The authors recap the main issues in their critique of Coleman, Hoffer, and Kilgore (CHK) as well as CHK's rejoinder. These issues include reliability and validity of test scores, the use of particular statistical models and inferences from these, and the importance of school policies in assuring higher achievement among students. (IS)

Based on a review of the general features and findings of 40 published works, some estimates of the impact on educational spending of categorical grants, matching grants, block grants, and general revenue sharing grants are provided. Some conceptual and statistical issues are discussed. (Author/BW)

The most frequently employed research design for studying paternal influences on child development has been to compare children reared in father-absent families to those reared in father-present families. Research should be directed to the study and conceptualization of the more specific components of experience in the father-child and…

This paper offers a survey developed as part of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy's Professional Development Study. Most of the questions in this survey were tested with 100 adult education and literacy teachers in the New England area; a few changes have been made to this version to correct poorly worded questions…

A methodology is described for conducting qualitative research on gender issues in education. Qualitative research, a critical step for achieving the global Education For All (EFA) goals, will assist identifying the issues, analyzing the contents, and formulating viable policy. "Gender" refers to the social roles and responsibilities that belong…

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school general education mathematics teachers' beliefs and knowledge of inclusive instruction and to assess whether or not teachers' classroom practices reflect their beliefs and knowledge. Administrative support and higher education teacher preparation programs were also examined. Data were…

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the differences in demographic characteristics, motivational orientation, self-efficacy, and attitudes about technology between students who enrolled in a course offered in the traditional setting and those enrolled in the same course online. The two groups, each comprised of 27 students, were…

Although action research in education offers researchers and practitioners a clear and philosophically appealing way of making improvements, fostering learning, and developing the individual and the organization, adherents sometimes find themselves defending this type of research because it has been practiced without appropriate rigor. This book…

Much has happened since the first edition of this book in the arenas of policy development, research and practice. Early childhood education is at the heart of policy-making agendas in England and many other developed and developing countries. Concerns with the quality of provision have sparked a massive international research endeavour, which is…

This paper examines issues related to the statistical power of impact estimates for experimental evaluations of education programs. The focus is on "group-based" experimental designs, because many studies of education programs involve random assignment at the group level (for example, at the school or classroom level) rather than at the student…

The problems of boys in schools, especially in reading and writing, have been the focus of statistical data, but research rarely points out how literacy educators can combat those problems. This book shares what the authors learned in working with a diverse group of young men to understand how they use literacy and what conditions promote it.…

This paper synthesizes explorations from two research projects with 3- and 4-year-olds in the areas of instrumental music-making and telephone discourse, sharing an approach to research with young children in which the adult participates in the child's activity and seeks to share the initiative. The interpretive, participatory approaches used are…

Providing a forum for current thinking related to early care and education, this book presents a wide range of views regarding research methodology, the nature of experience while teaching, teaching and program improvement, and conceptualizing play in the curriculum. The chapters are: (1) "Postmodern Research in Early Childhood Education" (Gaile…

This book addresses issues related to teen mothers and schooling, examining how teen mothers have become scapegoats for social anxieties, how schools respond to these stigmatized students, and what helps/hinders the success of schools attempting to form more inclusive settings for teen mothers. The book links an ethnographic study of two schools…

Schools are realizing that carefully collected and analyzed data represent the key to educational improvement. This digest outlines the most useful types of data to drive the school-improvement process, steps that must be taken to collect and analyze data, the role of administrators in guiding the data-driven reform process, and results that can…