Qualitative criticism is a method of understanding things, actions, and events within a social framework. It is a method of acquiring knowledge to guide decision making based on local knowledge and a synthesis of principles from criticism and qualitative research. The function of qualitative criticism is centered with Richard Rorty's theoretical…

Part of a larger project, "Technology, Educational Media & Materials--Assessing the Social and Cultural Impact of Group-Based, Videodisc Math Instruction in Mainstreamed Classrooms," this study addressed the question of whether the level of student achievement differs across levels of implementation of a mediated program that is based on a…

This paper describes the development and implementation of a project to prepare science support teachers to work in four junior high schools in Toledo, Ohio. The project was collaboratively developed by the Institute for Research on Teaching at Michigan State University, the Toledo school district, and the American Federation of Teachers. The…

Parents, their 5- to 6-year-old children, and teachers participated in a study focusing on three aspects of jobs: (1) degree of challenge and stimulation; (2) complexity of work with people and "time urgency"; and (3) the relationships of these variables to selected aspects of parenting and perceptions of children's social behavior. Data…

This paper offers practical procedures and suggestions on initiating and carrying out naturalistic classroom observation of the type used in the Learning in Science Project in New Zealand (1980). The initiation of the research requires sensitivity and patience. Once in the classroom the overriding aim is to be unobtrusive and to achieve acceptance…

The materials in this report deal with the process of children's writing and rewriting. The first section of the report describes the original methodology of a study of children's rewriting and explains how and why that methodology was changed as the study progressed. The second section provides a review of related literature, while the third,…

Designed for teachers and researchers interested in the study of the composing process, this guide introduces a method of analysis that can be applied to data from a range of different cases. Specifically, the guide offers a simple, direct coding scheme for describing the movements occurring during composing that involves four procedures: teaching…

A naturalistic study investigated writing-related teacher planning and classroom activities in a combined second and third grade classroom and a sixth grade classroom. Data were collected from participant observation, teachers' reflections on classroom writing, and naturally occurring teacher and student writing samples. The study, which was based…

Following a review of research endeavors in the area of teacher evaluation and performance assessment, some procedures which have been developed at the University of Toledo (Ohio) to discriminate between competent and incompetent teachers are described. The university's program is competency-based, and researchers have identified 49 competencies…

This guide describes a management system for dealing with hyperactive, disruptive children within the classroom setting. The first step in the process involves a 45-minute classroom observation of the referred child by the psychologist. The psychologist collects frequency and duration baseline data on four classes of behavior: off task, talking…

Specifically designed to avoid methodological problems limiting earlier research, this study attempted to identify specific behavioral differences between elementary school students with either high or low sociometric status. Subjects, who had been selected on the basis of same-sex sociometric status nominations of 144 classmates, were 30 females…

Some selected principles of Heider's balance theory are presented and the p-o-x model is explained as a theoretical framework for predicting responses to interpersonal situations in which the participants are in attitudinal agreement or disagreement. (Author)

In this study an observation schedule was developed and used to compare activities and behavior of 77 New Zealand children with disabilities who had been mainstreamed into special groups within preschools and play centers and 77 non-disabled peers. The development of the schedule is described, results are given, and advice is offered to…

This study examines ways in which teachers who are more and less effective classroom managers prevent misbehavior and deal with misbehaviors they cannot prevent. Six middle-grade teachers in a suburban, midwestern school district were observed during spring, 1988. Information on misbehavior in teachers' rooms was coded according to four…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a procedure for determining the degree of relationship of the many scores in the Tennessee Career Ladder Program to the final classification based upon this system. The program, now in its sixth year of implementation, places over 40,000 teachers and educational administrators within a career ladder…