This collection examines many influences of biographical inquiry in education and discusses methodological issues from the perspectives of veteran and novice biographers. The section on qualitative research and educational biography contains the following chapters: "Musings on Life Writing: Biography and Case Studies in Teacher Education" (Robert…

Surveys participants in the 1985 Columbia University divestment protest to develop a perspective on recruitment and commitment to social movements, emphasizing the importance of political solidarity. Group processes such as consciousness raising, collective empowerment, polarization, and collective decision making influence movement participants…

Communicative language teaching and self-directed learning is discussed, followed by an introduction of an analytical framework for designing a task using Nunan's framework. A case study is reported from the National University of Singapore with 220 first-year Japanese language students. Suggestions are made for course and task designers. (12…

Using case study methodology, this article describes the consultation process with an urban first-grade teacher who had many students experiencing difficulties with beginning reading. Core components and phases of the consultation process are described. The consultation process is discussed in terms of teachers' craving for concrete suggestions…

Analysis of data on freshman-to-senior developmental gains in 722 University of Tennessee-Knoxville students provides evidence of the advantages of structural equation modeling with latent variables and suggests that the group differences identified by traditional analysis of variance and covariance techniques may be an artifact of measurement…

A young man with severe to profound retardation was taught to use two different augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) aids. Although the participant learned to correctly request with both AAC devices, he later showed a strong preference for one device over the other. The value of multimodality and consideration of client preferences is…

This study of an adolescent with multiple disabilities, including moderate mental retardation, who was reported to engage in validated facilitated communication (FC) found he did not engage in validated FC; performance was equivalent whether food or nonfood reinforcers were used; and the Picture Exchange Communication System was a valid and…

Examining the factors that influence the distribution of technologies in developing countries should provide new possibilities for organizations engaged in international communication and audience research to understand, and respond, to potential audiences. Five critical elements influence the distribution of media technologies in developing…

This book examines the role of the professional practitioner-researcher and the relationship between practice, practical knowledge, and theory. It is divided into five parts. The three chapters of Part 1 review the emerging role of the practitioner-researcher, the education of professionals in light of the theory-practice relationship, and…

This study sought to develop theoretical propositions for the institutional, course, instructor, and student characteristics of the learning environment where interactive learning techniques are used in college-level business courses. Using an interpretive case study method with examination of documents, observations of instructors and students,…

This report examines and evaluates the application of prototyping methodology in the design of a microcomputer-based online library catalog. The methodology for carrying out the research involves a five-part examination of the problem on both the theoretical and applied levels, each of which is discussed in a separate section as follows: (1) a…

To examine the state of college- and university-affiliated noncommercial FM radio, a survey was conducted of all college and university stations nationwide which were identifiable through the 1982 Broadcasting Yearbook (N=670). The questionnaire requested information concerning demographics, funding, organization and structure, personnel,…

A case study of teacher attrition in one southeastern metropolitan school system that employs approximately 4,000 teachers was undertaken to determine which teachers left, why, and where they went. Of the 210 teachers in the system who resigned during the 1983-84 academic year, 16 percent were K-6, 13 percent were special education/speech, 13…

A preliminary case study used repertory grid and stimulated recall techniques to examine how teachers make sense of the impact of microcomputers on their work. Emphasis was on how teachers construe their classroom influence in relation to the actual use of microcomputers and to idealizations of their use. A version of the Kelly (1955) repgrid was…

This book examines educators' norms, beliefs, and values in case studies of three "improving" high schools. The distinction between "sacred" and "profane" norms in the teaching profession is applied to the relationships among school culture, improvement efforts, and the effectiveness of change strategies. Schools'…