This publication explores the literature on teacher action research and authentic instruction, and draws on investigations of teacher research activities in order to promote the use of more"authentic" curriculum and instruction, especially for students at risk. "Authentic" instruction is defined as instruction based around problems, questions, or…

This bilingual exploration of program-based research discusses research in the everyday life of literacy programs and is also an account of one practitioner's personal experience. The first part explains the concept of program-based research. The second part reports on the relative lack of research in this area and gives a brief analysis of the…

This working paper provides suggestions and considerations for anyone contemplating the electronic collection of data on foreign scholars (as distinct from international students). It is noted that, because the Immigration and Naturalization Service requires employment verification and immigration information such as country of citizenship and…

Providing researchers, especially those in the social sciences, with access to publicly collected microdata furthers research while advancing public policy goals in a democratic society. However, while technological improvements have eased remote access to these databases and enabled computer using researchers to perform sophisticated statistical…

The affect/effect theory of the mediation of teacher expectation effects is presented, and a research agenda is suggested for the investigation of this theory. In addition, some methodological issues in psychology are reviewed. The affect/effect theory states that a change in the level of expectations held by a teacher for the intellectual…

A tribute to Eskil Bjorklund is presented at his retirement as director of Sweden's Research on Higher Education Program at the National Board of Universities and Colleges. Bjorklund's work over the years is best seen in several accomplishments. He completely recast the program's mission and central contribution to public policy and higher…

This final report describes a federally funded project which provided post-doctoral training in research with minority, handicapped children at the Juniper Gardens Children's Project, University of Kansas. Covered in the report are the project's objectives, philosophy and assumptions, results, training activities, activities completed, program…

In longitudinal studies, the same variables must be measured, in the same way, on at least two occasions. Research personnel are very important in keeping the necessary continuity of the procedures and the comparability of the measurements over time. As staff turnover can create serious problems, this paper suggests several strategies for reducing…

Three documents are presented which describe the Australian Open Learning Information Network (AOLIN)--a national, independent, and self-supporting network of educational researchers with a common interest in the use of information technology for open and distance education--and discuss two evaluative studies undertaken by the organization. The…

The education committee of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) organized a Task Force on Precollege Science Education Programs to develop a strategy for increasing the involvement of scientific research personnel in science program implementation. This report contains the comments and recommendations of the Task…

Designed to assist educational researchers in utilizing microcomputers, this paper presents information on four types of computer software: writing tools for educators, statistical software designed to perform analyses of small and moderately large data sets, project management tools, and general education/research oriented information services…

This paper introduces seven principles of learning, enduring over the last five centuries of psychological thought, to discuss the evolution of the "Biophyche" (the brain in action) in the development of humans and other large organisms. It describes the conditioning theories of Darwin, Pavlov, and Thorndike and critically reviews the…

A study investigated why productive scholars do research and what factors they believe contribute most to their success as published researchers. Subjects, 39 mass communications researchers who had been identified by a previous study as being the top producers of mass communications research articles, completed a questionnaire employing a…

The changing nature of institutional research due to the expanded use and capabilities of information technology was explored through a regional survey of institutional researchers, who indicated their involvement in information systems development. Results were analyzed for all respondents, by type of institution (four-year versus two-year), and…

A study was conducted at Brookdale Community College to determine which staff members were conducting research, under what conditions they would continue to do so, and the types of assistance the college's Center for Educational Research could provide to the staff. Questionnaires were sent to all college faculty, staff, and administrators,…