generation evaluation procedures that have been advocated by E. G. Guba and Y. S. Lincoln were examined empirically, with emphasis on areas where there have been discrepancies between theory and field-based experience. In fourth generation evaluation, the product of an evaluation is not a set of conclusions, recommendations,…

Describes briefly four qualitative research projects and examines four sets of questions which illustrate ethical dilemmas embedded in qualitative research of the type described: the conduct of qualitative inquiry in the classroom, project implementation, the effect of the researcher's presence in the field, and understanding questions of pedagogy…

A trained eye can make almost any part of the landscape into a vehicle for historical awareness. Discussed is how one farm in Canada is the product of its historic circumstances. (RM)

This document describes approaches in conducting naturalistic studies in two different countries with contrasting educational settings. Naturalistic research methodology is described by one of the writers as "an explicit undertaking to lay aside our ideas and concern ourselves with finding the subjects' perspectives in their non-theoretical…

Until about the 1940s, schools and universities considered observation and direct experience of one's natural surroundings to be a worthwhile educational endeavor, leading to a nature-literate citizenry. Now, lab-based biological studies and environmental education in the classroom have mostly replaced nature study, reducing the possibility of…

Phase III of the Louisiana School Effectiveness Study (LSES-III) was designed in part to obtain rich, qualitative data on the characteristics of more and less effective schools in the Gulf South. Data were gathered on eight matched outlier pairs of schools during the 1984-1985 school year. Of the eight historically ineffective schools in LSES-III,…

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute (Jamestown, New York) has been sparking a regional revival in K-12 nature studies and attracting attention from educators across America. Through summer training sessions and workshops, the Institute introduces multidisciplinary teams of teachers and community members to empirical research techniques for observing…