The eight articles of this issue examine the nature of differences that arise between qualitative and quantitative researchers in program evaluation in terms of goals and epistemologies. The origins of these differences and their consequences are explored. Authors represent both perspectives but do not defend their ideological turfs. (SLD)

Since the 1960s, the epistemological-cum-methodological orientations of American and British comparative education changed from being historical to being social scientific. This metamorphosis has impoverished the field, and a return to a re-invented historical mode of comparative analysis would help to humanize comparative education in a cosmos of…

Points out that no history of measurement exists in the literature and outlines such history. Discusses the nature of science and technology statistics and shows that their specificity is due to the sociopolitics that drives measurement. (Contains 114 references.) (DDR)

Intimations of globality are challenging old ways of doing things in the social sciences. The new phase of reflexive thinking has seen many turning their thoughts to indigenous thinking. Within today's world of knowledge, one pressing task is to capture as many voices as possible to reaffirm a moral universe that respects the plurality of…

This paper discusses the need for multi-cultural methodologies that develop knowledge about the maternity experience of migrant women and that are attuned to womens maternity-related requirements under multi-cultural conditions. Little is known about the transition to parenthood for mothers in a new country, particularly when the country is New…

The past decade has witnessed a remarkable explosion of knowledges across the academy, media and political discourse, generating a wide range of representations of men and masculinity. In this paper, we interrogate the failure for an accompanying understanding of the epistemological and methodological implications of the research process in this…

Qualitative evaluation and quantitative evaluation are discussed, examining how the perspective of each can and should create a critical debate that encourages inquiry instead of hostility. To achieve the major goal of linking evaluation information to the organization's culture, the evaluator needs to use multiple methods in a responsive,…

The "sense making" process structures humans' categorization, perceptual, and expressive processes. These "sense making" references are ultimately derived from four distinct "root metaphors": mechanism or mechanistic thinking (machine), formism or formistic thinking (similarity), organicism or organistic thinking (organic process), and…

Piaget's conservation experiments have been criticized and reinterpreted in the light of various theoretical orientations. Some research studies suggest social as well as cognitive factors to explain children's answers. Other research indicates the importance of interaction variables in the conservation task. Actually, interaction in the…

Reports experimental results of a study of the cognitive aspects of information retrieval which focused on user interaction with document organization, user-librarian negotiation, and the librarian's search procedure. Related studies, the cognitive viewpoint, and experimental design and analysis methods are discussed. Forty-two sources are listed.…

A critical and comprehensive review of a variety of research programs investigating students' thinking and beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing leads to the identification of nine theoretical and methodological issues that need to be resolved in future research on epistemological theories. (SLD)

Offers clarification on the current debate about educational research pertaining to the issues of terminology, epistemology, and the societal and institutional issues at stake. Discusses globalwide institutional research trends as related to the theories of Emile Durkheim and Alfred Binet. (NL)

Explores the possibility that the lesbian or gay experience in contemporary American society might furnish a standpoint for generating new knowledge in psychology. Considers the following elements that define lesbians' or gay men's ways of knowing and experiencing the world: (1) biculturalism; (2) marginality; and (3) normative creativity. (JS)

Proposes an approach for critical engagement with autobiographical text. Argues that by becoming better aware of the teller's intentionality and his/her insights gained from telling a (re)constructed version of self, the listener and the teller can engage in personal and socially transformative dialogue. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/WRM)

In this article I put forth the core argument that Second Language Acquisition (SLA) needs to account for the psychological and emotional dimensions of second language (L2) learning, but that a number of epistemological and methodological difficulties must be surmounted before this new research program can be a reality. To illustrate my arguments,…