Discusses the major characteristics of the scientific and the humanistic approaches to research. Proposes that for the applied, human service professions such as education, action research is a more appropriate method. (SK)

Agrees with Feuer, Towne, and Shavelson's article about scientific culture and educational research and with the National Research Council Report upon which it was based, but contends that science does not mean the same thing to everyone, nor have distinctions between educational science and other sciences been well made in either report. Examines…

Presents research produced by the Standard Impact Research Group (SIRG), a research agenda for studying the influence and impact of Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. (Author/KHR)

The essay discusses Nathaniel Gage's research on teaching and looks at Gage and Needels' (1989) response to critics of process-product research on teaching. A review of three related issues examines the inability of process-product research to deal with intentionality, the atheoretical posture of process-product research, and normative issues. (SM)

Examination of seven adult education handbooks reveals that adult education researchers have relied upon empirical analysis to develop the knowledge base and the field as a profession. Professionalization depends on using scientifically developed knowledge to standardize practice and practitioner training. (SK)

Behavior in a psychology laboratory?constrained by the need to efficiently replicate tasks, record individual responses, and avoid contamination from external factors?is different in systematic ways from behavior within an everyday environment where similar tasks are undertaken and problems solved. This article describes a program of research that…

This article reviews the debate in the USA about quality in educational research which has underpinned particular approaches to educational research being mandated in federal legislation. It argues that the movement towards 'evidence-based policy and practice' oversimplifies complex problems and is being used to warrant governmental incursion into…

The National Research Council report "Scientific Research in Education" claims to present an inclusive view of science as it responds to federal government attempts to legislate educational research. This author argues, however, that the report in fact narrowly defines "science" as positivism and "methodology" as quantitative. These definitions…

An early version of this article, discussing curricular interventions in mathematics, was written for the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which funds WWC, instructed WWC not to publish it. An expanded version, written at WWC's invitation for a special issue of an independent electronic journal and a book…

This article focuses on the future of arts-based research in education. The author contends that there are several features that need to be taken into account if arts-based educational research is to have a future. First, arts-based educational research needs to have a cadre of scholars committed to its exploration--individuals who regard…

Challenging behavior exhibited by young children is becoming recognized as a serious impediment to social-emotional development and a harbinger of severe maladjustment in school and adult life. Consequently, professionals and advocates from many disciplines have been seeking to define, elaborate, and improve on existing knowledge related to the…

Currently, professionals in all fields that work with students with disabilities, including education, face a "demand" that their decisions about which interventions to use be guided by evidence-based practices. The "gold standard" for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions is the use of randomized, controlled trials that are well designed…

This article addresses the problem of small nonprobability samples in research in the education of the deaf and hard of hearing in the face of a current and increasing emphasis on "scientifically based research" as required by recent No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation. The authors examine the gains and losses in information…

Suggests that the absence of conceptually based research in science education may derive from an attempt to conduct scientific research based on misperceptions of the nature of science and an inability to identify a suitable conceptual model. Suggests that Ausubel's model of meaningful learning may serve as a candidate for a science education…

Summarizes the various activities of the conference and presents abstracts of the symposia and contributed papers. (GS)