While peer review is a common practice in college composition courses, there is little consistency in approach and effectiveness within the field, owing in part to the dearth of empirical research that investigates peer-review processes. This study is designed to shed light on what a peer reviewer actually reads and attends to while providing…

Discusses the ongoing dialogs concerning paradigm shifts in education, especially with regard to English instruction. Describes one teacher's experiences with the issue of paradigm shift in the form of a blues song. Shows how teachers can move beyond the questions of paradigms. (HB)

Asserts that previous research in cohesion has mathematically adjusted the data in ways that assume a linear relation between text length and opportunities for writers to make cohesive ties; but, because cohesion is often redundant, that relation probably is not linear, giving an advantage to writers of longer essays. (MS)

Describes some of the primary features of educational criticism, an arts-based approach to qualitative inquiry. Examines the aims of this approach and discusses four dimensions of educational criticism: descriptive, interpretative, normative, and thematic. Addresses questions of rigor and identifies three criteria (consensual validation,…

Discusses how English instruction has changed in recent decades, and questions whether the changes constitute a real "paradigm shift." Outlines the historical discussion regarding the changes as paradigm shift. Shows how paradigms have often come into sharp opposition through cultural exchanges. Advocates a constructivist paradigm. (HB)

Considers the doubts the author has had about the design of an award winning study, focusing especially on a researcher's obligation to help the teachers with whom the researcher is working, even at the risk of jeopardizing a study's design. Traces the way that her engagement with that question has led to her current professional commitments. (SC)

Analyzes Egon Guba's claims about what empirical research is and about the models that have guided it. Questions Guba's claims that critics have found flaws in the models that have guided empirical research. Considers how these conclusions might affect instruction in empirical research. (HB)

Responds to an article in the same issue of this journal about educational criticism as a form of qualitative inquiry. Argues that research in education has become a dead end. Agrees in the main with the article, but finds its view of criticism somewhat limited. Discusses the classroom itself as hypertext. (SR)

Responds to an article in the same issue of this journal about educational criticism as a form of qualitative inquiry. Argues that a "critical" approach to education should not be justified on an ambiguous relationship to art but that educational criticism is needed because meaningful descriptions are needed of what happens when teaching…

Responds to an article in the same issue of this journal about educational criticism as a form of qualitative inquiry. Invites the authors to address questions regarding the differences in purpose and commitments between art and science and the definition of educational criticism as a form of qualitative research. (SR)

Responds to an article in the same issue of this journal about educational criticism as a form of qualitative inquiry. Asks whether such criticism should count as research if it is not accompanied by a full demonstration of its consensual validation, structural corroboration, and by exploration of reasons why the critic gives a particular…

Responds to an article in the same issue of this journal about educational criticism as a form of qualitative inquiry. Argues that research and criticism should be viewed as different forms of inquiry leading to different kinds of understanding. Suggests adding another item, "validation of learning," to the list of criteria for…

Responds to points raised in five articles which responded to an article by these authors (Flinders and Eisner) in the same issue of this journal about educational criticism as a form of qualitative inquiry. (SR)

Describes two chief alternative models of English instruction, critical theory, and constructivism or naturalistic inquiry. Discusses the functions of genre in disciplinary communities. Argues that naturalistic inquiry does not constitute a comprehensive corrective to the legacy of positivism. (HB)

Addresses problems and possibilities in development of practitioner research stemming from a semester-long master's level research course. Presents course context; outlines the four classroom studies that examined journal writing; explores commonalities among studies; shares conversations among researchers on issues of systematic inquiry,…