Three issues must be addressed when discussing the standards needed to judge the methodological rigor of naturalistic approaches to administrative research. The first issue involves defining naturalistic inquiry. In contrast to the scientific paradigm, naturalistic inquiry emphasizes, first, the inseparability of variables or events from their…

To examine programs currently in place, an evaluation model was designed to insure inclusion of all those who have a stake in program performance. The evaluation design includes: (1) a set of researchable questions which are to be answered by the evaluation, each question referenced to one or more appropriate audiences; (2) for each question, the…

This paper describes a study of managerial behavior in educational organizations that focused on managerial attention as an organizational coupling mechanism. Structured observation was used to collect minute-by-minute time allocation protocols for five first-line education program managers over 20 working days, and these protocols were analyzed…

This paper presents the findings of a field study designed to develop a descriptive and explanatory model of the on-the-job socialization of first-year elementary school principals by examining changes in their initial perspective during their first year in the principalship. The theoretical model that emerged from the study indicates that…

The microcomputer offers social science field researchers a valuable tool for managing qualitative research data. In addition to the flexibility and efficiency of the microcomputer, the logic governing its programming and operation imposes a framework on the research process which necessitates that research decisions and strategies be explicit and…

By using small-scale artificially created archaeologic sites, a teacher can provide students with a time-efficient approach in which to master some basic archaeological techniques. In an artificially created setting, the students can become familiar with conditions they might meet in the field. In a short period of time, students may be exposed to…

A three-stage model was designed to improve leadership training and improve instruction for Indiana vocational youth organizations. The model was field tested using a pretest-posttest, control-group design administered to five classrooms representing each of six vocational youth group organizations. Both formative and summative data were…

This paper discusses different approaches to analyzing the internal control structure of organizations and describes a model interview structure that was developed for use in a longitudinal study of decision-making in 41 elementary schools. The model is designed to garner objective accounts of school decision-making through periodic interviews of…

This paper reports on initial efforts to develop and test a model which will account for the formation of communication structure in large organizations. Communication structure may be defined as those metric variables obtained from the quantitative analysis of communication network data. Communication networks may be defined as the patterns of…

This paper examines six alternative planning/implementation (P/I) models identified from a review of the literature and then discusses the empirical P/I models observed in operation at three field sites where groups are working to create new, nontraditional schools. Separate sections of the paper define and clarify the functions of P/I models,…

Laboratory simulations combine the strengths of lab experiments and field studies while avoiding many of their liabilities. They permit the emotional involvement, the time needed for development of norms and interlocked systems of interaction, and the broad range of variables typical of field settings, yet allow for experimental controls and…

With a view towards finding out whether teachers' practices were consistent with core American values, a field study investigated the interactions of four day care teachers and the children in their charge. Six months of participant observation led to the conceptualization of four features of teachers' schooling action accounting for their…

A review of the rationale and application of formative evaluation in a curriculum development context, this presentation focused on a formative evaluation model designed and field tested through recent industrial education curriculum research and development efforts. In reviewing the rationale for formative evaluation a distinction between…

Three aspects of educational research have hindered a truly scientific approach--artificially simple laboratory settings, a reliance on post hoc computer analysis, and the rule of the contract office. A more scientific setting might be created if three requirements are satisfied: (1) research should be carried out in life situations; (2) focus…

This is an initial examination of findings from laboratory and field studies done in Israel on the cognition-cultivating functions of media. The studies reasoned that highly explicit presentations of film-mediated operations can be imitated by observers, and that once imitated, they are internalized and can serve as modified mental skills. Two…