This paper constructs an administrator succession model specifying major school process and outcome variables. The succession literature is reviewed using the model's components which include the selection process, organizational structure, school culture, educational programs, successor actions, community, and succession effects. Strategies for…

Basic and methodological considerations, organizational context of social action programs affect the introduction, execution, and utilization of evaluative research. Tensions between administrators and evaluators, and client activism are two of the problems discussed. (VW)

Research bearing on three aspects of small group learning is examined: (1) the relationship between interaction and achievement, (2) cognitive process and social-emotional mechanisms bridging interaction and achievement, and (3) characteristics of the individual, group, and reward structure that predict interaction in small groups. (Author/PN)

A critical and comprehensive review of a variety of research programs investigating students' thinking and beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing leads to the identification of nine theoretical and methodological issues that need to be resolved in future research on epistemological theories. (SLD)

Research on adult undergraduates in traditional American higher education is reviewed. A qualitative meta-analysis of 96 research reports indicates 5 domains of reality: image of implied deficiency; image of student entry and adaptation; image of description and characterization; image of psychosocial development; and image of equity and outcome.…

The second approach used by L. V. Hedges and L. Friedman (1993) in their reanalysis of Feingold's earlier results is conceptually equivalent and yields results consistent with the original interpretation. The first method yields results that are discrepant. Analyses of variations in tail effect sizes are planned. (SLD)

Feingold's reply illustrates that his steps in characterizing tail effect sizes are not the calculations the authors had imagined. Attempting to reproduce Feingold's calculations, the authors still often find themselves in disagreement with interpretations Feingold has placed in his table. (SLD)

The rationale for a constructivist approach to behavioral and social science research, and studies which have applied this methodology, are reviewed. The author suggests that ethnographic techniques of explaining behavior patterns may be as valuable as or more appropriate than traditional behavioral science methods. (GDC)

After a methodological critique of attrition-related research, factors associated with attrition in higher education are outlined. They include demographic, academic, motivational, personality, college environmental, financial, and health factors. Student reports of reasons for dropping out, the withdrawal procedure, and programs for dropout…

To estimate the relative effects of three types and three combinations of feedback on children's discrimination learning, a meta-analysis was performed on the findings of 89 studies. In general, reward compared to punishment or to reward plus punishment is the least efficient method of feedback for teaching children discrimination materials.…

This paper reviews the impact high-inference measures had on studying classroom climates in research from the late 20s through early 60s. Several high-inference measures developed in the last 30 years are discussed. Pertinent classroom climate literature, incorporating specific high-inference measures, is also reviewed. (Author/BS)

Research focusing on the construct validation of self-concept (SC) within an educational framework is reviewed. Studies are categorized as within-network research and between-network research and further classified by methodological procedures. Although relationships among self-concept facets and academic achievement have been found, an overall SC…

Evaluations of creativity training programs are described: (1) Productive Thinking; (2) Purdue Creative Thinking; (3) Parnes; (4) Myers-Torrance workbooks; and (5) Khatena. Conceptual and methodological problems are discussed. Although gains on tests of divergent thinking have been noted, it is unclear whether these programs improve real-life…

Describes G. Kelly's repertory grid and autobiography, their application in educational research, how they might be applied to research into teacher thinking and student thinking about the process of teaching and learning, and ways they can be combined to raise teachers' and students' constructs to focal awareness. (RLC)

This article shows how the methods of survival analysis (also known as event history analysis) lend themselves to the study of the timing of educational events. Using examples from teacher attrition and student dropout research, survival methods are introduced for building statistical models of the risk of event occurrence over time. (Author/SLD)