The social conflict approach, i.e., any social situation in which social entities are linked by antagonistic social relations, constitutes a viable conceptual framework for studying the family. Increasingly, conflict is viewed as a central characteristic of family life. The social conflict framework can be used to study both social phenomena…

Noting that few curriculum projects designed to teach effective writing skills have been evaluated through carefully planned, longitudinal research studies representing cooperative efforts between university and public school personnel, this report describes such a project. The report outlines (1) the purpose of the program, which was based on the…

A review of literature relevant to equal educational opportunity is presented in order to support an argument for the use of normative models in educational research. The literature review shows that confusion over the 1966 Coleman Report was due to a mismatch between the implied reform objective of the report and its statistical approach. The…

This report presents the rationale and design of a vocabulary program created as the instrument for research exploring the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. The first section of the report reviews the current state of the art of vocabulary instruction and discusses the techniques used in two commercial basal…

Practical information is provided, in a question and answer format, for community college officials who are planning to conduct a community needs assessment. A brief discussion of the usefulness of needs assessment surveys to the college planning process is followed by descriptions of eight steps to be followed in planning and conducting a survey:…

The objectives of an ongoing 3-year study are to examine and document the immediate history of PL 95-561, Title XI; the development of its regulations, policies, and procedures; and its actual implementation. Research during the first year focused on the history, intent, regulations, and emerging policy of the law, especially Part A. Data were…

A system for the analysis of elementary school science teacher's guides and other program materials is described. The system, which can be used with either textbook-based or activity-based programs, produces a detailed step-by-step account of "What the classroom would be like if the teacher followed the recommendations in the teacher's guide…

In this paper the author assesses the state-of-the-art on quality assessment and monitoring of medical care and makes recommendations for needed research in this area. Following a brief introduction, the content is presented in two sections. The first, providing a frame of reference, covers definitions; quality assessment and program evaluation;…

Overviews of schema theory, which focuses on the cognitive operations engaged in by the reader, and discourse analysis, which focuses on structural characteristics of the text itself, are presented in this paper. The first section explains the notion of cognitive schemata (patterns of expectations that are applied to incoming information) and…

A study conducted in a non profit research and development organization and the technical development department of a profit corporation was designed to develop and implement interventions that would modify the information-communication behaviors of the technical professionals in these organizations, and to measure and analyze the effects of the…

The features of two currently popular evaluation models for higher education institutions are described. Each system was designed and developed to respond to what was perceived as different sides of a common problem. Two lines of analysis on costs and outcomes have been developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management (NCHEMS). The…

To determine the dominant ecosystem types in nonmetropolitan counties and the role of ecological factors in determination of levels of total and age-specific migration patterns within nonmetropolitan areas and ecosystem types for 1950-60 and 1960-70, 30 ecological variables representing POET concepts of population, organization, environment, and…

The paper compares evaluation requirements established under P.L. 94-103 (Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act) and P.L. 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act). The correspondence of the requirements to traditional evaluation models is noted, and obstacles to implementation of the evaluation procedures are…

This introduction to, and comment upon, a symposium on communicative competence argues that the appropriate unit of analysis in language development is communicative competence and proposes that the development of communicative competence can be studied usefully through observing children's communication during role play. Communicative competence…

The purpose of this paper is to indicate priorities for qualitatively-based research in child care. Three main foci for research are indicated. Researchers should examine the multi-faceted cultural and social experiences of the children in programs, investigate the social system in which adults form formal and informal child care arrangements, and…