National policy in higher education requires higher education institutions to widen access to adult learners alongside other previously excluded groups, yet gives few indications as to how this should be done. The assumption seems to have been that broadening access is sufficient in itself. In this article we argue that it is possible to construct…

For students with intellectual disabilities and their families, planning for the transition from school to adult life can be a complicated process. Successful planning is sometimes made more challenging when post-school options and opportunities are not well known or understood. The purpose of this study is to seek out the perspectives of…

The authors interviewed 25 lesbians with physical disabilities about their counseling experiences. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, the authors identified 9 themes. Five themes addressed participants' perceptions of their counselors: general satisfaction or dissatisfaction, counselors' general effectiveness, counselors' awareness and…

The major literature review by Black and Wiliam (1998a) provided strong research evidence indicating that assessment for learning can produce significant gains in students' learning. The present study applied the main aspects of assessment for learning, as highlighted in the Black and Wiliam review, in a specific area of science education, that of…

A literature-based reading program was introduced to 98 students in 5 second-grade classrooms in an urban school district with a socioeconomic status ranging from middle class to disadvantaged. Students were primarily African American or Hispanic. Of the total, 22% had previously been classified as "at risk" as determined by state regulations. The…

This paper describes the Duke University Libraries' transition in early 1994 from its traditional hierarchical model to an organization emphasizing Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts such as self-managing teams and continuous improvement. Existing conditions at the libraries that played a role in the decision to switch included: (1) rising…

This report describes an exploratory evaluative assessment of the first year of 2 alternative public schools for 117 chronically disruptive, committed, and/or non-attending students (grades 6-12) in Georgia. The CrossRoads program is intended to provide students with the social services, individualized instruction, and/or transitions to other…

This paper analyzes the teaching practice of one of the authors and articulates the role of such reflexive analysis in the practice of professors of teacher education. The study extends the recommendation that teachers reflect on their practice to include the relationship between personal educational experiences of teacher educators and their…

This book in intended to train students in reading a research report critically. It uses actual research articles as examples including both good and flawed studies in each category and provides interpretation and evaluation of the appropriateness of the statistical analyses in each study. Individual chapters usually include two sample studies and…

The Temple University Center for Vocational Education Professional Personnel Development (PPD), one of three regional centers in Pennsylvania, used qualitative strategies for steering PPD programs. Center personnel found that collecting quantitative data was absolutely necessary to determine whether objectives were being met, but was not always…

A qualitative multimethod study identified the beliefs about writing instruction held by seven full-time English instructors at Central Arizona College Signal Peak Campus. Data were collected through interviews, document analysis, and surveys. Research questions examined how faculty members viewed themselves as writing teachers, what curriculum…

This qualitative study examines the perspectives of 14 teachers of students with severe disabilities whose role changed from special education teacher to integration facilitator. All 14 participants expressed strong beliefs that students with severe disabilities would learn more in an integrated environment. The teachers identified themselves as…

This qualitative research study, using data gathered through participant observation and interviews, explored the definitions of "good" teaching held by four student teachers in instrumental music. Aspects of each one's beliefs regarding the personal qualities, instructional practices, and management strategies of "good" teachers are presented.…

The training of researchers in the educational technology field has continued in the traditional vein of the experimental paradigm. This document describes a workshop presented to balance that training and to prepare students to undertake research in a non-traditional way. The workshop aimed to acquaint students with non-causal naturalistic…

To suggest that activity in the classroom shift from a focus on memorizing procedures to using mathematical reasoning is to suggest a shift in the classroom environment accompanied by shifts in teacher talk. The task of this report was to introduce the idea of teachers' orienting behaviors aimed at facilitating student cognition, and to suggest…