Characterizes the teacher as an interpreter, a critic, a producer and reproducer of education and ideology at the crossroads of social interaction. Emphasizes the fact that scholars cannot understand the specialization of the teacher's knowledge and work without referring to the teacher as an intellectual, and without revealing the vicissitudes of…

Legislation requiring site-based performance management in British schools gave rise to the development of practitioner research networks, in which instrumental performance appraisal has predominated over humanist and critical approaches. Even marginalized networks have involved important collaborations among teachers, higher education…

This article previews the emergence of "homo virtualis." Drawing on data from seven research studies, peer-reviewed published research articles, and selected excerpts of 30 months of field notes taken in Second Life [SL], the article examines virtual learning environments and embodiment through the lens of interactions of avatars with…

The Internet and growth of computer networks have eliminated geographic barriers, creating an environment where education can be brought to a student no matter where that student may be. The success of distance learning programs and the availability of many Web-supported applications and multimedia resources have increased the effectiveness of…

The present study explores teachers' attitudes toward the gifted and gifted education. Specifically, the authors examine whether teachers tailor their responses about attitudes toward the gifted to fit the perceived interests of the researcher. In addition, the authors examine several potential predictors of attitudes toward the gifted: training…

Examines relevant case law regarding confidentiality in educational research. Argues that the benefits to society of educational research and the notion of academic freedom provide a rationale for extension of limited legal privilege of confidentiality to educational researchers. Proposes a code defining the nature and extent of research…

Although much recent attention has focused on gaps in the achievement of different groups of students, the problem has been with us for decades. This paper presents the problem as one of reducing variation in students' achievement, and reviews the work of renowned educator Benjamin Bloom on this problem. Bloom argued that to reduce variation in…

This review of externally commissioned studies of African education highlights several issues of interest to the research community. A starting point for the discussion is the large number of studies of education in Africa initiated or supported by external funding and technical assistance agencies. In general, studies of African education involve…

Interviewing is key to many forms of qualitative educational research; we interview respondents for oral histories, life histories, ethnographies, and case studies (see Tierney & Dilley, 2002, for an overview of interviewing in education). Despite the primacy of verbal data in qualitative research, basic introductions to qualitative research…

Purpose: A literature review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of external contributors (anyone other than a teacher at the school) in delivering school-based drug, alcohol and tobacco education (substance use education) programmes. Design/methodology/approach: The review focused upon literature published from 1990 onwards in English.…

A critical analysis is presented of the literature as it relates to survey research, including personal interviews, telephone interviews, and mail questionnaires. Additional research concerns are explored, and a code of ethics for survey researchers is presented. Focus groups, interviews, long interviews, telephone interviews, and mail surveys are…

This article discusses the significance of researcher-teacher relationships in naturalistic classroom studies, presents observations related to those relationships, describes a continuum of such relationships, and considers implications designed to assist researchers in planning and implementing their studies. (Author/MT)

Reviews existing studies of the invisible college phenomenon and considers the implications for information transfer among researchers, particularly within the social sciences. The likely impact of developments in communications technology on interpersonal networks is discussed and a number of areas for further investigation are proposed.…

Discusses methodological problems involving use of MMPI by reviewing past literature. MMPI is so easily used that it is sometimes misapplied or data obtained from it are incorrectly analyzed by researchers unfamiliar with its limitations or peculiarities. Suggestions for improving research design are made. (Author/BEF)

Identifies common problems in research on the addictions and offers suggestions for remediating these methodological problems. The addictions considered include alcoholism and drug dependencies. Problems considered are those arising from inadequate, incomplete, or biased reviews of relevant literatures and methodological shortcomings of subject…