The current paper describes the design and development of a qualitative analysis course and an interactive web-based teaching and assessment tool called VSE (virtual structural environment). The widespread reliance on structural analysis programs requires engineers to be able to verify computer output by carrying out qualitative analyses.…

This paper describes an ongoing project to create an online version of a reading programme, a custom-designed English language proficiency course at a university in Japan. Following an interactionist view of second language acquisition, it was hypothesised that comprehension of a reading passage could be enhanced by online materials promoting…

Purpose: The objective of this article is to provide an analysis of articles in "Education Administration Quarterly (EAQ)" over the 25-year period 1979-2003. Approach: The approach is document analysis. Findings: Information is presented on four key themes: (a) types of articles published; (b) methodologies employed; (c) topic areas emphasized;…

This article is a historical case study of George Fox University (GFU) in Newberg, Oregon. Using organizational lifecycle as a theoretical framework, George Fox University had a long and delayed childhood in that it remained a small and struggling institution for most of the 20th century, and then experienced rapid growth in the late 1980s. This…

This article describes a novel, hands-on method to qualitatively determine the extent of microbial activity in topsoil using ordinary blank paper. Appropriate and scalable for the high school and college level, these experiments expose students to some of the challenges facing environmental researchers and also contribute to curriculum development…

Preservice teachers from a Hispanic-serving university and Latino families reflected on their interactions during an after-school children's tutoring program conducted at an elementary school. This paper focuses on issues that both preservice teachers and families found important to communication and relationship building. These issues were…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how 23 fourth-grade students with different writing abilities translated their teacher's literacy instruction into an understanding of audience awareness when writing for Internet publication. As part of their classroom literacy instruction, students learned the textual features indicative of different…

This article examines the historical literacy experiences and current literacy practices of the parents of one working class family as they shape the literacy learning of their four-year-old daughter. Data collected from field notes, observations, and videotaped interviews of the parents and daughter were analyzed and events sorted into categories…

The experiences of students in an online learning community were explored in this qualitative case study using social presence theory as an interpretive lens. Participants included five undergraduate students in a certificate program at a large Midwestern university. Students who felt a sense of community online most highly valued the friendship…

This report, using qualitative methodology, investigates the collaborative teaching and learning of a university educator and an elementary educator, and the learning of eight fifth graders from their social studies class. The report analyzes the extent to which these co-teachers implicitly modeled collaboration for the students and the ways in…

This guide discusses the use of focus groups in marketing research for higher education. It describes the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, and examines when it is appropriate to use focus group research, when it is not, and why. The guide describes a step-by-step approach in how to plan, formulate, moderate, and report…

Qualitative research techniques were used to explore questions of pedagogy and lived student experience in two English secondary schools that have given multicultural education a high priority. The paper focuses on the roles and experiences of students aged 11 to 16, examining their pivotal role in supporting and extending antiracist developments.…

One problem with the outcome-based measures used in higher education is that they measure quantity but not quality. Benchmarking, or the use of some external standard of quality to measure tasks, processes, and outputs, is partially solving that difficulty. Benchmarking allows for the establishment of a systematic process to indicate if outputs…

Despite the growing recognition of the prevalence of incest which is challenging traditional views about the family as a safe haven for children, there is a serious paucity of scientific research on incest in South Africa in the new field of family violence. Almost a century after Sigmund Freud dismissed most women's reports of incest…

This report examines part of a qualitative study on the micropolitical classroom strategies, goals, and consequences that occur among the students and a teacher in an elementary classroom. The paper focuses on the students' micropolitical strategies and goals, and the resulting consequences on their classroom teacher. Micropolitics describes the…