Four researchers argue the merits of qualitative methodology and its particular relevance to those in special education who seek to move beyond a deficit perspective. Unconstrained by defined variables and decontextualized settings, qualitative methods allowed the researchers to extend the scope of their studies beyond originally stated research…

Comparative education can provide a background of contrasts and possibilities against which to examine one's own problems. For comparative education to be effective, background conditions must be understood; educational systems must be examined as wholes, in their contexts; and ideas should only be borrowed from systems sufficiently similar to…

Proposes an approach for critical engagement with autobiographical text. Argues that by becoming better aware of the teller's intentionality and his/her insights gained from telling a (re)constructed version of self, the listener and the teller can engage in personal and socially transformative dialogue. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/WRM)

Countless good ideas, research, and reforms (silver bullets) have yielded only modest improvement, suggesting problems of research (dogma, design, duration, and domain) and problems of distribution--expanded teacher responsibility. This article recommends revamping teacher education, remediating or firing incompetent teachers, and reducing class…

In response to Kavale and Forness (EC 630 380), this article, rooted in the author's experiences as a learning disabilities teacher, discusses assumptions of the original article concerning social critiques and Marxism; diagnosis and classification for research or for pedagogy; validity of constructs and instruments for mental retardation; and…

This study examines the research behavior and information-seeking habits of 23 interdisciplinary professors at the University of Western Ontario. Highlights include use of library and other information sources; rankings of information sources; and problems, including time management and inadequate library collections. (Author/LRW)

Explores methodological issues associated with gaining access to street children and reducing the influence of the researcher's 'outsider' identity, when undertaking sociospatial research. Illustrates how meaningful results can be gleaned without the inhibitory effects of limited access and outsider influence. (Author)

We discuss the "know-do gap," present a definition of knowledge translation, and discuss its relative importance in bridging the know-do gap. Some of the underlying causes of the know-do gap are listed, along with ongoing efforts to address them. Knowledge translation is considered a cross-cutting, nonlinear process that involves not only recent…

The recent releases of two major international comparative studies that addressed mathematics--the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 (TIMSS 2003) and the Program for International Student Assessment 2003 (PISA 2003)--provide opportunities and challenges for mathematics education researchers interested in using the…

Given the fragmented structure of child-care assistance in the United States, it has been difficult to obtain accurate estimates of which families are assisted, through which mechanisms, and at what level. Making use of survey data from New York City, we analyze the distribution of several forms of public child-care assistance. Results suggest…

How do intellectual initiatives across disciplines evolve? This qualitative case study of 11 interdisciplinary research initiatives at Emory University identifies key factors in their development: the passionate commitments of scholarly leaders, the presence of strong collegial networks, access to timely and multiple resources, flexible practices,…

Research on epistemological beliefs has clearly increased in the last decade. Even though the construct is clearer and relevant data are being collected, there are important theoretical and methodological issues that need further clarification. One of them is the debate about the domain generality-specificity of epistemological beliefs. I argue…

The environmental and interdisciplinary nature of environmental education presents extraordinary challenges to individuals' abilities as a field to clearly conceptualize, theorize and communicate findings about what they have learned about practice, research and theory in environmental learning (Disinger, 2001). Unfortunately, these factors also…

The ascendant view in the current debate about education science -- experimentism -- is a reassertion of the randomized experiment as the methodological gold standard. Advocates of this view have ignored, not answered, long-standing criticisms of the randomized experiment: its frequent impracticality, its lack of external validity, its confinement…

The field of environmental education research has been moving away from scientistic and positivistic discourses for some time now ("Environmental Education Research," 2000; Hart & Nolan, 1999). However, it has been noted that the meta-discourse about this research continues to draw on their framings, registers, and lexicons (Hart, 2000;…