Provides a methodological critique of articles in this special issue and identifies problematic aspects of the application of research to practice. (SK)

Considers the future of online publication of scientific journals and how electronic research reports (eReports) and electronic research journals (eJournals) will change the way research is reported, disseminated, consumed, and conducted by the scientific community. Suggests there will be a more interactive dynamic discourse between authors and…

Responds to a recent critical report on computers in childhood. Highlights include computers, children, and research; social and emotional development; types of software; motivation; social and cognitive interactions; cognitive development; creativity; language and literacy; writing and word processing; mathematics and reasoning; and science and…

Suggests that the Internet plays an important role in socialization and that children need to be recognized as active participants rather than passive recipients of multimedia texts and messages. Argues that there needs to be a shift away from the current emphasis on restriction to a focus on communication between adults and children. (LRW)

Relates findings from a review of the literature on six academic motivational constructs studied in traditional environments to online education concepts. Examines self-efficacy, locus of control, attributions, goal orientation, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, and self-regulation to identify methods for ensuring student success in online…

Discussion of the digital divide focuses on a social divide rather than a lack of access to information technology for specific groups. Topics include historic trends in technology diffusion; policy implications; motivational barrier to technology use; knowledge and skill barrier; content barrier; and social network barrier. (LRW)

Such issues as access to subjects; data ownership, analysis, and interpretation; and control over findings reflect a struggle for power between researchers and American Indian tribes. Responsible, respectful scholarship demonstrates understanding of the historical relationship between Native Americans and academics and of the new research…

Introduces the symposium on qualitative research by depicting the context and politics of the field of educational studies in the last few decades. Finds agreement that the qualitative method is an apt way to capture latent and manifest activity in classrooms. (SK)

Spindler, an anthropologist, contends that ethnography is a discipline that seeks to describe and understand cultural experiences of others. Hammond, a teacher educator, maintains that practitioners can adapt ethnographic tools to solve practice-related problems. (Author/SK)

Linguistics research, including studies of classroom discourse and social patterns of language, seeks to identify the functions of language in learning situations. Future educational researchers need grounding in linguistics and other disciplines related to understanding the context of language use. (Author/SK)

Traces the development of qualitative methodology to the Chicago School of sociologists in the 1920s. Distinguishes between qualitative methods and qualitative methodology and between anthropological and sociological approaches. Expresses concern that some types of research may co-opt the qualitative label and replace ethnography. (Author/SK)

Although psychological research has strong qualitative roots, the current dominant paradigm eschews such methods. Concerns of qualitative researchers include the subjectivity of researchers and participants, the artistic potential of qualitative research, critical evaluation of qualitative interpretations, and theory building. (Author/SK)

Considers the potential for teacher research to change ideas about who is responsible for producing knowledge, the benefits and dangers of inserting the self into the social sciences, and the challenges of presenting problems of practice from within practice. (Author/SK)

Outlines topics for future debate based on articles in this issue: qualitative studies focused on the substance of education, multisite studies, clarification of the genre of research, the potential of interdisciplinary approaches, and the uses of technology in furthering the debate. (SK)

For Hong Kong high school students (n=12,784), late immersion in English as the language of instruction had large negative effects on science, geography, and history achievement. English immersion had small positive effects on English and Chinese achievement. Effects of language of instruction did not vary substantially over the first 3 years of…