The University of Guelph's Office for Educational Practice, an administrative unit for instructional development that relies on faculty volunteer leadership and participation, is described and discussed in the context of research on improvement of instructional effectiveness. (MSE)

Discusses the science education research agenda from the viewpoints of learning theorists, political and social scientists, counseling psychologists, cognition psychologists, and pedagogical researchers. Indicates that a broader perspective of these areas helps to link the research agenda to science teachers' questions/concerns, and to such areas…

Discusses the applicability of research into cognitive schemas, metacognition, instructional design, and learning strategies to textbook creation; the value of well-structured, coherent, and focused texts; readability formulas, narrative characteristics, science and social studies texts, glossaries, dictionaries, teachers' manuals, and practice…

A strong institutional self-study will focus on five questions: (1) Is the school meeting its declared purpose? (2) Is the study objective? (3) Does it show an intent to improve the institution? (4) Does it help enhance the institution's distinctiveness while maintaining programatic balance? and (5) Does it see self-renewal as ongoing in the…

The state of Connecticut has introduced a fourth-grade mastery test that assesses thinking skills. The test was developed cooperatively by the state's Department of Education, a testing corporation, and several cognitive psychologists; several alternative models of thinking were synthesized to produce a theoretical foundation for the test. (MCG)

The relationship between theory and application and the role of the university in the discovery and solution of contemporary social problems are discussed in this special issue. The social sciences must respond directly to pressing social issues. (RM)

Suggests a procedure whereby educational administrators can peruse comparative studies that may help them understand their own problems, suggest alternative solutions, or identify factors unique to their system. Two examples of review studies explore the problem of system specificity and the usefulness of comparative studies. (MLF)

Research findings of interest to teachers wanting to establish a curriculum about nuclear war are examined, and general themes appropriate for a course about war and peace are suggested. Specifically discussed are students' views and moral reasoning about war. (RM)

Describes how ideas that grew out of Ron Edmonds's research were translated into educational policy in New York. Focuses on the three primary components in Edmonds's broad attempt to redefine and implement educational equity: desegregation, school effects, and effective schools. Also details Edmonds's innovative attempt to end social promotion in…

Suggests approaches to improving application of knowledge derived from basic research in relevant disciplines based on investigation of methods used at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Discussion includes factors contributing to application of basic knowledge, how they contribute, favorable conditions for, steps to strengthen, and obstacles to…

In a statement of the American Association of University Professors' Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, recently imposed government restraints on disclosure of academic research results are criticized as adding to already excessive restrictions, compromising academic freedom, and susceptible to executive manipulation. (MSE)

These three issues of the "Research Exchange" focus on how better to conduct disability research and disseminate research results. The first issue examines the topic of human subject/human research participant protection, with a focus on research funded through the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). It…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Elementary and Middle Schools Technical Assistance Center, which developed and evaluated a technical assistance model using a linking agent approach in which a school district professional or team was trained and supported to implement a change process cycle to effect improved…

This text on the social and emotional development of gifted children includes the following 24 papers: (1) "Effects of Acceleration on Gifted Learners" (Karen Rogers); (2) "Peer Pressures and Social Acceptance of Gifted Students" (Sylvia Rimm); (3) "Social and Emotional Issues for Exceptional Intellectually Gifted Students" (Miraca Gross); (4)…

This book is about how the process of deciding about education, or education policymaking, can be informed by research-based knowledge. Part 1 offers three chapters that attempt to clarify the central issues caught up in the problem of knowledge utilization--why there is so little utilization of research in educational policymaking, how research…