Using national data from diverse institutions and science disciplines, a study investigated links between internal organizational conditions and black faculty representation. Although discipline-specific labor supply is a powerful constraint, selective organizational contexts are also influential. Black faculty are most often found where…

A study piloted a new approach to assessing the effects of changes in funding for state grant programs on college assistance. Analysis of Washington's state grant program indicates that an increase in state funds for need-based grants in 1993-1994 resulted in improved within-year persistence in public four-year universities. It is concluded that…

A study estimated the effects of college faculty gender differences on research and teaching productivity, using a sample of 523 four-year institutions for the academic year 1987-1988. Results indicate that female faculty have significant marginal productivity in research at liberal arts institutions but not in other institution categories.…

Using data from a national follow-up study of freshmen (n=24,837), a study investigated how different types of courses and instructional techniques affect college students' self-reported growth in critical thinking. Results revealed that taking writing, interdisciplinary, history, science, women's studies, math, foreign language, and ethnic…

Survey vignette methodology was used to investigate undergraduate and graduate students' beliefs about what constitutes abusive behaviors in dating relationships. Although both contextual and demographic factors, especially gender and sexual orientation, affected student judgments of abusiveness, student characteristics explained relatively little…

At a large university, faculty ratings in five academic areas were collected from two groups of students using paper-and-pencil or electronic survey administration. The two modes yielded similar factor patterns, with ratings influenced by academic area but not survey method. Students felt more anonymous using the paper-and-pencil method;…

A discussion of the use of performance indicators and performance-based funding in state colleges and universities looks at the types of mechanisms used for measuring institutional performance, state experiences with performance indicators, their pitfalls and limitations, the current status of performance-based funding applications, difficulties…

Describes the development of the practices and perspectives of one elementary school teacher as she engaged in teacher-as-researcher methodology in both urban and suburban settings. Documents how the teacher-as-researcher began to explore science inquiry in an elementary setting and how students, parents, and educators became co-learners,…

Describes the conversational rhythm in an elementary class in order to understand when and how teacher and students succeed in developing shared understandings, and when and how they encounter difficulties. Uses the two contrasting concepts of "intermingling" and "bumpiness" to catch the phenomenological aspects of time in the science classroom.…

Reports on learning when engaged in a four-month experience of co-teaching a water unit in a seventh-grade classroom. Suggests that co-teaching allows for a mode of learning that is not captured by Schon's notions of reflection-in-practice and reflection-on-practice. Concludes that co-teaching, as co-learning, is praxis. Contains 26 references.…

Advocates co-teaching as an essential component of teacher education programs. Describes the co-teaching efforts of a university professor, doctoral student, and student-teacher as they taught science to African-American students placed in a low-track program of study in an urban high school. Presents theoretical frameworks associated with…

Describes a teacher-researcher's investigation into barriers to student adoption of an alternative referent for learning and its consequential learning strategies in an 11th-grade chemistry class. Suggests that various contextual factors influenced students' willingness to adopt the alternative referent, and that students' beliefs, trust of the…

Presents an action-research study of student scientific literacy that is analyzed by two metaphors of learning: students working in science as if they follow recipes, and students working in science as if they devise recipes. Considers the usefulness of the metaphors as a framework to provide common ground for otherwise divergent views on…

Describes action research on the efficacy of problem-based learning using a hermeneutic dialectic methodology. Focuses on the emergence of students' critical-thinking skills, the relevance of science concepts taught, the interdisciplinary nature of the problems addressed, and the changing roles of the teacher and students. Reports that the course…

Describes the turbulent conditions that typify experiences as a science supervisor in the central office of a large urban school district implementing science systemic reform. Notes that typical policies and procedures allow stakeholders to undervalue the decisions they make, which creates currents of frustration and distrust capable of…