Suggests that an explanation for the differences in mathematics problem-solving strategies found in the study by E. Fennema and others may be simply that the girls in the study population are less interested in mathematics than the boys and explores some implications of this explanation. (SLD)

Considers implications of the findings of the study by E. Fennema and others that boys in the primary grades use different mathematics problem-solving strategies than girls and suggests that equitable mathematics instruction may require specific attention to gender differences and underachieving groups. (SLD)

Examines the advocacy advertising used by Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, to increase public awareness of his views on how to improve U.S. public schools and student learning. His advertisements constitute a case study on communicating research-based findings related to specific educational policy issues.…

Explores the role of research in the educational reform process by examining two research-informed professional development programs focusing on changing teachers' beliefs and practices. The Cognitively Guided Instruction program and the Integrating Mathematics Assessment projects provide contexts for examining the influence of teachers' knowledge…

Discusses why it is necessary to uncover the values that underlie social science research and reviews reasons objectivity should be a goal of social science research. Presents a typology of cross-cultural researchers and describes the lives and work of some social scientists who exemplify these categories. (SLD)

Criticizes the essay by J. Smith on the "balkanization" of educational research, asserting that the assumption that there is no common ground among current views of educational research is not only false but will lead to the very divisions that Smith fears. (SLD)

Explores issues in evaluating exemplary programs, including the measurement of the degree to which the program is exemplary or promising. Suggests that comparison (control) group analysis can mislead researchers about the effectiveness of a program and suggests the use of gain scores to identify exemplary programs. (SLD)

Explores two metaphors for learning, the acquisition metaphor and the participation metaphor. After a critical evaluation of the interpretations and applications of these metaphors, the question of theoretical unification of research on learning is addressed, stressing the dangers of too great a devotion to one single metaphor. (SLD)

Examines measurement concepts and assumptions traditionally used in educational assessment, using the Early Adolescence/English Language Arts assessment developed for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards as a context. The use of numerical ratings in complex performance assessment is questioned. (SLD)

Describes and critiques recent changes in educational inquiry by outlining the themes and implications of the current interest in postmodernism. The focus is on changes in methodology, summative content, and disciplinary foundations. The relationship of these changes to educational research and the training of researchers is discussed. (SLD)

Disagrees with W. Feinberg's criticism of "The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them." Apart from the faults he finds with the book, Feinberg represents an essentialist kind of pessimism about the ability of public education to ameliorate injustices present in American education. (SLD)

Reviews research that supports the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future's analysis and recommendations on elementary and secondary school reform. It describes the research and programmatic work needed to test the policy hypothesis offered by the commission's report to move the field of educational reform forward in the areas of…

Addresses the mismatch between educational research methodologies and its application to generic features of practice and proposes a problem-based methodology that better links research with problem solving. Implications of this methodology are discussed from recent research on school tracking. (GR)

Argues for stronger research on aspects of learning and teaching as influenced by the use of the World Wide Web and describes salient Web characteristics regarding this issue. It also discusses student learning and communication and qualitative research in Web-based learning as topics that can support a number of meaningful research questions…

Describes school experiences of two middle-school immigrant children. Examines their successes and failures in relation to policies about the design of educational programs, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher preparation, testing, and the role of English in the education of newly arrived children. Contains 65 references. (MMU)