Comments on a study that reported positive effects of a neurobehavioral-intervention approach on motor skills of young children with cerebral palsy. Discusses problems associated with contrived research situations and urges researchers and practitioners to join together to design and investigate the effects of new interventions. (CR)

Comments on "The Small ICF/MR Program: Dimensions of Quality and Cost" (Conroy), that found small Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF) for individuals with mental retardation are inferior to other community programs. Acknowledges that while some research problems exist, no important evidence against the findings has been provided. (CR)

The research needs in the epidemiology of child sexual abuse are discussed in terms of: a definition of epidemiology, the clash between the medical and legal cultures, statistical concerns, the relationship of social class or poverty with child sexual abuse, the need for cross-cultural research, intervention studies, studies of service…

This article comments on a previous article that uses interviews from 250 Latino parents of children with mental retardation to demonstrate three ways of analyzing qualitative interview data (content, cultural models, and narrative analyses). It discusses the implementation of interventions that fit the cultural models of parents as a component of…

Closed laboratories are becoming an increasingly popular approach to teaching introductory computer science courses, as they facilitate structured problem-solving and cooperation. However, most closed laboratories have been designed and implemented without embedded instructional research components for constant evaluation of the laboratories'…

When most teachers hear the phrase "professional development," skepticism clouds their faces. But research-based professional development can provide interesting experiences and valuable content knowledge. The Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program, funded by the National Science Foundation, helps "facilitate professional development of…

This article provides a look at the federal policy context for the scientifically based research (SBR) and evidence-based education (EBE) initiatives by sharing U.S. Department of Education presentations and related publications about SBR and EBE. It discusses the impact of these policy initiatives on special education research activities.…

This article discusses concerns with the No Child Left Behind definition of scientifically based research and its preference for random-assignment experiments. It proposes that instead of playing the victim, critics should illustrate the important findings that have advanced the field using research methodologies other than randomized experiments.…

Recent clinical trials of secretin in children with autism showed robust placebo effects and no benefit of secretin over placebo. This article explores the reasons for the observed placebo effects, focusing on the heightening of positive expectancy by media attention and by the sensory experiences associated with intravenous injections.…

The authors discuss the problems of children's foster care in Lithuania in the context of European dimensions. The article consists of two parts. The first part presents the main changes in the children's care system in Lithuania. The first part reveals the discussion of the paradigm of children's foster care in both the Western and Lithuanian…

The National Science Foundation and others have made compelling arguments that research be incorporated into the learning of undergraduates. In response to these arguments, a two-hybrid research project was incorporated into a molecular biology course that contained both a lecture section and a laboratory section. The course was designed around…

The use of fictional writing, and in particular fictional dialogue, has gained increasing credibility and popularity within the field of qualitative social science research (Clough, 2002; Denzin, 1997; Tierney, 1998) but research in early childhood education has yet to exploit such methodologies. This article asks: what is meant by the term…

This study examined the effects on older adults' psychological health of participation in a volunteer role that afforded opportunities to form friendships with age peers and to express nurturance toward another person. Access to these important social provisions was expected, in turn, to contribute to greater self-esteem, less loneliness, and less…

Purpose: This study's broad objective was to examine the effectiveness of surface electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback for motor learning in the voice production domain. The specific objective was to examine whether concurrent or terminal biofeedback would facilitate learning for a relaxed laryngeal musculature task during spoken reading. Method:…

Background: There is limited research on the FL composition writing of Egyptian experimental secondary students. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of the Whole Language Approach on developing the required composition writing skills in English for experimental secondary students. Setting: Salah Salem…