The current study describes preschool teacher-child interactions during several commonly scheduled classroom activities in which teachers deliver instructions. An observation system was developed that incorporated measurement of evidence-based compliance strategies and included the types of instructions delivered (e.g., integral or deficient…

This study compared the effectiveness of three different video-based instructional sequences, all used in conjunction with the system of least prompts, for teaching three different daily living skills to three young adults with developmental disabilities. The video-based instructional sequences (i.e., video rehearsal, video rehearsal plus photos,…

A naturalistic study examined how the structure of a teacher education course in reading diagnosis promoted an active, constructive stance toward teaching. Two professors in education participated in the study; one was the participant/instructor in the class and the other was a participant/observer. The 20 students in the class attended a seminar…

Two naturalistic studies examined how children attempt to exert dominance over their peers, which tactics are most frequently used, and which appeals are most successful. The first study identified 3 categories of dominance behavior by a 6-week observation of playground interactions of 20 4- and 5-year-old children. The second study, conducted at…

The study observed and compared the pragmatic skills of two mildly retarded and two nonhandicapped kindergarten children, focusing on their use of language in everyday conversational situations. A checklist developed by the investigator was used to record observations based on six categories of speech acts: commenting, answering, affirming,…

Using a descriptive personal narrative that marks ethnographic research, this book looks at literacy education in the Amish culture and considers the implications that this perspective reveals for mainstream education. Divided into 12 chapters, the book chronicles the life of an Amish family, the Fishers, focusing specifically on the attitudes…

Data were collected for this study of the relationship between television watching and family life via a recording device (C-Box) consisting of a television set and a video camera. Designed for the study, this device was installed in 20 homes for one week to record the viewing area in front of the television set together with information on…

All social science serves some agenda: social science research is a value-bound, value-determined, context-situated, and ideologically loaded enterprise. Each researcher makes choices in the following areas, whether tacitly, implicitly, or deliberately: (1) a paradigm choice, either conventional (rationalistic) or emerging (naturalistic); (2) the…

The thesis of this paper is that systematic research approaches must be developed if the study of play is to avoid a short-lived "in" period before another 30-year hiatus, such as the one that occurred between 1940 and 1970. This paper reviews the present status of research on play, drawing examples from studies of the past 10 years that…

The development of critical ethnography in education is traced, and the central epistemological and methodological issues in the practice of critical ethnography are discussed. Some of the directions the field appears to be taking are considered. Critical ethnography in education began in the late 1960's and early 1970's, with roots in the…

This document reports an evaluation of the orientation program in Australia for hosted Year Program students. Qualitative and quantitative data were used in the evaluation. The techniques included on-site observation of the orientation and interviews with 141 participants and 23 staff members from 12 countries. Although no written goals were…

Case study research, as presented here, is a way to interrelate the theory and practice of education and to improve the contributions of comparative and international research studies. This paper argues that there are four levels of concern in comparative and international education: the development and transmission of ideas about education; the…

Perspectives concerning a field-based inquiry approach to medical education are offered. This approach requires that inquiry tactics more closely match educational and clinical processes. Assumptions about naturalistic and quasi-experimental educational research are considered that indicate a common field-based approach to inquiry. Parallel…

The team treatment model is extremely popular in residential group care for emotionally disturbed and/or troubled children and youth; however, there is little information to verify that the model is being implemented and that desired outcomes are being obtained. This field study was designed to explore the team decision-making process through…

Two participant observers evaluated the week-long camp experience of adult women in order to assess the appropriateness of participant observation research methods in the camp setting, to identify strengths and weaknesses of this method, and to develop guidelines for its use. The study was part of a larger evaluation of the 9th annual Women's Week…