Though most social psychologists are aware of the use of factor analysis as an exploratory method to uncover latent dimensions, factor analysis can also be used in a confirmatory mode to test specific hypothesis. Jaccard, Weber, and Lundmark's (1975) multitrait-multimethod matrix of two traits and four methods is analyzed using confirmatory factor…

Creator of the Roy Adaptation Model, Sister Callista Roy, provides her reaction to two articles which deal with using this model, and points to further research directions. (TA)

Argues that the criteria of beauty elaborated in Francis Kovach's recent work, "Philosophy Of Beauty," cannot be applied with success, and in consequence his theory suffers from an excess of traditionalism. (Author/RK)

Provides specific suggestions about what to look for in videotape recording equipment and surveys the similarities, differences, capabilities, and limitations of major videotape formats. (KS)

To improve the admission process for teacher education at Henderson State University, Arkansas, and to ensure that teacher education candidates have appropriate dispositions for teaching, this study investigated the interview was an admissions criterion. Criteria for assessment and levels of proficiency were determined. A scoring rubric was…

A hypothetical case study provides examples of the inter-rater reliability issues involved in complex performance assessment, focusing on the Baldrige model. A hypothetical team of five evaluators was asked to rate a Baldrige model performance assessment along the seven defined criteria or performance dimensions that comprise the Baldrige model…

This paper abstracts and discusses the approaches of five educational theorists who have used quantum theory as a model for educational phenomena, sets forth and uses metatheoretical criteria to evaluate the work of these theorists, and states guidelines for further work in this domain. The paper abstracts and discusses the works of the following…

With the current demands for greater accountability, schools must often choose between short-term responses that lead to improved scores or longer-term efforts to build student achievement and ensure quality teaching. This paper considers ways in which the arguments on either side of this issue manifest themselves in particular schools. The…

The research methodology literature in recent years has included a full frontal assault on statistical significance testing. An entire edition of "Experimental Education" explored this controversy. The purpose of this paper is to promote the position that while significance testing by itself may be flawed, it has not outlived its…

At the heart of the debate over validity in qualitative research are ontological, epistemological, methodological, and axiological questions that are themselves blurred in a postmodern/poststructuralist matrix. This paper explores some of the foundations and criteria for establishing, representing, and evaluating the truth, rigor, and accuracy of…

This issue reviews publications that provide a starting point for principals looking for a way through the accountability maze. Each publication views accountability differently, but collectively these readings argue that even in an era of state-mandated assessment, principals can pursue proactive strategies that serve students' needs. James A.…

This paper narrates the three years of experience of the Banco del Libro's (Venezuela) Committee of Evaluation of Digital Formats. It describes how this institution, after 40 years of experimentation with the printed word, has made its move into the digital domain. The parts of digital formats are summarized, including: the medium; authorship…

This paper proposes a contextual evaluation method for computer-mediated teletraining systems. The proposed methods include: (1) quantification of results of the work on a generally recognized scale, in order to evaluate performance reached by the trainees following the achievement of the training task; (2) analysis of communication types used…

Points out that one flaw in statistical foundations of much reading research is that researchers neglect to consider whether their findings could be replicated using a different sample of materials. Also shows that many topics in reading research do not quite fit the model for the null hypothesis. (TO)