Interviews with 23 deaf or hearing teachers of the deaf raised two questions concerning the use of narrative to understand teachers' thinking about teaching: namely, the limits of narrative as a data source and the feasibility of productive analysis of narratives. Results suggest that teachers do not store information about teaching as narratives…

Describes a multifaceted study that combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to educational research to investigate the behaviors and perceptions of preservice teachers as they assessed the work of an imaginary eighth grader. Summarizes findings and suggests that the mixed-methods model contributes new understandings not possible with…

This qualitative case study evaluates the impact of international study experiences on college students. Three international study tours originating from a Mid-west state university are the focus of the study. Despite differing leadership styles, teaching and tour formats, academic orientations, and destinations, the outcome reveals that such…

Differences between researchers and practitioners can be found in four areas: the distance from the object of study; the ideological perspective; the purposes of the research; and the political agenda behind the research. Each of these principles dominates the perceptions of the people involved and thus contributes to the phenomenon of mutual…

Background: Many scholars have called for physical education to be part of interdisciplinary units at the elementary level. The study of Native American cultures is required in most North American elementary schools. Folk dance, however, has traditionally included Western European folk dances, square dance, and, more recently, line dancing. In our…

This article provides an introduction to the TLRP Learning How to Learn Project and a context for the articles that follow in this special issue. The origins of the research, in a concern to investigate the organizational and network conditions that support innovation in teaching and learning, and in a perceived need to align research on pedagogy…

The collection of data by face-to-face interviews and questionnaires is common and literature in these areas is extensive; but few cases are reported in which respondents have been provided with a blank audio cassette tape, interview schedule, or open-ended questionnaire items, and been invited to record their own comments and forward these to the…

This handbook provides information to help the policymaker or educator understand the research process in order to study problems and opportunities associated with the education of girls in Africa. In Africa, girls account for only 57% of the school-age population. They are more likely to drop out of school and to score lower on the examinations…

A way to assess the large volume of student data generated in an introductory graduate-level course in qualitative research in education is described. Primary attention is given to assessing the technical aspects of field data collection, and only secondary attention is given to the consideration of the substantive aspects of the field data. In…

This paper begins with "insider" voices from disciplines that students in a writing program rarely encounter. As background, the paper muses on the theoretical and pedagogical potential of studying and understanding the rhetoric of inquiry in other disciplines as a way of arriving at a social constructionist view of knowledge. The paper…

The Qualitative Studies section of the proceedings contains the following 14 papers: "'Virtual Anonymity': Online Accountability in Political Bulletin Boards and the Makings of the Virtuous Virtual Journalist" (Jane B. Singer); "The Case of the Mysterious Ritual: 'Murder, She Wrote' and 'Perry Mason'" (Karen E. Riggs);…

Many of the precepts that characterize the conceptual and practical work of early childhood education have emerged from "inquiry" that focused on interpretive and qualitative features of the lives of teachers, children, and parents. This paper examines the continuing development of a wide range of "inquiry" approaches in early childhood education…

This guide to writing research proposals for theses, dissertations, and grants contains practical suggestions for the would-be writer and several exemplars that show how effective proposal writing can be done. The guide is divided into two parts: Part 1, "Writing the Proposal" and Part 2, "Specimen Proposals." Part 1, the core of the guide,…

A research project examined the issues of how teachers' cultural identities and school experiences affect their definitions of themselves as teachers, and how their identities affect their teaching. The project was a qualitative inquiry, based on reciprocal and interactive relationships. Researchers began by identifying education students who…

Issues and elements of case study research are explored and illustrated with the example of a case study of a kindergarten in a suburb of Tokyo (Japan). Case study research is a type of qualitative research that concentrates on a single unit or entity, with boundaries established by the researcher. The case is an example drawn from a larger class,…