The following papers are included: "Social Classification of Women's Work" (Benn, Burton); "Developing Models of Learning from Experience" (Boud, Walker); "'Research Reflecting Practice?'" (Edwards, Usher); "Metaphors and Their Implications for Research and Practice in Adult and Community Education" (Hunt); "'Common-Sense' Approach to Reflection"…

The functional role of a national center for vocational education depends on the people doing the work; consequently, the center sets its own agenda when it makes personal decisions. A center's role should include two elements: in setting its own research agenda, a center should take a broad perspective on vocational education; and a center should…

This paper describes how the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) operated the first study groups, what topics they investigated, what fruit they bore, and what the study group members and AEL staff later said they would do differently or the same way next time. Major topics discussed in the paper are: how groups were initiated and organized,…

To estimate the effects of adaptive education on cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes of learning, 309 effect sizes were calculated using statistical data from 38 studies that contained a combined sample of approximately 7,200 students. The substantial mean of the study-weighted effect sizes is .45, suggesting that the average student in…

Twelve papers are contained in this report. Robert M. Ranftl reports on the findings of a study to identify useful techniques for optimizing productivity. John S. Packard contrasts the spirit of inquiry and the norm of productivity, and makes recommendations for the composition of a research team. David L. Williams describes procedures to ensure…

Action research is a rigorous, systematic approach to clearly defining problems and specifying plans of action to improve curriculum. This paper examines the evolution of curriculum action research as a scientific enterprise, discusses key concepts of action research, and presents a practical model of the action-research process. (TE)

Argues that research and development (R&D) methods should be utilized to develop new technologies for training and retailing and describes useful research tools--critical incident methodology, task analysis, performance recording. Discussion covers R&D applications to interactive systems development in the areas of product need, customer…

This paper reviews research with a focus on looking at the differences between research taken on by those who see themselves primarily as science educators/science education researchers, and those who conduct research on science education from the perspective of a particular discipline such as psychology or sociology. It is assumed that the…

The objective of this paper is to present a method for extracting value from the research literature that should benefit educational practitioners. This method, called Convergent Analysis (CA), comprises the following steps. First, this focused question must be posed whose answer can benefit educational practitioners: under what conditions do…

Discussed is wavelet theory, which provides ways to rearrange data to reveal features of a physical or mathematical system which might otherwise be hidden. This theory is compared to fourier analysis and the advantages of wavelet theory are stressed. Applications of this technique are suggested. (CW)

Explores the state of arts education research. Suggests policy studies of the arts education research system as a possible remedy for the current problems found in this field. Notes that the success of a research agenda is dependent upon the resolution of a number of administrative and leadership issues. (KO)

This paper explores the reasonableness of expecting conventional experimental methodologies and research reports on behavioral interventions for persons with developmental disabilities to both support the validity of promising practices and guide the efforts of practitioners to implement those practices. New directions for research and practice…

Discusses the need for a revitalization of a scientific agenda for clinical supervision. Reviews philosophy of science and scientific methods and attempts to disentangle common misconceptions about a scientific agenda as applied to supervision. Exhorts supervisors to be critical consumers of research and theory and to pursue programmatic and…

Discusses the strategic importance of institutional research in open universities in order to stay competitive with other more traditional universities. Suggests that a wide range of staff should be encouraged to conduct research based on reflective practice and emphasizes the need to conform to appropriate methodological and ethical standards.…

This paper makes the case that if e-learning research and development projects are to be successfully adopted in real-world teaching and learning contexts, then they must effectively address accessibility and usability issues; and that these need to be integrated throughout the project. As such, accessibility and usability issues need to be made…