This article is a dialog between colleagues from different races who struggle with the complexities of doing qualitative research with participants who come from backgrounds that do not match their own. Based on transcriptions of extensive audiotaped conversations, the article explores issues related to studying across difference. The discussion…

This paper describes the implementation of the 6Rs writing approach into a summer literacy program offered to poor, urban children in New York City. Taking a cue from Rosenblatt (2004) the authors believe that readers and writers add onto their understandings and extensions of language as they engage in and transact with new readings, new writing…

The availability of distance courses has made it possible for some people to attend college because courses are accessible within their locality, or the time of course delivery is convenient to them. This opportunity for learning has not been without critiques of the quality of such instruction. Technology education programs with a history of…

With the increase in prominence of the investigative approach in Hong Kong science curricula from the primary to the senior secondary level, there is urgency for local science educators including primary school teachers to gain a better understanding of pupils' existing cognitive understanding and reasoning ability for performing science…

Presents an analysis of some aspects of conversational phonology by examining the general phonetic resources that are used by speakers of Tyneside (a nonstandard variety of English). This phonological analysis of the interaction of turn-completion takes into account pitch, loudness, and tempo, as well as segmental features. (TR)

Case studies of three nontraditional female college graduates from an Appalachian community in eastern Kentucky examined whether and how education changed these women's literacy habits. Also addressed were the literate practices they used in job, home, and community settings; the effects of their education on their children; and whether…

The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed overview of the development and initial validation of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The MSLQ is an 81-item, self-report instrument designed to measure college students' motivational orientations and their use of various learning strategies (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, &…

This guide is designed to encourage students, faculty, and policymakers to become more self-reflective in their inquiry. Placing the pursuit of ideas at the epicenter of research, K-12 and higher education scholars advance ideas for enhancing educational inquiry, relying extensively on narratives, vignettes, and examples of key episodes in…

The transition from elementary to middle school can be an exciting as well as scary time for young adolescents. The stress of this transition can be decreased by incorporating transition programs that address student needs and concerns. This qualitative research study was designed to gain an overall sense of fourth grade in order to better…

This qualitative study explores philosophies, life experiences, educational preparation, classroom techniques, and perceived limitations that enhance or prevent a feeling of successful teaching practice for six middle school science teachers who have at least one but no more than four years of science teaching experience. The study was conducted…

This guide for researchers introduces important research methodologies and data collecting techniques, provides a framework for the critical assessment of existing research, and encourages involvement of academics and practitioners in research. Chapter 1, on planning a research project, discusses scheduling, time management, and planning the…

This paper examines issues identified in a qualitative study in nine diverse local service systems as program administrators of early intervention programs for young children with disabilities sought to obtain United Way funding and other sources of philanthropy. Data are based on issues raised in nine focus groups conducted with community…

This qualitative study explored the evaluative criteria used by administrators at a southern, metropolitan university to define institutional effectiveness and to determine the congruency between those criteria and the institution's metropolitan mission. Four focus groups were conducted with 22 administrators (vice chancellors, associate and…

This case study of an historian high school history teacher is an account of how differing views of the nature of history and historical knowledge influenced the teacher's teaching practice. The two discourse communities the teacher belonged to, that of the university where the degree was granted and that of the school community in which the…

In studying urban schools, researchers have identified several critical curriculum issues related to the miseducation and alienation of African American students. This paper looks at three such issues: the disconnection between the school curriculum and African American students' cultural backgrounds and environments (e.g., black dialect versus…