Differences in agreement between observers and analysts of naturalistic narrative data cause problems in observation research. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of several possible solutions. (Author/GDC)

Results of a naturalistic, observational analysis of 43 self-contained classrooms serving severely handicapped students indicated that during designated instructional periods, slightly less than half of all student time was spent on-task. When students were on-task, almost two-thirds of their time involved nonfunctional instructional tasks.…

If one undertakes naturalistic evaluation without formal training, there are some important considerations and sources of information to keep in mind. Labor intensive qualitative approaches are discussed in terms of field relations, data collection and analysis, and writing. (Author/LMO)

Describes the basic method of using naturally occurring settings for research on media effects. Suggests research questions that could be studied and identifies settings (and media markets) most promising for such research. (PD)

The final result of this inquiry study will be the compilation of a Literacy Portfolio on a targeted reader. The data included within the portfolio will come from strategies and tools teachers were introduced to in Year One of the Reading Initiative and for which teachers gathered data both on themselves and on younger learners. The study revisits…

This report presents focal case studies of two working-class mothers who are building bridges between their individual homes and Parker Elementary (located in a small midwestern city) where both of their children attend school. The report delineates a study which examined how the literacy practices within the two women's households related to…

This paper describes a study in which a group of young African-American children responded to literature in a multiage primary classroom setting. This naturalistic study sought to: identify the modes of response preferred by the African-American children in this class, examine the content of those responses for evidence of links to ethnicity, and…

This paper contends that, historically and today, "readiness" functions as a key symbol in discourses of early childhood. Schools and teachers need to make "ready" for different children in a very different world than that in which many people grew up. The interest in the paper, however, is not only in individual difference but…

This paper explores some ongoing dilemmas facing literacy educators, employing a combination of fictional accounts and summaries of actual instances during literacy lessons. Noting that the Commonwealth of Australia's recent policy/monograph is entitled "Literacy for All: The Challenge for Australian Schools," the paper points out that…

A study of verbal interaction between mothers and children in 24 poor families in Santiago, Chile, focused on the number and type of conversations, the times they began, their length, the number of subjects discussed, and the mother's role in them. Results indicate that the quality of interaction between mothers and children in poor homes can be…

Discusses the value of setting-specific research for action research in social psychology. Discusses the following concepts: (1) local variation; (2) seeing the general in the specific; (3) connectedness as the fundamental law of ecology; and (4) the value of field stations for community research. (JS)

Presents a corrected and slightly expanded abstract of Alison Preece's doctoral dissertation on the development of young children's productive narrative competence, winner of the International Reading Association's Outstanding Dissertation Award for 1986-1987 (See EJ 378 645). (RS)

Analyzes the way black and white working-class women define and claim knowledge, challenging feminist analyses that have identified a single or universal mode of knowing for women. Contends that women speak to complex gender, racial, and class relations of power that shape how they think about learning and knowing. (Author/SLM)

Ten evaluation models are examined in terms of their applicability to investigative, emergent design programs: Stake's portrayal, Wolf's adversary, Patton's utilization, Guba's investigative journalism, Scriven's goal-free, Scriven's modus operandi, Eisner's connoisseurial, Stufflebeam's CIPP, Tyler's objective based, and Levin's cost…

Describes two chief alternative models of English instruction, critical theory, and constructivism or naturalistic inquiry. Discusses the functions of genre in disciplinary communities. Argues that naturalistic inquiry does not constitute a comprehensive corrective to the legacy of positivism. (HB)