This paper discusses the use of telephone surveys as a substitute for, or addition to, the use of door-to-door surveys in assessing adult literacy ability. Part 1 addresses issues of validity in adult literacy assessment, including the concepts of construct or inferential validity and action or use validity. Part 2 is a review of related research…

This report describes the methodology and initial results of an evaluation of the universal (school-wide) Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (PBIS) initiative in Illinois, including (1) strategies for establishing research-based practices and data-based evaluation systems in implementation schools; (2) methodology and initial findings of…

Although an extensive body of literature exists on the impact of Head Start, very few studies have used an experimental design with random assignment, a key methodological component needed to increase the weight of evaluation findings. This study used a randomized design with a wide range of outcomes related to school readiness to assess the…

This document contains three symposium papers on workplace diversity issues. "Expanding Theories of Career Development: Adding the Voices of African American Women in the White Academy" (Mary V. Alfred) questions the validity of existing career development models for women and minority groups and examines the professional development of…

The four issues of the journal of language research and linguistic theory include these articles: "Notes on Determiners in Chamicuro" (Steve Parker); Lingualinks Field Manual Development" (Larry Hayashi); "Comments from an International Linguistics Consultant: Thumbnail Sketch" (Austin Hale); "Carlalinks…

This annotated bibliography identifies issues affecting the on-line teaching environment by assembling a variety of quantitative and qualitative studies. Studies in the bibliography are divided into two major categories: (1) topical studies, which contain papers that focus primarily on one issue affecting teaching on-line (student…

The Project on State-Level Child Outcomes, a federal project designed to improve the measurement of child outcomes in state welfare evaluations and in other state data systems. This document provides measures for the common core of constructs that state representatives developed at the second national-level meeting of the Project's planning phase.…

This paper details the origins of the media comparison study methodology, its current use as an evaluation instrument in distance education, and recommendations for more stringent discrimination between research and evaluation in the field of distance learning. The following topics are discussed: (1) the history of research in instructional…

This report describes the methods and procedures used for the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study: 1996-2001 (BPS:1996/2001). These students, who started their postsecondary education during the 1995-96 academic year, were first interviewed in 1996 as part of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:96). A follow-up…

Defines United States bilingual education, why it is needed along with bicultural education, its advantages, why the Supreme Court did not require it, why it does not hinder English proficiency, the distinction between language grouping and segregation, why the research is inconclusive, and why Quebec's problems will not be encountered here. (LC)

Observation of English and social studies classes revealed differences in classroom processes and interactions, due to differences in ways in which peer and student-teacher interactions were encouraged or controlled. The research demonstrated the importance of microanalytic studies of classrooms in desegregated settings. (Author/MJL)

National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) members (N=101) responded to a 1979 survey, listing 398 statements of needed research. Three categories of needed research emerged as the greatest concern of these NARST members: instructional strategy, learning, and student/teacher attitudes. (Author/JN)

Analyzes responses to a questionnaire from 10 samples of primary and secondary school students from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Canada. The questionnaire covered learning strategies, approaches, and motivation. These data were then analyzed using six different structural equation models. Includes discussion of the models…

Discusses a number of ethical dilemmas encountered during different stages of qualitative research. Outlines problems specific to entering the field, being in the field, leaving the field, writing, and dissemination. Recounts an incident from ethnographic research that illustrates problems concerning conflicting roles and maintaining objectivity.…

Provides a brief overview of the uses of rhetoric in the history of writing about music. Discusses Aristotle's topology of the three different kinds of rhetoric: deliberative, judicial, and epideictic (demonstrative). Includes excerpts from past music criticism, copious notes, and a 27-item bibliography. (MJP)