Draws on findings from case studies and interviews with children, parents, and early childhood educators to highlight several issues relevant to children's transition to school within the context of Australia's Starting School Research Project. Illustrates the cultural diversity of school children and the initiatives that respond to particular…

Presents a lesson plan that focuses on women on the U.S. homefront during World War II. Offers four interviews with women about their experiences and includes a list of questions for students to answer after they have read the interviews. Discusses other activities. (CMK)

Three individuals long involved in Appalachian regional affairs are interviewed concerning Appalachia's future. Recent economic development based on cultivating "crossroads" growth centers has contributed to growing gaps between growth areas and rural areas and between the middle and working class, and threatens regional values of…

Reviews and evaluates approaches to the assessment of social skills of children, including sociometric approaches, behavior rating scales, interviews, behavioral observation, and analog role plays. The advantages and disadvantages of each assessment method are discussed, along with questions that need to be answered in any assessment. (CR)

Summarizes the plot of "The Summer of the Swans," the 1971 Newbery Medal winner; provides discussion questions; outlines activities in drama, art, and language arts; and provides an annotated bibliography of picture books, fiction, and nonfiction dealing with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. Includes an interview with Betsy…

Analyzes data from oral interviews with child learners of Japanese as a second language. Findings indicate that: tasks sensitive to students' understanding of critical syntactic structures and manageable for their cognitive level were effective; high-level students tried to produce more Japanese with more complexity; and phrase particle use was…

Describes a project where students in an Iowa City, Iowa middle school recreated their town at the turn of the century using electronic and manipulative media. Discusses initial studies of structures, construction principles, and architectural terminology; student research of primary source documents and interviews with local architects; and…

A qualitative evaluation of the system for appraisal of headteachers in the United Kingdom identifies strengths and weaknesses of the approach taken and directions for future policy development. Data came from interviews with 15 headteachers. Inadequate resources, appraisal criteria, and performance standards hamper the evaluation system. (SLD)

Discussion of online instructional design by academic librarians focuses on a study at the University of Minnesota that compared mental models of librarians and students as they relate to online library tutorials. Reports on a review of existing library tutorials, usability studies, and student interviews about the research and writing process.…

This case study used individualized communication for interviewing people with intellectual disability in outcome and quality of life research. Researchers developed a flexible communication strategy for involving service users, drawing on core, local and individual vocabularies and using signs, graphic symbols and photographs to supplement spoken…

In discussing his work and teaching in Appalachian Studies, Dwight Billings emphasizes the need to recognize the diversity of Appalachia and understand Appalachian Studies in relation to social, economic, cultural, and political developments around the world. Appalachia has much to offer others in terms of postcolonialism and the ways that people…

Discusses the choices academic libraries are making between digital collections and maintaining print collections and describes results of interviews with faculty at the University of Michigan that investigated their use of print and electronic journals. Topics include convenience; access; books versus journals; differences between subject areas;…

Fourteen teachers of students with visual impairments who were visually impaired themselves were either interviewed in a focus group or observed in their itinerant or resource room settings. Issues of transportation, access to information, assessment, and instructional responsibilities were addressed. Participants reported that while barriers to…

Discusses the use of multimedia technology in history by providing case studies of projects within an urban history course and a course called "Men, Women, and War: Popular Memory and Public Understanding." Provides information on the teachers' expectations and addresses whether the project could be utilized at other universities. Includes a…

Presents three conference papers from the Association of Library and Information Science Education 1990 Annual Conference that deal with the role of qualitative research in information settings. Highlights include qualitative methodology in cultural institutions; emphasizing the user; and two studies on information management, one using…