Within early years education research there is a lack of research that focuses on the child and that constructs the child as co-constructor of knowledge, culture and identity. Although there is much writing on early childhood education with regard to teacher practice, pedagogy and curriculum, these discussions are rarely informed by the…

Researchers have examined inductive reasoning to identify different cognitive processes when participants deal with inductive problems. This article presents a prescriptive theory of inductive reasoning that identifies cognitive processing using a procedural strategy for making comparisons. It is hypothesized that training in the use of the…

States and the federal government have invested in early care and education programs with an explicit goal of improving school readiness for low-income children. These investments, aimed at strengthening the quality of care and supporting families' access to high-quality settings, are based in part on a confluence of research findings showing a…

The purpose of this paper was to identify the characteristics and history of online education, to examine research on the effectiveness of online learning, and to note the principles and practices indicated for maximizing the effectiveness of online learning. Leading articles and studies on online education were identified and examined for this…

A recent meta-analysis found that across studies individual differences in aspects of children's emotionality predict social status [Dougherty, L.R., (2006). Children's emotionality and social status: a meta-analytic review. Social Development, 15, 394-417.]. In the present study we extended these findings by examining the emotion of interest and…

The present review examines research on the effects of technology use on reading achievement in K-12 classrooms. Unlike previous reviews, this review applies consistent inclusion standards to focus on studies that met high methodological standards. In addition, methodological and substantive features of the studies are investigated to examine the…

The business of science is formulating generalizable insight. No one study, taken singly, establishes the basis for such insight. Meta-analysis, however, can be used to determine if results generalize and to estimate the mean and the variance of effect sizes across studies (J. Hunter and F. Schmidt, 1990). Meta-analysis inquiries treat studies…

This paper demonstrates that a meta-analysis technique applied to the Solomon Four-Group Design (SFGD) can fail to find significance even though an earlier "weaker" test may have found significance. The meta-analysis technique was promoted by Braver and Braver as the most powerful single test for analyzing data from an SFGD. They…

Meta-analysis is a rigorous and formal methodology for drawing conclusions about a body of research surrounding a particular conceptual focus. Its appropriate use depends on making the underlying assumptions of the technologies explicit. (JOW)

In this introduction to the applicaton of meta-analysis as a quantitative synthesis technique, several alternative approaches to research synthesis are described. Their advantages and disadvantages, as compared to those of the techniques of meta-analysis. Decisions that must be faced by the prospective user of meta-analysis are described.…

Meta-analysis techniques were employed to integrate statistically the findings from 74 studies on early intervention with handicapped preschoolers. Findings indicate that early intervention produces positive sizeable effect size; that longer, more intense programs are associated with efficacy; and that little support was found for commonly held…

The author asserts that meta-analysis allows gifted educators and researchers to overcome obstacles of imprecise measurement and small samples. He reviews the technique, responds to critiques of the approach, and presents current research using meta-analysis. (CL)

Offers an alternative interpretation of the Primary Mental Health Project's (PMHP) outcome, based on meta-analysis of the empirical data currently available. Results showed that effect sizes coincide reasonably well with those of past PMHP outcome studies. Positive outcomes for the typical PMHP-referred child are only inconsistently found. (BH)

Some 23 journals in educational psychology and related fields, including two organizational "flagship" journals with circulations over 50,000, now "require" effect size reporting. This paper reviews some of the many effect size choices available to researchers. Effect size measures can be grouped into measures of association strength and measures…

Contemporary educational research is marked by diversity, complexity, and richness of purposes, methods, and perspectives. A framework, the Methodologically Inclusive Research Synthesis (MIRS), has been developed to offer a set of guidelines to facilitate informed choices at the critical decision points of any research synthesis process. The MIRS…