Notes that the question of whether English departments had a future was asked 17 years ago when the author first became a department chair as it is asked now upon her retirement. Discusses things about the profession that have changed, for good or ill. Suggests that the profession's penchant for self-examination has not changed. (RS)

This study used qualitative methods to examine the paradigm choices of 22 legal scholars at three institutions. These faculty members were working in either conventional formalist and realist paradigms or in alternative critical and interpretive paradigms. Paradigm choice appeared to result from personal experiences and structural and conceptual…

Using "educational gerontology" to describe interventions for older adults links education to aging rather than to adults. "Gerontagogy" is proposed as a multidisciplinary combination of the science of gerontology and the study of older adults in teaching/learning situations. (SK)

Contends that public relations is a professional occupation that has become more than a subset or specialization of other disciplinary areas. Calls for reevaluation of professional and disciplinary areas that have influenced public-relations education. Contends that the integrity of public-relations professional education must take precedence over…

States that "rhetoric as epistemic" and the rhetoric of science have a common ancestor, rhetorical theory as a theory of argumentation and invention. Contends, further, that when the epistemic accounts venture too far from the dynamics of argumentation, the project is vulnerable to being absorbed by other disciplinary projects such as…

Discipline strategies must incorporate the learning and behavior of each child with the desired outcomes if they are to correct maladaptive behaviors. Suspension should be based on the student's best educational interests; conducted in a manner that teaches the student more appropriate behaviors; supported by empirical research; and used as a last…

Describes how, after a quarter-century, James MacGregor Burns, a fellow at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, is still working to refine leadership studies in a way that could change the face of the field. (EV)

Examines major cases of the NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee, the body responsible for reviewing the imposition of infractions upon member schools. Considers the committee's primary concerns when considering the appropriateness of the substance and procedure of sanctions. Notes the committee's increased willingness to scrutinize sanction…

Explores the duality of sameness and difference as an underlying principle of classification using the Dewey Decimal Classification as an example. Explains the primacy of division by discipline, its origins in Western philosophy, and the cultural specificity that results, and considers possible universal solutions. (Author/LRW)

Introduces the symposium on qualitative research by depicting the context and politics of the field of educational studies in the last few decades. Finds agreement that the qualitative method is an apt way to capture latent and manifest activity in classrooms. (SK)

Outlines topics for future debate based on articles in this issue: qualitative studies focused on the substance of education, multisite studies, clarification of the genre of research, the potential of interdisciplinary approaches, and the uses of technology in furthering the debate. (SK)

Illuminates the debate about nursing as an academic discipline by examining arguments of critics, investigating the distinction between pure and applied disciplines, and considering how the view of nursing as an applied discipline guides what should be taught. Commentaries by Peter Ashworth, Mike Walsh, and Beverly Whelton follow. (SK)

Suggests that the 20th century has been the century of the application of disciplines - philosophy, psychology, history, sociology, statistics, cognitive science, and computer science - to educational thought on an unprecedented scale. The same disciplines, in the service of the study of women by women, have led to a whole new complex of thought…

As is well known, a worker's attitude toward labor is to a considerable extent determined by his age. During the Soviet era this was the cause of many problems, such as the high turnover in cadres, very poor labor discipline, and the decline of labor's role in the system of value orientations. Researchers pointed out that it was most often young…

The current fervor for highly specified standards for each academic discipline requires students to view reality as composed of fragmented and unrelated bits of information. In this article, the author argues that what students really need is a system for organizing and integrating what they know so that they can understand the "big picture."…