Cautioning against the tendency of educational researchers to overgeneralize their results, the author discusses three variables important to research on methods of instruction: the characteristics of the learner (six are listed), characteristics of the subject matter, and time. Differentiation between major research efforts and purely practical…

The author contends that empirical analyses of productivity have placed much more importance on the availability of data than on the suitability of data. He recommends compiling evidence about the interface of the schooling system and society and then examining incentive structures and tradeoffs among alternative production possibilities. (JT)

Since there is little political science research on the Borderlands, this article focuses on future areas of research. For journal availability, see SO 504 297. (DE)

It is proposed that nomethetic theories should be formulated in such a way to allow for an immediate individual-differences test. This approach of trying to bring individual differences into the mainstream of theory construction is elaborated in terms of guidelines that can be used in examining the intervening process, as well as a discussion of…

An analysis is provided of institutional research conducted by community colleges in an effort to draw conclusions about appropriate standards for different types of studies. The paper focuses on four categories of research: (1) research conducted to fulfill external reporting requirements and to influence policy at state and federal levels; (2)…

This paper presents a review of literature dealing with peer coaching as a method for improving the teacher's overall instructional effectiveness, as well as generating teacher collegiality. The articles annotated for this study are organized into four sections. The first section discusses the concept of peer coaching, and the second section…

The paper examines the relationship between the educational environment and the gifted student's motivation. It argues for less use of competition as a motivator, and suggests future research directions. The argument against employing competition as a motivator is based upon the premise that development, cognitive, social-emotional, and moral,…

This study examined the potential applicability of educational technologies to the Minnesota Extension Service (MES), which delivers non-credit, educational programming to Minnesota citizens through 91 county extension offices in the state's 87 counties. A total of 62 MES field staff members participated in information-gathering meetings where…

Research in social gerontology has become increasingly concerned with issues related to race, ethnicity, national origin and gender. The bulk of this research has merely described interesting differences among groups. This presentation suggests that theory and research on race, ethnicity, and gender groups, particularly in a noncomparative…

This review focuses on both published and unpublished literature in the areas of education, employment, and independent living outcomes across 13 handicapping conditions. Preliminary chapters describe the database system used to manage the literature identified, and discuss research methods in transition literature. Subsequent chapters then review…

School-based management/shared decision-making (SBM/SDM) in New York City rests on the conviction that schools can be improved by giving school professionals and parents the flexibility to develop local solutions for local problems. Accountability is critical to this approach; a school system cannot ask school staff to accept responsibility for…

A response to Richard E. Clark's conclusion that media research needs to stop emphasizing descriptive research and focus on prescriptive research designs and questions, this paper reiterates the distinctions between disciplines and applied fields of study, and suggests that these distinctions should be evident in the descriptive/prescriptive…