Used focus groups with 23 Head Start staff from 5 urban programs to identify naturally occurring strategies to cope with children's inappropriate behavior. Found that horizontally managed centers used a more collaborative approach, whereas vertically managed centers required that teachers consult with a gatekeeper before consulting with others.…

Many recent studies and debates about East/West cultural differences suffer from major methodological and conceptual drawbacks: confused conceptions, arbitrary use of cultural terms, over-attribution to cultural effects, and ignorance of levels of analysis. A cross-cultural research framework for conceptualizing two or more societies is presented.…

This review of research on assessment of second-language listening abilities looks at some testing issues and challenges (assessing higher-level skills, confounding of skills, assessing listening in oral interaction, authenticity), discusses assessment methods and techniques (test administration, item formats), and considers potential applications…

Legal problems surround college administrators; those who fail to take precautions may encounter situations that result in legal or other administrative actions. Issues discussed include: hiring and firing; unfair treatment by administrators or colleagues; running afoul of state law or institutional policy; providing materials for defense against…

Institutional researchers should know state and federal laws and attorneys general opinions applicable to higher education concerning open meetings and open records, and be prepared for information requests by media and concerned citizens. Case law is examined, and practical steps researchers can take are outlined, including knowing who will…

In the Community of Explorers Project (CoE) high school teachers and students engaged in scientific problem solving using advanced network technology and innovative pedagogy. Analysis of e-mail indicated the important effects of organizational and occupational cultures on the application of technology in classrooms and on the development of a…

Conducts a scenario-based usability test with 10 data analysts using visual querying (visually analyzing data with interactive graphics). Details a range of difficulties found in visual selection that, at times, gave rise to inaccurate selections, invalid conclusions, and misguided decisions. Argues that support for visual selection must be built…

Reviews assessment approaches used to evaluate child physical and sexual abuse offenders. Discusses interview and observational methods and problems. Reviews and critiques selected personality measures used to assess child abuse offenders. Reviews offender specific measures. Problems related to the lack of measure specificity and selectivity are…

A survey of 365 college students identified circumstances likely to increase both planned and spontaneous cheating behavior, those likely to discourage both kinds of cheating, factors underlying planned cheating, most common types of cheating, and student demographic characteristics associated with greater cheating behavior. (MSE)

Discussion of European funding models for higher education looks first at different funding mechanisms used in several countries, with particular attention to formula funding and its increasing use. Institutional responses to differing financial and planning environments are noted, particularly when circumstances produce unwanted outcomes.…

Offers guidelines for school districts planning to add computer technology, especially local area networks (LANs). Topics include electricity for laboratories, networkable software, hard drives, file servers, computer classes for parents, laboratory technicians, telephones, facilities considerations, inservice teacher training, access issues,…

Examined the effect of puberty on the parent-adolescent relationship in association with ethnicity, parental psychopathology, and chronological age. Found that puberty effects on parent support and parent-adolescent conflict differ for Hispanic and non-Hispanic white boys. Parent alcoholism did not moderate the effect of puberty, and puberty…

Argues that literature-based social studies provide personal perspectives for examining essential social studies concepts and generalizations. Includes lesson sequences utilizing trade books to teach about poverty, hope, and involuntary relocation for primary, middle, and secondary school students. Briefly describes the books mentioned and…

Reports on a study of innovative city and county government programs in four western states. The study discovered widely divergent assessments of the same programs, dependent upon whether the survey instruments used qualitative or quantitative techniques. Discusses the possible reasons for this and the implications for future research. (MJP)

Reports on a study that examined the comfort level of eighth-grade teachers who used nontraditional teaching strategies in sexuality education classes. Surveys indicated that most were comfortable teaching sexuality education, though a quarter to a third never or rarely used nontraditional strategies such as role playing, small group discussion,…