The goal of this book is to increase the usefulness and relevance of research to educational practice, particularly in the area of improving student learning. It proposes and describes an experiment: the establishment of a Strategic Education Research Program (SERP). The SERP plan calls for a large-scale and sharply defined program of research,…

A research project called Support Services for Flexible Delivery was commissioned by the Australian organization TAFE (technical and further education) Frontiers. Since 1995, the project has been conducted by using a research approach called the Generalizations from Case Studies (GCS) research method. The GCS method was developed, tested, and…

Examines the differences in methodology, content, and conclusions among various approaches to music education historical research. Argues that the preeminent role of interpretation in historical research mandates a broad assortment of methodologies including qualitative research. Includes excerpts from four different histories describing a seminal…

Argues that the profession and practice of music education research is becoming increasingly isolated and disengaged. Posits a parallel between this development and similar occurrences in the rest of society particularly the emphasis on consumption and commercialization. Maintains that this trend marks a decline in social capital. (MJP)

Provides a rational for, and describes the implementation of, a psychology department requirement that students must accrue three units of research participation as part of their course grade. Discusses the specifics of reporting credit for participation. Provides an evaluation of the procedures from the viewpoint of experimenters, instructors,…

Provides an exercise for introducing research methods to undergraduates. The students view a graph revealing that left-handed people are underrepresented in older age groups. Small group discussions attempt to explain this phenomenon. A follow-up class discussion focuses on the different approaches and methods available for interpreting the data.…

Highlights issues and controversies concerning current race-related educational research. Contends that some critics believe research sacrifices empirical objectivity for political goals. Partisan research supporters respond that all research begins with untested assumptions and an acknowledgment of purpose does not signify a skewed methodology.…

As teacher-educators, we designed and implemented a small study that mapped teacher-education students' understandings of their own identities and how they made sense of ethnicity and class differences among their secondary students while on teaching rounds. While we didn't set out to "teach" our research participants, it was during the…

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care is an ongoing, prospective, 3-year longitudinal study of over 1,300 full-term healthy infants and families from 10 sites across the United States. While the sample is not nationally representative, the subjects come from major regions of the country: the…

This report provides an outline of the Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP), describes curriculum development and delivery, and discusses the progress that has been made toward program goals. UTEP is a school district/university consortium for school-based professional preparation and development. Members of the consortium include: Indiana…

A study of the impact of economic differentiation on institutional pricing and expenditure policies, higher education public policy, and governance in public colleges and universities is described. It is suggested that economic differentiation is a likely determinant of variation in institutional expenditure and pricing policies and higher…

Background information is provided on the development and activities of Project Cooperation, a demonstration project to help institutions improve educational effectiveness by employing outcomes measures and assessment strategies. After highlighting the various activities of the project (e.g., a national survey, research on different plans and…

The six papers that comprise this document deal with topics related to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and/or its online document retrieval system, NIOSHTIC. Specific subjects include: (1) a method to catalog multiple sources of NIOSH publications for dissemination; (2) an input rejection algorithm used to provide…

The Multi-Ethnic School Environments Study evolved in response to the need for a research base for identifying teacher training needs in newly desegregated school districts. The ultimate goal of this five year project is to generate teacher training processes and materials to aid teachers in coping with the realities of desegregation. The first…

This grant application describes the theoretical background and research design of a project intended to study the interaction between children's styles of functioning and the opportunities and requirements of an open classroom environment. A major assumption to be tested is that exploratory children function more effectively in open classrooms.…