Multi-element research designs (alternating treatments or simultaneous treatments) are capable of revealing when sequence effects operate, but even more valuably, they can be used to assess the effects of potential multiple treatment interference and to study contextual interactions other than sequence effects. (JDD)

The field of gifted education lags behind other veins of educational research in utilization of the array of available research approaches. The dominance of the positivistic model is evidenced in realizing that all other research approaches (constructivism, critical theory, qualitative approaches) account for less than one-third of total research…

In this article, research conducted in the United States since 1987 on the effects of homework is summarized. Studies are grouped into four research designs. The authors found that all studies, regardless of type, had design flaws. However, both within and across design types, there was generally consistent evidence for a positive influence of…

The 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) monitored the performance of students in American schools in reading, U.S. history, geography, mathematics, science, and writing. The sample involved more than 135,000 public and private school students who were 9, 13, or 17 years old and/or in grades 4, 8, and 12. This technical report…

This research assesses the impact of the AB 803 Adoption/Expansion Program, a grant program that encourages schools to startup or expand their use of educational technology. The report summarizes how various grant programs have been prepared and how funds were applied at schools. The report also identifies factors that enhance or inhibit use of…

Considerable attention has been given to organizational effectiveness of public sector organizations at all levels: local, state, and federal. Public education has not escaped scrutiny. Current examinations of the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of education are more intense than that of other public sector organizations. The organizational…

Investigators interested in conducting school health research face many challenges. This article focuses on an analysis of research designs and measurement issues that most frequently confront school health researchers. (Author/DF)

The impossibility of getting totally objective curriculum evaluation research is examined. (DE)

This chapter overviews trends and shifts in research methods in mathematics and science education. It summarizes shifts in some basic assumptions about the role of research in mathematics and science education, background factors that support the proclivities of the researchers represented in the book, foreground factors that the researchers in…

Discusses four design issues related to the development or selection of an appropriate measurement instrument for evaluation or research in nutrition education: data sources, response format, collection mode, and referent. (DC)

Develops a way to conceptualize the complementarity of quantitative and qualitative research in science education, demonstrating through analysis of examples that qualitative and quantitative research reports follow the same pattern of argument, although the metaphysical roots behind their methodologies are obviously different. (Author/SK)

Schools are social systems, not factories. Trying to develop a model of education accommodating this fact led John Goodlad to undertake a seven-year national study that he believes will give impetus to humanistic approaches to research while generating hypotheses that can be tested using traditionally objective research methods. (Author/PGD)

A review of research suggests that support for team teaching is not based on empirical evidence. Intensive, systematic investigations are needed before the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of team teaching can be substantiated. (MV)

Describes the following three forms of direct researcher-practitioner cooperation: data-extraction agreements; clinical partnerships; and colearning agreements. Each form's distinctions are highlighted illustrating how, unavoidably, educational research projects are social interventions in the lives of project participants. (GR)

This paper describes development of a study that includes participatory action research, specifically the establishment of a family advisory committee. The study involved a survey of Massachusetts families of children with disabilities. Suggestions for establishing and integrating the committee into the research enterprise are offered, as are…