Adult education must become popular education in both communal and personal terms to survive funding agencies' special power-interest hegemonies, traditional higher education models, and rampant economic materialism. This article discusses six modernist constructions of adult education, highlighting professionalization and specialization, and…

This article proposes that narrative approaches to social work practice, grounded in postmodern theory, can be used effectively alongside traditional psychodynamic and systemic approaches. In narrative approaches, practitioners help clients deconstruct and reconstruct their own life stories, promoting individual empowerment. Integration of the…

Concerned with Stephen Ball's theoretical and empirical contribution to contemporary "education policy sociology," this article examines the efficacy of his theoretical eclecticism, highlighting incompatibilities in his interpretation and application of certain social and political theorists. Ball's representation of the policy cycle, as…

Several points regarding the distinction between second-language theory and practice in professional and public discourse are discussed, including theorists are rarely full-time teachers; theory tends to be imported from other disciplines; discourse tends to be authoritarian and prescriptive; and it underestimates institutional, political, and…

Explores the relationship between the Baha'i Faith and the cognitive-developmental school of psychology to promote greater communication between members of the Baha'i Faith and the therapeutic community. Concepts compared include a developmental teleology, the stagelike nature of development, and the importance of a cognitive, or epistemic, focus.…

Proposed educational reforms of instruction and the curriculum are briefly examined, and ways that research and practice can be better coordinated are discussed. Experiences in grade three mathematics instruction are shared to illustrate how blurring the boundaries between teaching and research might enhance both endeavors. (SW)

Reviews an ethnography of the life experiences in home, school, and community of 14 Mexican American immigrant children as they struggle with acculturation processes. Argues that the authors fail to achieve an "ethnography of empowerment" that puts theory into practice and improves the living conditions of its subjects, and that this notion is…

This article presents theoretical, empirical, and practical considerations of creating a bilingual (American Sign Language and English) environment in which deaf children can develop linguistic competence. Traditional environments for these students are compared with bilingual environments, and empirical support for deaf bilingualism is…

Notes that universities are looking increasingly to local programs as potential locations for research projects; provides Head Start directors, staff, and parents with an understanding of the importance of research in the continued development and improvement of Head Start as a national intervention project for children and families. Explains the…

Constructivism, which holds that knowledge is created out of each individual's own experience, is recapturing researchers' attention. To constructivists, teachers are not omniscient oracles, but nutritionists providing an environment for children to grow their own knowledge. Students might learn division by planning a field trip instead of…

This response to an article comparing guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice from the fields of early childhood education and early intervention/special education stresses the importance of recognizing the uniqueness of both disciplines and of getting recommended practices into actual practice. (DB)

Past, present, and future concerns regarding the definition of learning disabilities (LD) are documented. Research on efforts to clarify the LD label is discussed, including the questionable utility of the discrepancy model. An approach is presented for operationalizing the definition of LD of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities.…

Reports the development of a multidimensional instrument of stable coping styles that focuses on whether one's problem-focused coping efforts were facilitating or inhibiting progress toward problem resolution. Describes steps of scale construction, provides initial estimates of stability of factor structure and construct, concurrent, and…

Educators from the University of Manitoba (Canada) and the Manitoba Department of Education have developed a model of multicultural professional development for teachers. The model is founded on institutional collaboration and accessing resource personnel, and is committed to integrating theory and practice and including minority groups in the…

The reported practices of 25 elementary school teachers related to teaching mathematics with manipulatives, and reasons offered in support of instructional methodologies, were studied. Results reveal a wide range of interpretations of the term manipulatives and much variation in practice, highlighting a gap between research theory and practice.…