Focuses on the personal and social adjustment of youth, along with parental involvement and concern for career goals and upward mobility. (Author/RK)

Addresses the implicit assumption that instructional media represent meaningful experimental variables independent of instructional content or strategy. Results of computer-based instruction (CBI) studies (both well-designed and flawed) and meta-analyses are reviewed to support the authors' position that this assumption is invalid, and new…

Critiques comparative research and evaluation methods used to assess effectiveness of interactive video and proposes alternative models of research design that go beyond comparative analysis into understanding and control of the effective dimensions of interactive video, i.e., controlled correlation; instructional events, cognitive psychology, and…

Suggests that an interpretive view of communication, with philosophical assumptions about the nature of persons and communication, provides a perspective from which scholars study argumentation. Presents arguments supporting the value of the interpretive perspective, and answers criticisms by showing how those criticisms are grounded in…

Research consumers, both individuals and groups, can benefit or lose from early intervention research endeavors, and their needs and priorities should be considered. Researchers' decisions and actions create consumer winners and losers in three areas of research activity: conceptualization of research, design of research studies, and dissemination…

Presents data which leads to the construction of a response to the question of how different phases of the learning cycle influence physics students' content achievement and attitudes. Discusses the importance of the learning cycle in science instruction and the strength of using contrasting techniques (qualitative and quantitative) in research.…

Term paper bibliographies were independently examined and rated by a librarian and a writing instructor. Students receiving bibliographic instruction in classes that taught a cognitive strategy for using library resources did a better job of accessing and using library resources than those whose instruction emphasized specific tools and resources.…

Although "quality of education" issues are currently popular in educational evaluation, the author argues for an empirically resolvable evaluation paradigm: Given the target population, program goals, and boundary conditions, how do educational treatments compare in terms of learning effects? Agreement on pre-set specifications and the…

Describes curriculum development aimed at increasing quantitative skills or demonstrating relevance of technological tools to studies in humanities. Included are simulations, research design, measurement, analytical techniques, computer software development, and a new laboratory course in social sciences. Also describes attempts to focus on…

Six journals containing 1,913 empirical studies are reviewed for trends in special education research: Exceptional Children, Journal of Special Education, Journal of Learning Disabilities, American Journal of Mental Deficiency, Psychology in the Schools, and Journal of School Psychology. Type of exceptionality, research topic, and research design…

Presents an overview of computer assisted instruction (CAI) as an instructional technique; describes studies on CAI effectiveness in compensatory education; discusses elements that need to be addressed to create a positive relationship between CAI, compensatory education, and achievement gains; and reviews evaluation designs appropriate in…

Describes experiment designed to assess information value for individual searchers in realistic search environment. Included in data analysis are comparison of two alternative retrieval methods, evaluation of how well humans are able to estimate document relevance, and investigation of value function components (features and coefficients) and…

Describes a feasibility study designed to investigate interactive video and the balance of student versus program control with respect to the sequence of content presentation, the choice of how many practice exercises to do, and the strategy for alternating between the modes of receptive and active learning. (MBR)

Reviews the history and conclusions of school effectiveness research, which focuses on student achievement, and of school improvement research, which emphasizes educational innovation per se; analyzes the methodologies of these two lines of inquiry. Distills from both bodies of literature seven school characteristics that constitute excellence.…

Addresses the use of data sources and multivariate data analysis methods for modeling naturally occurring data. Two studies in this special section deal with longitudinal perspectives on drug use and emotional adjustment and an application of log-linear model to examine the stress-buffering function of alcohol. (LLL)