Description and explanation are frequently given precedence over validation when evaluating distance-learning technologies. Evaluation criteria can be categorized into technical, instructional, organizational, and ethical components. Descriptive and explanatory methods include participant observation, interviews, focus groups, document review,…

Explores the relationship between philology and linguistics and the meanings associated with the two terms at different periods in the development of language study as a science. Chronicles the emergence of different perspectives since the early nineteenth century, particularly in Britain and Europe, and argues that the debate has not been…

Developmental changes in the expression of superordinates in children's word definitions were studied with 96 elementary school students. Superordination increased significantly and changed qualitatively with age, although across grades children produced more superordinates for nouns than for adjectives or verbs. (SLD)

Multiracial people of Asian descent, like most marginalized peoples, live along the borders of "passing," and not passing, for White. When Asian American multiracial people can express the full range of their humanity without boundaries of race, the debate about "passing" will become obsolete. (SLD)

Points out linguistic and logical inconsistencies that come into play when African populations are discussed through the medium of Eurocentric discourse. "African" is suggested as a more logical way to define people with an origin on the African continent than the term "black". (SLD)

Proposes a nomenclature for suicide-related behavior in the hope of improving the clarity and precision of communications, advancing suicidological research and knowledge, and improving the efficacy of clinical interventions. Provides a background of the ambiguity surrounding suicide terminology, contrasts nomenclature with classification, and…

Reviews the concept of rational suicide and compares it with one researcher's list of commonalities of suicide. Claims that the list cannot accommodate rational suicide. Suggests that the list is biased against rational suicide and should be renamed so it cannot be maintained that suicide must be irrational. (RJM)

Outlines a working definition of school community, traces connections between definitional components of community and children's learning, and suggests ways to measure school community components to establish a school-improvement indicator. Results of a parent/teacher survey explore community components such as shared educational values,…

Explores the concept of enablement and provides a framework for the counselor and counselor educator to use in facilitating client- or student-directed goals. Examines use of enablement, enablement versus co-dependency, the use of the enablement framework in the counseling role, and clinical examples of the enablement framework. (RJM)

Discusses influences on the definition of scholarship (such as discipline, priorities of the institution and academic unit, and interests of the individual), traces recent developments in how the scholarly role of faculty members is viewed, and recommends an institutional approach for bringing fairness and quality into faculty reward systems. (EV)

Explores the operational definitions of community-based literacy learning, first by discussing literacy as situated activity and then by proposing three separate orientations to the concept of community as it relates to the literacy curriculum. Discusses three different orientations to community that appear in the literature on literacy reform:…

A new calculation and reporting method designed to improve accuracy in arriving at dropout figures was tested last year by 288 school systems. The study, called the Dropout Statistics Field Test, is sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (MLF)

Argues that use of intelligence as an aptitude benchmark in the definition of dyslexia conceals illogical assumptions about the concept of potential. Concludes that the validity of a severe discrepancy between aptitude and achievement as the defining feature of dyslexia has yet to be established sufficiently to justify differential educational…

This article explores issues related to the use of supported employment and time-related transitional employment for blind and visually impaired persons. It defines the concepts; describes the characteristics that distinguish these services from others; and discusses the need for these services from ecological, philosophical, fiscal, and learning…

This article considers problems in the federal definition of seriously emotionally disturbed, authority (state or federal) in determining program eligibility, the legislative history of exclusionary rules, and legal options available to those seeking access to special education for behavior-disordered students. (DB)