Because history describes and explains the past, it is a relevant tool for many other disciplines, including education. Historical studies can contribute to the improvement of schooling by providing information, demonstrating errors of memory, helping explain the present, and encouraging the introduction of new concepts. In the past, educational…

The Experience-Based Career Education (EBCE) program was designed to provide on-site vocational experiences for high-school youth in order to promote: (1) career development skills and knowledge; (2) self-knowledge--interests, abilities, and values; (3) reading skills; (4) problem solving skills; (5) oral communication; (6) writing skills; (7)…

The original version of this report dealt with the feasibility of a longitudinal design for studying the effects of preceptorships on medical students' career choices. The present document supplements the original report, focuses on various non-longitudinal designs, and assesses their suitability for providing the type of information required for…

This volume offers a proposal for a national desegregation study which would involve coordinated case studies of twelve to fifteen cities in which there has been substantial systemwide desegregation for 5 to 10 or more years. The following are identified as the principal components of the study: (1) a natural history of school desegregation; (2) a…

Methodologies and recommendations for conducting economic impact studies that can be used for single-institution and multi-institution studies are presented. Much of the information and sample questionnaires are drawn from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Economic Impact study, which investigated the collective economic impact in Pennsylvania of…

This report examines the state of the art of utilizing cost-benefit methodologies to evaluate the returns on investments in vocational education. The objectives and format of the report and the literature search methodology employed in it are outlined. Presented next is an overview of the diverse literature related to cost-benefit analysis,…

Ethnographic methods have been proposed as one alternative to research based heavily on statistics and experimental design. Ethnography essentially means "a way of systematically learning reality from the point of view of the participant." Four features distinguish ethnographic research from other research methods: (1) the research is considered…

This report is one of the products of the knowledge development effort implemented under the mandate of the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977. The report describes the methodology and preliminary findings of the National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) of youth, which seeks the effects of military service on the education and…

The study documents what happened in 10 rural communities when a federal educational funding program (Experimental Schools) in 1972 provided 5-year grants for demonstration projects designed both to improve the school system and, through the schools, to address a variety of community needs. The study employs two strategies to document the ways in…

These proceedings contain 20 presentations and reports made during the 30th Annual Research Conference in Agricultural Education in Lubbock, Texas. The keynote address on importance of research to agricultural education is followed by 16 research papers reporting on analysis of student teacher morale before and after student teaching;…

Intended for use by educators and the public, this report interprets the findings of two research studies on competency-based vocational education (CBVE) in Kentucky secondary schools: "The Development of an Instrument to Measure Student Attitudes toward Competency-Based Individualized Instructional Modules," by John C. Thomas, and…

A study done for the National Community Education Advisory Council to assess programs funded under the Community Schools Act is presented in an introduction and three parts. Study goals, as defined in the introduction, are to describe the organization and operation of community education projects of local educational agencies, state educational…

Errors in second language learning are viewed as evidence of the learner's hypotheses and strategies about the new data. Error observation and analysis are important to the formulation of theories about language learning and the preparation of teaching materials. Learning a second language proceeds by a series of approximative reorganizations…

The report describes a one-year pilot study of museum effectiveness conducted at the Franklin Institute Science Museum and Planetarium in Philadelphia. The study was intended to develop models for testing visitor response, provide useable information to museum staff, and test the feasibility of a large-scale investigation of science museums.…

Educational development in Saudi Arabia is closely related to Moslem religious belief. A review of the socio/cultural behavior based upon Saudi religious belief can provide insight to educators on how to make educational and research activities in developing nations more relevant to people with a non-Western frame of reference. Among muslims,…