"Sesame Street," 30-years-old in 1999, is possibly the most influential program in children's educational television. This book collects and synthesizes key research studies since the program's inception, describing the processes by which educational content and research are integrated into production, reviewing major studies of the…

This report presents results of a series of studies documenting current practices in the evaluation of gifted programs and investigating the factors which make evaluation more useful to decision-makers. The investigation involved establishing several databases containing three kinds of information: (1) abstracts of articles relating to evaluation…

This report discusses the outcomes of three surveys that investigated the role of paraeducators in New York City schools, the skills and knowledge needed by paraeducators, and the skills and knowledge required by teachers to supervise and work effectively with paraprofessionals. The surveys indicate the need to improve the ability of…

This essay examines the ways in which psychology, as a discipline, has been influenced by feminist scholarship in the field. Noting that feminist psychologists have challenged the assumption that psychological science is value-free, it cites ways in which values have affected psychological theory and method. The view that men's behavior is…

One of the most important indicators of educational performance is the high school dropout rate. Reducing dropout rates and improving high school graduation rates are important goals for both educators and policymakers. Yet there is a great deal of controversy about how best to measure dropout and graduation rates. This issue of EL Facts provides…

Until the past decade or two, educational administration has been notably laggard in attacking its problems by methods approximating the scientific. Tradition, sentiment, rule of thumb, temporizing compromise--these have been, and unfortunately still are, the dominant methods in this important field of human enterprise. One of the largest problems…

Reports the results of the Parent Child Development Center experiment begun in 1970 by the United States Office of Economic Opportunity. The goal of the project was to promote the development of children from low-income families, primarily by helping parents become more effective child-rearing agents. (Author/RH)

To test possible cultural differences in strength of individualistic motivation and explore reliability of different individualism measures, two individualism measures were administered to 476 Anglo American, 156 Mexican American, and 101 Black children, aged six to 12. Results indicated age but not cultural differences in strength of…

A survey of 43 Texas community college libraries reveals that although 90 percent of these colleges have a developmental education program, less than 28 percent provide large number of library services to such programs, and particularly lack bilingual handbooks and special library instruction for developmental students. Twenty-two references are…

A broad range of strategies in sampling, measurement, design, execution, implementation, and analysis are examined. Specific strategies are suggested that tend to be successful in the real world of psychiatric clinical research. (Author)

Examines in 13 articles, three areas of change in family research methodology. Considers major determinants of change in the subject matter of family studies. Addresses the central measurement problem of family studies, i.e., relationships. Presents illustrative examples of the advancement of research technologies in family studies. (RC)

This colloquium presents seven analyses by social scientists of the controversial report, "Public and Private Schools," together with a response by the report's authors, James Coleman, Thomas Hoffer, and Sally Kilgore. (SK)

Results of a multiple discriminant analysis suggest that, although current residence and occupation are correlated with a rural culture, place of residence at age 16 along with several personal demographic features such as religion, income, and age, are more central to understanding the broader concept of rurality. (Author)

Consideration of 150 personal, social, and educational factors in relation to sports participation of Scottish adolescents suggested a number of paths leading to school sports involvement but emphasized particularly the important reciprocal influence of teachers' and pupils' expectations and perceptions. (Author/CM)

Describes a study comparing two methods of teaching English as a foreign language in France: a traditional and an audiovisual method. The research methodology is described in detail. The central question is not which method is better, but who benefits most from the method used. (AMH)