Narrative research, a qualitative research approach, includes a broad range of accounts, from first-person narratives to studies that interpret the stories others tell about their lives. This paper explores the nature of narrative and knowledge building in educational research, the complexities of "good" storytelling, and moral issues…

Discusses the increasing importance of culture in the foreign-language classroom. Suggests that if the question of culture and language learning is addressed from the perspective of the affective elements contained within both, it may be possible to adopt a more ecumenical approach to the former and obtain a more powerful tool for helping students…

Presents a comparative study of the term "context" across three major research journals: "Research in the Teaching of English"; "Reading Research Quarterly"; and "Journal of Literacy Research." Shows that the most consistent finding reported across studies is that context makes a difference, but a clear understanding of what is meant by context…

Conducted interviews with 39 young adults in the Netherlands who left school very early and followed their career development for an average of 5.5 years after dropping out. Approximately one in five students returned to school and achieved the educational attainment desired by the Dutch government. A similar number returned to schooling but did…

Draws on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health to illustrate the complexities of using large-scale surveys to measure adoption status. Discusses conceptual and methodological issues in measuring adoption status. Presents decision rules for determining adoption status across three sources of data: school self-administered…

Reviews the history of the terms "impairment,""disability," and "handicap" in the stuttering literature and proposes alternate definitions that are more consistent with the use of the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps. A model is proposed for discussing the outcomes of various…

This article reviews scientific definitions and social implications of "intelligence" in the context of plans of the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) to rename their organization and the diagnostic category to "intellectual disabilities". It is felt that such a change would associate the AAMR with those…

Presents results of a survey of Association for Communication Administration (ACA) members concerning their awareness and use of the 1995 ACA Definition of the Field of Communication. Finds that 40% of administrators who responded were unaware of the definition. Urges the need to further promote the definition of the field. (NH)

Examines definitions related to prevention and intervention for children to inform development of ideas in health, education, and social services contexts. Summarizes principles of effective prevention/early intervention. Presents examples of good practice, focusing on the High Scope model and a contemporary program in England that allows health,…

This article proposes a new schema for defining developmental stages in the drawing of geometrical objects. In four studies, children and adults drew cubes and cylinders. Data demonstrate that stages appear in invariant order with 2-year-olds drawing scribbles, single units appearing at 3 years, differentiated figures at 4 years, and integrated…

Answers common questions about the Internet, i.e., what it is, its components, and the definitions of its various features. Questions include what Web pages and browsers are, and the definitions of URLs, ISPs, home pages, search engines, and hyperlinks. (GR)

Offers insights regarding the lack of broadly acceptable definitions for the scholarship of teaching and scholarly teaching. Discusses whether and to what extent it is something all academics can practice and whether publishing in peer-reviewed media is a necessary characteristic. Provides examples of how teachers can acquire the knowledge and…

Recognizing the challenges of addressing plagiarism within schools of social work and diverse faculty opinion on the issue, our school of social work engaged in several efforts to clarify issues and establish consensus among the faculty. Issues that required clarification included: definitions of plagiarism, steps to take when confronted with…

The terms faith, spirituality, and religion are often used interchangeably, though their definitions are unique and distinct. This article discusses the nuanced differences among the three terms. It presents a model for the interrelatedness among the three important constructs and suggests ways the model can be used for further research. (Contains…

Objective: The National Research Council identified inadequate research definitions for abuse and neglect as barriers to research in child maltreatment. We examine the concordance between child protective services (CPS) classifications of maltreatment type with the determinations of type from two research coding systems. We contrast the two coding…