The first section of the document consists of a questionnaire/survey instrument completed by 43 supervisors or coordinators of preschool handicapped programs as part of a study designed to evaluate the quality and efficiency of early education programs serving handicapped children (ages 3-5) in Louisiana during 1985-86. Frequency distribution of…

While much has been done in the application of communicative principles to second language instruction, their application to language testing has been less fruitful. Experience with language testing projects in England and other countries suggests that communicative language test design should be based on the following issues and considerations:…

This study was designed to describe teachers' and students' conceptions of biology and biological knowledge. The conceptions were revealed through observations of classroom events, individual discussions, and interpretations of verbal communications recorded during classroom presentations and were described in terms of significant positions in a…

One in a series of issue papers commissioned by the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), this document presents a comparison of contemporary evaluation approaches for special education programs. The first section describes the two approaches to be compared: (1) traditional scientific inquiry which emphasizes quantitative methods;…

Designed to identify research methodologies suitable for the qualitative evaluation of media support services, this 1-year prototypical study used ethnographic research methods to evaluate media services within a school of nursing. Objectives were established in the areas of needs assessment and evaluation of the condition and context of media…

The goals of this selective review are to analyze and organize the literature on the process of interracial education, and to examine the relationship between the researcher's conceptual framework and the research methodology employed. The topics treated within the literature include the following: (1) law and politics; (2) community concerns; (3)…

The revolution in hard sciences is explored, from the Cartesian-Newtonian worldview to the Heisenbergian universe, and consideration is given to whether the conventional, Cartesian model is a serviceable one for research in the social/applied sciences. Five axioms comprising the existing paradigm of logical positivism are outlined (reality,…

Exploring existing methodologies to determine whether they can be adapted or adopted to support strategic goal setting, this paper focuses on information gathering techniques as they relate to the human resource development professional's input into strategic planning processes. The information gathering techniques are all qualitative methods and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the teaching behavior and instructional methods of female elementary school teachers when engaged in mathematical instruction. This is a qualitative case study using the actual classroom setting as the source of data and the researcher as the instrument. Two female teachers were selected from each of…

The use of standardized tests and test data to detect and address differences in cognitive styles is advocated here. To this end, the paper describes the componential theory of intelligence addressed by Sternberg et. al. This theory defines the components of intelligence by function and level of generality, including: (1) metacomponents: higher…

These proceedings of a conference built around the theme of the professionalization of adult and continuing education include the full texts of presentations at the conference General Sessions, papers and synopses of conference workshops and panel presentations, reports from the seven task forces of the Commission of Professors of Adult Education;…

This paper presents one of five categories of findings of a qualitative study of students' experiences of challenges encountered in a web-based graduate program. The findings relate to the category of experiences with online asynchronous discussions. Data collection relied on a discussion, questionnaire and interview all conducted within WebCT™.…

The textbook is the center of the curriculum and syllabus in most classrooms; however, rarely does it provide enough information for learners to successfully acquire pragmatic competence. This paper reports on a qualitative and quantitative study of 8 English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks to determine…

In recent years, many states have implemented block scheduling in secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of agricultural educators in career and technical education at the beginning of the implementation of block scheduling and changes in their attitudes nine years later. Over the past nine years, teachers'…

The paper investigates interactions on five online courses involving staff that currently lecture or support learners in further and higher education at the University of Glamorgan, and its partner colleges throughout Wales. The qualitative research involves an ethnographical study of the ethos of the online communities of students. The findings…