An instructor teaching a summer semester of freshman composition collected data for a descriptive study from five students in the class. Of the five students, one was Caucasian, and the other four were Hispanic; all had children. A central value of the study was its potential for demonstrating the benefits of teaching composition through…

Provides a rationale for Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) program evaluation, and discusses the development and use of the FLES Program Evaluation Inventory (FPEI). Questionnaires are provided for duplication, and step-by-step instructions are given for the administration, tabulation, and reporting of the five different forms.…

Urges college educators to define their institutions' academic literacy tasks by assessing the written and oral texts students will encounter, by identifying tasks assigned by professors, by determining how professors perceive their academic domain, and by defining students' perceptions of the tasks they encounter. Suggests ways and benefits of…

Today's school tests and surveys collect a wide variety of personality and opinion data on student proclivities, social attitudes, and parent-inculcated world views. Personality testing poses a threat to family privacy and students' future employability. Nearly anyone can access personal and sensitive student information and use it to target…

This paper addresses specific and general issues regarding data needs and considerations that might improve and better facilitate the collection, use, and interpretation of educational data at the elementary and secondary levels. Specific issues discussed are: (1) preschooling and early education, with emphasis on the nature of preschool…

Reports on a study of the beliefs held by students, parents, and teachers regarding desirable schooling and teaching in grades one to eight in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Examines the combined use of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies; rationales and procedures of naturalistic and rationalistic inquiry; and implications for research in…

Discussion of group processes in computer assisted instruction highlights a research program being developed in the United Kingdom to explore computer groupwork with 9-to 12-year-olds. Variables to be considered in the research strategy are described, data collection methods are explained, and student attitudes and teacher roles are discussed. (24…

Marketing in the business world has long used focus group interviews and survey techniques to explore the attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of their customers. In the college setting, these same techniques are now being used to improve program quality, assess the effectiveness of publications, and explore the image of the college. At Durham…

A study examined the literacy needs and activities of prison inmates in Australia. To gather data for the study, the researchers interviewed and administered questionnaires to 62 inmates from five Australian prisons. This report consists primarily of the comments and views of the individual prisoners who were clients, potential clients, and…