Argues for the use of autobiography paired with radical doubt as a strategy to arrive at intersubjectivity, thereby avoiding false claims to objectivity and failure-prone inner (hyper) subjectivity. Uses this argument to introduce the contributions to the special thematic journal issue of which this paper is a part. (Contains 24 references.)…

Proposes an approach for critical engagement with autobiographical text. Argues that by becoming better aware of the teller's intentionality and his/her insights gained from telling a (re)constructed version of self, the listener and the teller can engage in personal and socially transformative dialogue. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/WRM)

Suggest that autobiography ought to be considered both the telling of one's story and the using of that story with others to understand and use difference productively. Claims that autobiography, as telling and interacting, dismantles the universalistic tug of science as local knowledge. Presents selected autobiographical accounts to make both…

Describes an experience of trying to publish a book whose contents are in some ways marginal to what is normally considered science or science education. During the publishing process, ideas about what counts as science got tangled up with what counts as "credible" science, "marketable" literature, and academic competence. (Contains 26…

Describes science educators trying to effect systemic change as actors in a cultural field struggling to change it. Uses a conversational hermeneutic analysis of autobiographical writings to examine some of the salient features of bringing about change in science education. (Contains 35 references.) (Author/WRM)

Examines multiple ways in which autobiography informed the restructuring of an elementary classroom. Uses journals, interview transcripts, and electronic mail archives to document how the author provided a voice to students and used their perspectives to construct a teaching framework for elementary science education. (Contains 30 references.)…

Describes the author's difficulties in teaching students who were ethnically, culturally, and socially different from himself. Emphasizes the significance of connecting the enacted curriculum to the interests and extant knowledge of students. Suggests some implications for teaching science, enacting and appropriating science curricula, and…

Reflects on the idea of a person being constructed through his actions, and the role of the teacher in enabling such actions. Argues that the way a teacher shapes the classroom is, in effect, a lens through which children can be viewed and visions of the educational process both shape and are shaped by the teacher. (Author/WRM)

Illustrates the use of auto- and biographical materials as part of a research process concerned with problematic aspects of learning science. Draws on an extended study of graphing among university students and research scientists, and on the autobiography and interview data from one of the authors to point out some of the sources of difficulties…

Explores an approach to autobiographical research based on a notion of "outlaw genre" autobiography, referred to as "biomythography". Describes the use of photo essays to learn about prospective elementary teachers' stories of science and science education. Calls for an examination of hegemonies extending from students' personal histories as…

Explains the institutional research process used by the Oregon University System to identify peer comparators for the state's seven diverse public universities. The process combined detailed statistical information with a sensitivity to the political dynamics and judgments of campus presidents and staff. Identifies 10 conditions that contribute to…

Evaluated systematic empirical evidence of how postsecondary institutions support and promote the use of student assessment information in academic decision making using linear regression techniques. Found that student assessment data has only a marginal influence on academic decision making, with slightly more influence on educationally related…

Responses to the College Student Experiences Questionnaire at five types of institutions (selective liberal arts, general liberal arts, comprehensive, doctoral, and research) from 1983 through 1998 show that the percentage of students majoring in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences has decreased in the selective liberal arts colleges and…

This longitudinal study followed four consecutive freshmen cohorts at a large urban public university. Found science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM) students persisted and graduated at higher rates than non-SEM majors. Gift aid for SEM majors was more likely to be merit-based than need-based. Women, but not underrepresented minorities or needy…

Examined levels of administrator satisfaction at public and private institutions, using national data on university characteristics, state characteristics, and administrative satisfaction. Found hypothesized differences in satisfaction between administrators at public/private institutions were related only to extrinsic rewards. In both sectors,…