This annual report on the numbers of homeless children in Massachusetts and their educational experiences is based on information from the following six sources: (1) family, adolescent, and battered women shelters; (2) the Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare (Welfare); (3) the Massachusetts Department of Social Services (DSS); (4) school…

This journal issue features a review of the edited volume, "Building a Professional Culture in Schools," and an interview with Charles Thompson, the associate dean for clinical studies at Michigan State University's College of Education. The review discusses the book's three major sections: one arguing for new professional roles for teachers; a…

Using a qualitative research approach, the researcher interviewed (over an 11-month period) four black, low-income mothers of children with disabilities concerning their perceptions of empowerment in interactions with professionals from an outreach agency attempting to increase family involvement in the special education process. In previous…

This handbook of culturally responsive ways to teach the basic, mandated curriculum to students from diverse backgrounds was developed by a multicultural group of teachers. The techniques draw on the students' diverse backgrounds to increase student motivation and maximize teacher effectiveness by decreasing the mismatch between the students' home…

The purpose of this study was to explore the value of variables beyond undergraduate grades and admission test scores in predicting success in the preclinical curriculum of the College of Human Medicine of Michigan State University (East Lansing). Subjects included about 93 students with relatively low scores on the Medical College Admissions Test…

Developmentally disabled adults who are cared for at home by their older parents present a challenge because community-based social and health services are required to meet the needs of both the aging parents and the offspring. In this study, 11 local case managers were interviewed in depth, for 2 hours, about their work with parents of…

This report presents findings from a study of the cognitive processes and learning difficulties of ninth-grade students in Algebra I. A clinical interview approach was used with 14 students. A group of six Hispanic students and a group of five Anglo students were enrolled in the same algebra class; three Hispanic students were enrolled in an…

This document reports in detail an investigation of the cognitive processes and learning difficulties of ninth-grade students in Algebra I. A clinical interview approach was used with 14 students. A group of six Hispanic students and a group of five Anglo students were enrolled in the same algebra class; a group of three Hispanic students who had…

The naive conceptions that children develop tacitly or explicitly, outside the classroom, contribute to their interpretation of the teacher's words, paragraphs in a book, or the results of an experiment. These conceptions (or "alternative frameworks") may persist even in the face of systematic teaching of competing scientific concepts…

Applications of the qualitative approach in the evaluation of special education and second language programs are addressed in this paper. Qualitative data are recommended for providing detailed descriptions of specific program elements, and can be obtained through interviews, observations, case studies, and ethnographic studies. Six evaluation…

This manual includes strategies for conducting wave 4 of a longitudinal follow-up study. Part 1, Procedures for Researchers, outlines steps to be used in guiding the research process to achieve indepth, qualitative interviews with a group of the original sample members who were studied over a 15-year period. It includes guidelines and procedures…

A replication of earlier research, this study investigates the relationship between moral reasoning and classroom conduct. According to Kohlberg (1978), children who reason at preconventional levels (Stages 1 and 2) would be likely to disrupt a classroom, while children who reason at the conventional levels (Stages 3 and 4) should cause less…

Included in this document are two reports of studies using data from the same l5 research sites in Alberta, Canada. The first study, "Critical Variables in ECS-Grade One Articulation," documented factors associated with successful articulation of Early Childhood Services (ECS) and primary school programs. Data were collected through…

A guide to what college-bound students need to know to prepare the most effective college application is presented by three former college admissions officers. Step-by-step strategies are offered to help students take control of the application process and use it to their best advantage. Three basic areas of a college application are examined:…

This study sought to describe how an elementary school faculty made sense of the impending succession of its principal, and to extend Gephart's effort to develop a grounded theory of leader succession by examining an unforced succession in an organization whose members exerted little if any influence on the selection process. On the basis of…