Literacy and economic development are inextricably linked in the literature, often with little examination. There are five rationales for this relationship: economic objectives, social objectives, political objectives, endogenous pressures, and exogenous pressures. To achieve both understanding of literacy and improved literacy programming, better…

This guide is designed to help educators and administrators evaluate educational technology programs. Primarily geared to educators or administrators with little or no research experience, it is intended for use at the district or school level. As more and more states, districts, and schools develop technology plans to ensure that technology will…

The nine-volume Survey Kit is designed to help readers prepare and conduct surveys and become better users of survey results. All the books in the series contain instructional objectives, exercises and answers, examples of surveys in use, illustrations of survey questions, guidelines for action, checklists of "dos and don'ts," and…

This book describes the Reflective Judgment Model (RJM) and provides a comprehensive review of the research on it and the Reflective Judgment Interview (RJI). Chapter 1 defines reflective judgment as an often neglected aspect of critical thinking. Chapter 2 discusses stage-related assumptions that underlie RJM and relates RJM to current work in…

Applications of the qualitative approach in the evaluation of special education and second language programs are addressed in this paper. Qualitative data are recommended for providing detailed descriptions of specific program elements, and can be obtained through interviews, observations, case studies, and ethnographic studies. Six evaluation…

This document is intended to provide evaluation researchers with information about vocational education as a substantive area to be evaluated, existing methodologies for evaluating vocational education programs, and the theoretical basis for a proposed evaluation method termed critical inquiry. Addressed in the individual chapters of the monograph…

The Effective Schools Project is a test of a general method for improving organizational effectiveness. The method--Program Development Evaluation (PDE)--calls for researcher-practitioner collaboration in the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs to increase school effectiveness. Two Baltimore City junior high schools are working with…

Two papers are presented from a panel discussion moderated by Naomi Zigmond, who introduces the papers with a note on definitions and measures of intervention effectiveness. "Some Thoughts on Effective Intervention for Handicapped Preschoolers," by Phillip Strain, notes that special education researchers attempt to be efficient, economical,…

This report favors a systems-oriented evaluation for improving minority student achievement, an inclusive approach, which may require funds to be (at least temporarily) withdrawn from other research activities. When financial resources are limited, such an evaluation may focus on a relatively limited range of related evaluation issues. In…

A review is presented of the operations of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Overviews are provided of ACER activities and future planning in the following programs: (1) social context of education; (2) measurement and evaluation; (3) learning and teaching; (4) survey and psychometric services; (5) advisory services; and (6)…

Recent research (1978-1982) on student evaluations of teaching is reviewed, including: influence of background variables pertaining to the student, the teacher, and the learning environment; the dimensions of the teaching being evaluated; the validity of students' evaluations; the "Doctor Fox" effect and its implications for validity; the…

A series of weekly seminars were conducted in which 15 elementary and secondary teachers were encouraged and helped to investigate, in some depth, topics related to their current practice. The project was designed to help teachers develop and carry out research investigations in their own classroom. Another project objective was to get the…

The purpose of this handbook is to provide local administrators with some basic guidelines which will enable them to conduct a needs assessment in their areas. The handbook contains a description of the model, sample forms, procedures, and techniques that a local administrator will need in order to conduct a needs assessment. It is divided into…

ALTHOUGH CHILDREN'S NEEDS FOR WRITTEN EXPRESSION PROBABLY PARALLEL THOSE OF ADULTS, THE REASON BEHIND CHILDREN'S CHOICE OF WRITING OVER SPEAKING IN GIVEN INSTANCES IS OPEN TO CONJECTURE. MOREOVER, THE COMMON ASSUMPTION BY TEACHERS THAT CHILDREN CAN AND SHOULD WRITE ABOUT PERSONAL INTERESTS OUGHT TO BE TEMPERED BY THE IDEA THAT MANY INTERESTS ARE…

Based on the premise that the major emphasis in population education should be on the development of problem analysis and values clarification, the manual offers guidelines for program evaluation. It consists of eight chapters. Chapter I discusses the nature of educational research and in-school and out-of-school population programs. Chapter II…