What began with a few libraries' early application of ethnographic methods to learn more about user behaviors and needs has grown to become a significant body of work done across many institutions using a broad range of methods. User-centered investigations are increasingly influential in discussions about the shape and future of the research…

Professor Carol Vincent gets the 2012 Professorial Lecture series underway with a thought provoking talk drawing on research projects conducted over the last twelve years. The lecture will explore factors identified in current policy, media, and other social and political forums as the risks and responsibilities of contemporary parenting, with a…

This paper presents a paradigm for evaluating an inter-organizational relationship (IOR) wherein two or more independent organizations agree to pool their authority, resources, and energies in order to achieve the goals they desire. Indicators of IOR effectiveness are clustered into four major categories: organizational situations, structural…

Despite the phenomenon of cooperation and collaboration between and among nations in many areas, networks for the benefit of education are nearly nonexistent in Western Europe. A "network" means the collaboration between educational institutions in the field of curriculum development, training, research, dissemination, transfer, and implementation…

This paper addresses one major question: What unique perspectives and skills does the university researcher, in interaction with the teacher/practitioner, contribute to help a collaborative research/evaluation team identify its research and achieve its goal? Case analysis of a recently completed National Institute of Education Project (Action…

The Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS) is a regional organization for education, culture, and science founded in 1975 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This paper examines the goals, objectives, and accomplishments of ABEGS, its background; its organizational structure; its major accomplishments; and its future plans in the fields of…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is committed to bringing together museums and libraries across the country for conversations dedicated to developing a better understanding of the roles of libraries and museums as providers of public service to communities. The Future of Libraries and Museums in the 21st Century Planning…

A system of Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) was organized in December 1985 covering all 50 states and the territories. Each of the nine laboratories addresses regional needs for school improvement. This report (1) provides lab names, states served, and contact information; (2) describes REL tasks; and (3) focuses on REL collaboration on…

Rural schools in Utah responded to state and local calls for school reform by implementing Outcome Based Education (OBE) programs beginning in March 1984. Significant improvements in learning have occurred as measured by test scores. Workshops introduced rural educators to OBE which provided a philosophical and operational framework for school…

The United States influenced the origins, elaboration, and implementation of the politics of knowledge between social science and policy in the South African National Bureau for Educational and Social Research. Divided into six sections, the historical analysis of the Bureau: (1) examined the context within which the Bureau emerged, the origins of…

Educational reformists have asserted that collaborative relationships between universities and local education agencies must be firmly established if improvements are to occur in the preservice preparation of school administrators. One collaboration format involves practica and other field-based learning opportunities for aspiring administrators.…

This paper introduces the antecedents and concepts underlying a 2-year investigation of Interactive Research and Development on Schooling (IR&DS). IR&DS is an alternative means of conducting school-based research and development and is seen as a means to: (1) involve school personnel in systematic inquiry; (2) improve the utility of…

In the summer of 1986, representatives from Southern Oregon State College, the Northwest Regional Laboratory, and the Josephine County School District formed a consortium to design an induction program for beginning rural teachers. During its first year, the consortium presented special on-site graduate credit courses addressing problems new…

Focusing on educational reform in China, this paper suggests policies that will lead to the optimal diffusion of educational innovations so as to enhance China's modernization efforts. The intention is to identify a theory of knowledge about the types of educational policies likely to be most beneficial in helping China achieve its educational…

Nine individual prosocial child behaviors of 2-year-olds were obtained from mothers and caretakers. These behaviors were combined into a fourfold scheme which was then used to assess child prosocial behavior outside a laboratory setting. In addition, the two dispositional attributes of sociability and happiness were assessed. Observations of 28…