Interest is growing in naturalistic inquiry and qualitative methods in educational inquiry. Naturalistic inquiry refers to a paradigm of inquiry with two major features: a low degree of manipulation or control of the variables prior to the inquiry and a low degree of constraints imposed on the outcomes of the inquiry. Qualitative methods seek to…

Drawing on 2 months of intensive research in a network-affiliate newsroom, this paper describes how the researcher coped with studying newswork by qualitative and quantitative methods within a naturalistic paradigm and addresses methodological issues facing the naturalistic researcher. The paper discusses the following five methodological issues:…

A methodological approach to evaluation is presented. This model attempts to integrate quantitative and qualitative procedures in evaluating the effects of bilingual/bicultural Head Start programs on young children. The evaluation was intended to provide information on the following: (1) the extent to which the curriculum models, once implemented,…

A study of National Technical Institute for the Deaf students who are cross registered into the other colleges of the Rochester Institute of Technology was part of an ongoing research project on mainstreaming. The initial study addressed three issues: the best methodology to employ, the research hypotheses which might be generated from the data…

Abstracts the International Reading Association's outstanding dissertation, a study examining narrative accounts in the day-to-day conversations of five- to seven-year olds with their friends, the range of narrative forms they produce, and the social and interactional functions served by such narratives. (SR)

Describes and illustrates how to make and use portable, lightweight tree stands for use as nature observation platforms. Offers conservation and safety precautions. (NEC)

Two recent books that confront the questions and assumptions of traditional and new paradigms for studying education are discussed: "Organizational Theory and Inquiry: The Paradigm Revolution" (Yvonna Lincoln, editor) and "Naturalistic Inquiry" (Y. Lincoln and Egon Guba). (MSE)

Discusses the basic character of qualitative, humanistic research, identifying its philosophical and theoretical commitments. Provides a taxonomy of investigative strategies employed, including naturalistic inquiry, contextualization, maximized comparisons, sensitizing concepts, and analytic induction. Classifies methods employed as participant…

Compares the participation of men and of women in child-related activities. Naturalistic observations of children (ranging from infancy to adolescence) and adults in public places were obtained. Findings support a sex-traditional model of adult involvement with children. (Author/KS)

Uses both the findings of formal research studies and the observations of sensitive teachers to illustrate the power of language for helping children gain control over, and put their mark upon, their surroundings. (HTH)

The voice of the government via the Reading Excellence Act gives the message that direct systematic intense phonics instruction will solve the reading problem, end debate, lead to student success in life beyond school, and provide teachers with the prestige of successful reading instruction. This paper takes a close look at systematic direct…

Language is a child's major tool for learning about the world. This book presents a naturalistic case study of one child's use of language from two-and-a-half to five years, drawing on systemic functional theory to argue that cognitive development is essentially a linguistic process and offering a new description and interpretation of linguistic…

Reports three studies which assess bias on the part of aggressive boys to overattribute hostile intentions to peers. After determining the condition under which aggressive attributions are made, the role of selective attention to and recall of hostile cues in biased attribution was investigated. Additionally, peer-directed aggressive behaviors…

Assessed the relation between four- and five-year-olds' prosocial behavior and empathy with a modified version of the Feshbach empathy measure. Prosocial behaviors were assessed naturalistically over 10 weeks. (Author/SS)

Naturalistic observations were made of children in grades one through six on school playgrounds. Observers coded interactive behaviors, affective valence, and play states. Aggressive children displayed more verbal and physical aggression, antisocial behaviors, and interaction than did nonaggressive children. Peers made similar initiations to the…