The purpose of this report is to document the participation and performance trends over time for students with disabilities, progressing from school year 2001-02, a base year for determining AYP goals under NCLB, through school year 2004-05, the third year that states reported after the NCLB baseline year (VanGetson & Thurlow, 2007). Within…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to show that for the successful development of socio-technical systems it is essential that various stakeholders are able to integrate their different knowledge and perspectives. A method that supports knowledge integration in the course of introduction and development of socio-technical systems is the…

In response to a recommendation that the Office of Educational Research and Development (OERI) adopt consensus panels such as those used by the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, this paper tries to represent the range of consensus panel applications and to identify the major considerations for OERI application. A…

This paper describes a model education program in art education. The goals of the program are to: (1) encourage higher levels of thinking; (2) increase knowledge of arts terminology, style, and concepts; and (3) develop the characteristics of creative thinking, in students from kindergarten through high school. The teaching focus requires the…

There are numerous micro-level methods decisions associated with planning an impact evaluation. Quantitative synthesis methods can be used to construct an actuarial data base for establishing the likelihood of achieving desired sample sizes, statistical power, and measurement characteristics. (Author/BS)

The manner in which results and methods are reported influences the ability of the synthesis of prior studies for planning new evaluations. Confidence ratings, coding conventions, and supplemental evidence can partially overcome the difficulties. Planners must acknowledge the influence of their own judgement in using prior research. (Author)

Holistic epistemology of systems must neither reify the system nor obscure the dynamics of the members. The sometimes diverging perspectives of the psychodynamic/growth and structural/strategic approaches actually converge in the realization that personal experiencing and social structure are not dichotomous phenomena but are related through the…

Rosenthan's (1979) concept of fail-safe N has thus far been applied to probability levels exclusively. This note introduces a fail-safe N for effect size. (Author)

A discussion of synthesized behavioral objectives (SYNOB), which is a record or form for communicating a variety of alternatives within a specific behavioral objective. (Author/HB)

Using Project Synthesis as an example of qualitative synthesis research in science education, discusses the characteristics of such research: using research teams to provide perspectives and viewpoints; using variety of data sources; including a conceptual scheme for accomplishing synthesis; and concluding with, among others, an analysis of…

Describes a research methodology to examine and synthesize previous competency-based teacher education studies, in order to develop a base for individualizing competencies for a particular school system or state. Validation of the competencies identified through the content analysis procedure was accomplished using a jury validation consensus…

A didactic example is presented of the application of new developments in structural equation modeling that allow for the modeling of multilevel data. The method, a synthesis of methods developed by B. Muthen, is applied to the problem of validating indicators of science education quality in the United States. (SLD)

Examination of the relationship between environmentalists and scientists concludes that environmentalism has had little impact on science. Topics discussed include the degree to which scientific research has become more applied; efforts to integrate and coordinate research projects; the synthesis of scientific information for policy purposes; and…