This report for researchers in rural sociology develops a conceptual and analytic framework for evaluating policies or programs through interrelated models. Three models--structural analysis, control programming, and simulation--allow researchers to assess policy/program impact, determine why expected impacts did or did not occur, and modify…

This UNESCO newsletter contains six sections concerned with various aspects of population education. Section 1 deals with workshops for monitoring and evaluating population education programs. Section 2 evaluates the programs of six Asia-Pacific countries (China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand).…

Separate meta-analyses have been completed recently on the effectiveness of computer-based education (CBE) in elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and nontraditional postsecondary institutions. Several conclusions can be drawn from these meta-analyses. First, although CBA has not been uniformly successful in all its guises and at all…

This paper introduces the concept of radio-assisted practice (RAP) and outlines the nature and initial findings of a British research project which is investigating the potential of RAP in preservice teacher education. The paper falls into three main parts. The first situates matters in terms of information-processing skill (IPS) psychology and…

International scholarly effort in the comparative study of adult education has increased substantially over the past 20 years. The relationship between the state and adult education is one area, however, that has remained relatively neglected by researchers. In many countries, adult education has been largely the responsibility of voluntary…

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…

A preliminary analysis of literature published in the area of gifted education from January 1975 to December 1986 sought to analyze its content and to discern trends in the types of research-based topics addressed. Eliminating duplicate citations, the study analyzed 2,680 citations from three databases: the Educational Resources Information Center…

This paper reviews the following studies on the cost-effectiveness of the Chapter 1 compensatory education program: (1) Sustaining Effects Study; (2) Tallmadge Study; (3) the Kiesling Study for Rand; (4) Instructional Dimensions Study; (5) Response to Educational Needs Project Cost-Effectiveness Study; (6) Educational Testing Service/Ragosta…

In reviewing the literature related to education for family life, this discussion focuses on three main areas: the need for such education, trends in the development of family life education programs, and the results of evaluations of a wide range of programs. Evidence was found concerning (1) the key role families play in their members'…

The major finding of the Law-Related Education Evaluation Project report for Year 1 (1981), that law-related education courses can reduce juvenile delinquency, is of limited use to educational decision makers and could be misleading. The research design leaves much to be desired; however, that fact must be considered in light of the difficulty of…

The methodology and problems of research on cross-age tutoring are reported. Using a phenomenological framework, the two researchers involved in the study worked toward a research method and design that would account for the backgrounds of both; one was trained in the quantifiable methods of natural science, the other in qualitative methods of…

This newsletter describes a research design enabling descriptive, comparative, evaluative follow-up studies of individual development in social contexts related to schooling. In addition, it describes a research project focusing mainly on evaluative studies of the ability of the educational system to confer, on different individuals in various…

This paper is a reassessment of an original research project (Oliver, 1980) that analyzed the way teachers had decided on lateral job change (i.e., change from one teaching position to another in the same district without a significant increase in pay). The purpose of the reassessment is to examine how the results obtained from the original…

This paper reviews empirical findings from recent social impact assessments (SIAs) conducted in Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming where energy development occurred in the 1970s and points out efficient research strategies for policy decisions. Topics covered by the SIAs include characteristics of…

Educational reform commissions and state departments of education across the United States have recommended that would-be administrators spend more time in planned field experiences, internships, and other practica and on-the-job learning activities. Despite this need, systematic research on experiential learning for administrators is remarkably…