In this study, the Research Methods Sequence (RMS) courses in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at California Baptist University were evaluated. There were two central aims in the study. First, the effectiveness of the RMS courses in developing students' research skills and perceptions of the research process were assessed. Second, the…

Contrary to the charge that advocacy-oriented research cannot meet social science research standards because it is inherently biased, the authors of this article argue that collaborative, community-engaged scholarship (CCES) must meet high standards of rigor if it is to be useful to support equity-oriented, social justice agendas. In fact, they…

This article highlights the ways in which arts-based approaches to research can be used in teaching and learning about the qualitative research process. Specifically, in our qualitative research class graduate students used the arts as a form of reflexivity to highlight various aspects of their research process, including their positionality,…

This article is about designing for educational possibilities--designs that in their inception, social organization, and implementation squarely address issues of cultural diversity, social inequality, and robust learning. I discuss an approach to design-based research, social design experiments, that privileges a social scientific inquiry…

This dissertation captures the intricacies of high school counseling by utilizing the social science research method, Portraiture (Lightfoot & Hoffman, 1997). This method allowed the author to document how two Counselors of Color at one inner city high school in Los Angeles, Quetzcoatal Academy (QA) interacted with and inspired Latina/o…

The concept of sacrifice was formerly a key variable in theorizing about religion and society. Secularization theory and conceptual models equating sacrifice with cost have reduced its usage and apparent relevance, although it continues to be of interest in anthropology and religious studies. Research on sacrifice has been neglected in the social…

Describes Counting California, a Web-based system providing open access to economic and social data on California produced by federal, state, and local agencies through a single interface. Also explains the DDI (data documentation initiative), a developing metadata standard for describing social and economic data, and gives example of systems that…

Finds that, among 45 Mexican-American families, level of acculturation was significantly related to most external family systems variables: independence, achievement orientation, intellectual and cultural orientation, and active recreational orientation. Acculturation was not related to moral and religious emphasis or any measure of internal…

Social science research suggests that reducing class size has its largest effects on the achievement of minority and inner-city children during the first year of formal schooling. Despite scholarly disagreements about the implications of specific studies on class size, economists generally agree that targeted class-size policies rest on stronger…

An overview is presented of select research performed under a project entitled "Education, Delinquency Prevention, and the Search for Youth Policy: An Historical Inquiry." This overview contains two discrete essays that synthesize the main findings of seven key writers in the field of juvenile delinquency between 1900 and 1930 and…

California's image as the Golden State is based largely on its rapid population and economic growth. However, recent trends show an aging population, a decline in population growth, a reduction in the number of migrants from other states, and a dramatic increase in foreign-born residents. Since 1960, the state's growth rate has slowed…

Studied community initiatives in several low-income California Latino communities over 5 years. Results of these analyses show the challenges of blending a critical theory social science approach with community-focused evaluation practice. (SLD)

Responds to critical commentary about the authors' article, "The Great Speckled Bird" (1993), which addressed educational policymaking within a social context characterized by multicultural backlash. The authors point to their critics' attempts to deflect from the article's main focus, how these educational policies came to be, by…

Presents a case-study of the role of educational professionals in the passage of California's mandatory graduation competency legislation. Findings showed that the bill was noncontroversial despite its implications. Professional educators and scholars played a limited role in its formation. (AM)

Data for this study of Japanese American intermarriage in Denver (Colorado) from 1910-11 to 1980-81 were collected from marriage records in the Office of the Clerk and Recorder for the City and County of Denver. In order to compare intermarriage trends with available census figures (mostly on population size and sex composition), records were…