Reviews current approaches to evaluation of training both in theory and in practice. Highlights include complexities associated with evaluation practice; possible means of expediting the performance of evaluations; expanding the range and precision of data collection using automated systems; and recommendations for further research. (Author/LRW)

Eight articles discuss Program Theory (PT) construction issues, administrators as applied theorists, tests of PT, using path analysis to develop/evaluate PT, using PT to describe/measure program quality, developing/testing program classification and function theories, a pattern-matching approach to link PT and evaluation data, and linking PT and…

Suggests the need to integrate drama into any future unified theory of the writing and reading process as symbolic action. Argues for the use of drama as an analogy for re-thinking pedagogy, because drama provides a mode of thinking that emphasizes the interplay of agent and structure. (RS)

Like wildflowers blooming in the cracks of city sidewalks, reflective practice celebrates the organic over the artificial. Inquiry-oriented teaching, rejecting logical-positivist methods, engages teachers in a cycle of thought and action based on professional experience. Teachers subjected to quality control pressures reduce their teaching to the…

The teacher-researcher split must be overcome to help improve schools and instruction. Research and practice integration will involve attitudinal changes accomplished through specific activities to increase teacher reflection, familiarity with the knowledge base, inquiry, and collegiality. Researchers, teacher-training institutions, and school…

Examines the pedagogical applications of some of the major theories that support collaborative learning in composition, especially the assumptions, evidence, and relationships between theory and practice. Concludes that more needs to be known about the dynamics of groups and exactly what produces effective writing in collaborative pedagogies. (RS)

Compares the work of three educational theorists from across the political spectrum. Places E. D. Hirsch's concept of cultural literacy against the liberal ideas posited by Louise Rosenblatt and the more radical ideas of Henry Giroux. Finds crucial differences among the three regarding whose knowledge and discourse is validated in the classroom.…

Discusses how the reading profession is changing and needs to continue to change with respect to the complexity of learning; teachers taking responsibility for shaping the context in which they work; and the awareness of differences in theories presented by reading professionals. (MG)

Reports findings of a nationwide survey of public relations professionals to investigate the full extent of recent public relations research activities. Finds a growing recognition that research is an integral part of public relations planning, program development, and evaluation process. Reveals that most public relations research is currently…

Offers a solicited response to a question about learning styles, and discusses how this information should affect planning and implementing instruction. Finds that the instructional implications of the body of research on learning styles and learning modalities are limited. (MG)

Educational administration leaders have begun to reexamine and reestablish the value of filed components, including shadowing, internships, and field-based seminars that could not be provided without the assistance of practicing administrators. Using a "buddy system" offers invaluable support to beginning administrators. (MLH)

When selecting superintendents, school boards should not dismiss educational administration professors as ivory-tower academics who cannot function in real world. Many educational administration professors have already proved themselves as administrators and practice what they preach. They are seldom "overqualified" or devoted to theory over…

Contrasts two conferences that occurred in the 1960s: one considered significant by historians of composition studies, the other recognized as important in the development of poststructuralism. Argues that theoretical currents associated with the conferences can usefully critique each other. Proposes a variation on the new advocacy of…

Discusses the field of instructional systems technology (IST) and the definition of its subject matter domain; describes cognitive mapping and semantic relatedness; and reports results of a study that generated a cognitive map to define the structure of research and theory in IST. (three references) (LRW)

Updates call for integration among domains of theory, research, and practice in family science. Suggests that family science as an emerging discipline adopt the notion of the family scientist as a "multidomain specialist" or an "integrationist." Claims there is opportunity to provide the applied domain of family science with individuals trained in…