The authors propose studying organizational equivalents as parts of the wider societal context. They focus specifically on British-German comparisons. The role of culture as a variable in comparing work organizations and manpower training is discussed. Research findings are presented. (CT)

The authors trace and critique various thrusts operative in British educational sociology since its beginnings in the 1950s: structural functionalism, school-level analysis, the interactionalist "New Directions" approach, and the Neo-Marxist perspective. They also comment on the place of educational sociology in teacher training. (SJL)

Posits that a "democratic approach" to defining and evaluating educational quality is necessary, since the concept of quality itself is heavily subjective and value based, and that educational evaluation is best achieved through the involvement of all participants, including practitioners, parents, and children. (MDM)

Approximately 250 abstracts of currently active (1975-1976) British research into child psychiatric disorder and normal social development are presented. It is explained that the information was gathered from a 1974 survey of research and education organizations, child psychiatrists at medical schools, and the heads of academic departments of…

The deliberate assignment of students to groups, generally grades and classrooms, is an integral part of education in schools; in addition, tracks, streams, and ability groups are created in many educational systems. The resulting partitioning of students is referred to here as the organizational differentiation of students. The purpose of this…

An analysis of three research studies which examined the movement towards comprehensive schooling in Great Britain shows that the answer to the question "has it worked" can be yes or no, depending on the selection of data and of statistical techniques. (RM)

Considers the phenomenological arguments for collaborative approaches to educational research. Urges that cooperation become a form of social and political critique. Illustrates the political context of research by drawing on a collaborative case study of British school governors. Contends that phenomenological and critical paradigms may be…

In an analysis of two American and two British texts, ethnographic studies of teachers are compared. The comparison reveals how different the approaches are, although both sets of texts use ethnographic methods, and how the role of the teacher is understood in contrasting ways in the two bodies of research. (IAH)

An analysis of data showed that British students in local education authorities which have retained selection to a greater or lesser extent did not achieve better examination results than students in those authorities which have gone fully comprehensive. (RM)

Issues in the measurement and interpretation of student perceptions of medical schools' learning environments in earlier British research are discussed and compared with a more recent Australian study. Two of the problems are methodology in large-scale studies and institutional reform based solely on survey results. (MSE)

The Centre for Applied Research in Education (CARE) is different from most educational research institutes because its work delves into the valuing processes of the individual teacher and because it attempts to search for alternative forms of inquiry and recording. CARE works mainly in curriculum evaluation and school innovation. (JN)

Proposes a methodology for the naturalistic investigation of classroom environments in primary schools. Maintains that this approach is derived from a critique of the work of classroom ecologist Walter Doyle. Proposes suggestions for empirical research methods for naturalistic investigation. (CFR)

Describes as example a parents' center in London to examine impact of evaluation exercises on people and services being evaluated. Questions whether evaluators are measuring the right things, whether evidence is valid, and what effects an evaluation may have on services. Identifies features of research and evaluation that are most likely to…

The development, testing, and modification of an instrument to measure attitude change toward economic issues among economics students is described in this paper. It was initially hypothesized that a continuum of attitudes to economic issues existed, ranging from extreme interventionist ideas at one end to extreme laisez-faire at the other end,…

Describes a study which investigated why some teachers choose to use, or not to use, educational television broadcasts in their teaching. The study also tested the proposition that low levels of television use by teachers are due to antipathy to new methods in general, or fear of mechanization, or similar reasons. (Author/LLS)