The nine reports included in this monograph are: (1) "Phonemic Awareness/Multisensory Instruction: An Intervention for Kindergarten Children at Risk in Pre-Reading" (Marcia Anselmo and Patricia Kulp); (2) "The Effects of Reading Aloud vs. Sustained Silent Reading on Student Comprehension" (Karen Border and Mark Ranski); (3)…

Participatory research began as a reaction to traditional social science research methodology, which tended to make persons into objects of study. It had its beginnings in Tanzania around 1970, when a group of farmers participated in research to assess and solve the problem of losses of grain harvests. The process grew out of the philosophy of…

A project was designed to assist older unemployed people in London, England, with the transition to education, vocational training, and employment. The project involved the development of a local tourist guide course at Thames Polytechnic (England), the accreditation of this course, and employment of some of the participants as local tourist…

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977 (YEDPA) authorizes a variety of demonstration projects to explore different approaches to help youth complete high school and enter the world of work. This report discusses the issues that must be considered in designing action program approaches and outlines the knowledge development…

Based on the Walberg educational productivity model--which relates one quantifiable educational outcome to a range of inputs--a research project was undertaken to determine the impact of school desegregation on the academic achievement of third and sixth grade students in a Chicago suburb. A four-phase cooperative effort was instituted, involving…

The purpose of the Middle-Management Center (M-MC) is to engage educational organizations, individuals, and groups in the metropolitan New Orleans area in simultaneous research and action to facilitate the development of more productive and responsive schooling while focusing on the problemsolving processes and practices of management. The center…

This action research project sought to develop students' critical thinking skills by implementing a variety of instructional strategies. Targeted for this study were students in one early childhood special education program, one kindergarten class, and one eighth grade science class. The deficit in critical thinking and problem-solving skills was…

This paper reports on an on-going action research study of the elementary school science education courses at the University of Victoria in Canada. The Department of Social and Natural Sciences requires that professors evaluate their teaching effectiveness annually using a variety of methods such as student evaluations, peer observations, course…

Research was conducted to develop learning environments based on CD-ROM and printed material specifically for vocational secondary students with reading and writing difficulties. Parties to the action research were Austria, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Finland. Finnish partners concentrated on learning environments that would diversify and…

This collection of 20 papers is aimed at researchers, research students, and research supervisors interested in qualitative research into facilitated adult learning in the workplace, formal education programs, professional development, and community settings. "Introduction" (Willis) provides a summary of the papers. "Qualitative…

For the last 15 years, a series of policy initiatives have advocated for development of employability skills by young and unemployed people in the United Kingdom. The call for these employability skills has been championed by these two distinct but related movements: the Key Skills Development Movement (KSDM) and the Enterprising Skills…

This study examined recent literature related to constructivist teacher education, focusing on descriptions of programs and research on program efforts and effects. The study involved literature published from 1990 to the present on constructivist teacher education. This included 20 preservice programs and 15 inservice programs. The studies were…

This issue presents two articles on the use of data to improve results for students with disabilities. The first paper examines how researchers supported by the Office of Special Education Programs are discovering innovative uses of scientifically derived information in instructional and administrative decision making as well as strategies for…

An adult educator at an all-male maximum-security correctional center in Virginia conducted a research project to learn her students' attitudes toward the computers that had recently been introduced in their classroom. She used the following data collection tools and activities: a nine-question survey that was administered to the students in all…

This paper reports on the experiences and findings of five New York City public school teachers who, in the course of research for their master's degrees in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) designed and implemented individual action research projects investigating issues and concerns emanating from their classroom experiences. It is…