The current crisis in American education is examined as reflected in student performance assessments at all levels, and the role of performance indicators in shaping public opinion is discussed. Development of national educational goals, the resulting assessment dilemma for higher education, and methods of assessing progress are also explored.…

This article examines the teacher researcher movement, discussing ethical matters related to action research. In the medical domain, biomedical ethics directs human interventions resulting from clinical and research practice. The paper suggests a discipline called "bioteaching ethics" could help direct human interventionary actions of teachers…

This special issue summarizes parallel studies in five countries (Japan, Greece, Thailand, Republic of China, United States) investigating the causal linkages among socioeconomic status variables, family processes, and school variables on the mathematics achievement of urban elementary school children. Methodological problems in cross-cultural and…

Presents a selective review of the research and theory on the experience, expression, and communication of emotion. Suggests that the research is affected by cultural context and cultural differences. Maintains that contradictions can be resolved by considering the intrapersonal, interpersonal, social, and intergroup aspects of emotions. (CFR)

The following methods of estimating school-level experimentation with drugs by adolescents at 20 California continuation high schools are compared: (1) self-reports; (2) prevalence estimates from students; (3) prevalence estimates from school staff; (4) naturalistic observation; and (5) refuse (garbage) analysis. Advantages of refuse analysis are…

Examines what linguistic devices speakers use to make an entity salient in a discourse and how they re-refer to discourse entities moving in and out of focus. Speakers' center of attention was manipulated via a videotaped basketball game. Speakers referred to prominent entities as subjects; when they referred to them as objects, they repeated the…

Discusses the role of the academic library in training undergraduate students in research methods. Highlights include changes resulting from the electronic dissemination of information; the tradition of apprenticeship, journeymen, and master; information and knowledge; electronic scholarship; layers of learning in research in an electronic…

Results from a performance assessment in which 68 high school students wrote essays support the use of latent variable modeling for estimating reliability, concurrent validity, and generalizability of a scoring rubric. The latent variable modeling approach overcomes the limitations of certain conventional statistical techniques in handling…

This commentary offers authors' reflections on their case-study approach to examining the application of categorical and noncategorical special education (EC 612 095). The reflections address why the authors decided to study this issue, how case study methodology assisted in the study, and implications of the study. (SW)

Discusses issues raised in "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" (Richard Herrnstein, Charles Murray), a controversial book that looks at the role of intelligence in shaping social structure. The authors' methodology, approach, and interpretations of statistical data are criticized. It is suggested that a…

Reports differences in results for two use studies conducted in a science and engineering library, one using a reshelving methodology, the other requiring users to self-report material use. Differences are reported in terms of high-use periodicals, overall materials use, and use of the entire journal collection. (13 references) (KRN)

Reviews literature on links between parenting and children's cognitive competence, proposing that social and emotional adjustment might play a critical role in mediating the relationship between these variables. Describes a program of research on family functioning, emotional distress, self-restraint, and academic performance. Explores future…

Compares participatory research and alternative activist approaches, based on the literature on participatory research and interviews with nine sociologists who use alternative approaches. Concludes that all types of activist research are more effective in challenging inequality if they involve activist community organizations. (CFR)

Maintains that assessment in the arts often is avoided in the early childhood years because it appears to be incompatible with a child-centered philosophy. Asserts that reflective assessment procedures can inform early childhood teachers about instruction in arts education. (CFR)

Describes a harassment documentation project conducted with 26 Vietnamese bilingual students, primarily immigrants, in an urban fourth-grade classroom. Results suggest the importance of documenting student experience as a reality and validity check and as a support a model for designing ways to gather meaningful data. (SLD)