Purpose: The purposes of this paper are to provide a description of AI and to document and compare two applications of AI, one in program evaluation and another in an applied research study. Design/methodology/approach: Focus groups, interviews and observations were used to gather rich qualitative data which was used to detail Appreciative…

Background/Context: Mixed methods research conveys multiple advantages to the study of complex phenomena and large organizations or systems. The benefits are derived from drawing on the strengths of qualitative methods to answer questions about how and why a phenomenon occurs and those of quantitative methods to examine how often a phenomenon…

There are many situations where random assignment of participants to treatment and comparison conditions may be unethical or impractical. This article provides an overview of propensity score techniques that can be used for estimating treatment effects in nonrandomized quasi-experimental studies. After reviewing the logic of propensity score…

The 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education was designed to provide up-to-date information and to identify trends in the areas of teacher background and experience, curriculum and instruction, and the availability and use of instructional resources. This compendium, one of a series, details the results of a survey of high school…

The 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education was designed to provide up-to-date information and to identify trends in the areas of teacher background and experience, curriculum and instruction, and the availability and use of instructional resources. This compendium, one of a series, details the results of a survey of high school…

The 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education was designed to provide up-to-date information and to identify trends in the areas of teacher background and experience, curriculum and instruction, and the availability and use of instructional resources. This compendium, one of a series, details the results of a survey of high school…

Despite the wealth of studies on smaller learning communities (SLCs), student voices are missing from the debate on high school reform. This article examines how students experience SLCs. A participatory research method, data-in-a-day was used to provide a systematic and inclusive method for gathering data on student perceptions. Data-in-a-day is…

Methodological and political issues arise during the designing, conducting, and reporting of campus-climate studies for LGBT students. These issues interact; making a decision about a methodological issue (e.g., sample size) has an impact on a political issue (e.g., how well the findings will be received). Ten key questions that must be addressed…

The High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) is the fifth in a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) secondary longitudinal studies. The core research questions for HSLS:09 explore secondary to postsecondary transition plans and the evolution of those plans; the paths into and out of science, technology, engineering,…

The Project on Academic Language Socialization (PALS) investigated, in a longitudinal study, the process by which urban high school students are socialized into subject matter discourse. Specifically, the PALS project examined language forms and discourse patterns that both occur in and constitute the process of teaching and learning in high…

High School and Beyond is a national longitudinal study of the 1980 classes of high school sophomores and seniors. It is part of a larger program of national longitudinal surveys commenced in 1972 by the National Center for Education Statistics. The state of Washington participated directly in the study by expanding the number of schools selected…

The Data File Documentation reports on the procedures and methodologies employed during the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 base year, first, and second follow-ups, with special emphasis on the second follow-up (2006). The document is designed to provide guidance for users of the restricted-use data as released in Electronic Codebook (ECB)…

This manual, developed in an effort to take the mysticism out of program evaluation, discusses six phases of the program evaluation process. The introduction discusses reasons for evaluation, process and outcome evaluation, the purpose of the handbook, the evaluation process, and the Sequoia United School District Dropout Prevention Program. Phase…

The Research on the Improvement Process (RIP) Program of the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education has made the investigation of the change process in high schools their primary research priority for the 1980s. In this paper, the high school research endeavors of the RIP program are described, with special attention being given to…

Based on a survey of 969 university entrants from 163 comprehensive schools in England and Wales, this article examines the effect of the 'open' sixth form upon the educational background of university students. (Author)