An overview of the many types of studies that fall into the qualitative design genre is provided. Strategies that qualitative researchers use to establish the authors' studies as credible and trustworthy are listed and defined. So that readers will recognize the important contribution qualitative studies have made in the field of special education, a range of well-known and lesser known examples of qualitative research are reviewed. The quality indicators that are important in conducting and evaluating qualitative research are identified. Finally, as an example of the evidence that can be produced using qualitative methods, the authors provide a summary of how 3 studies have provided important information that can be used to inform policy and practice.

This article constitutes a critique from the inside of constructivist pedagogy. It begins with a short history of constructivist pedagogy and its relationship to constructivist learning theory. It then addresses four issues in the ways in which constructivist pedagogy are being approached in research and practice. The first issue recommends more of a research focus on student learning in classrooms that engage in constructivist pedagogy. The second leads to the suggestion of theory development that provides an understanding and descriptions of more and less effective constructivist teaching. The third centers on the necessarily deep subject matter knowledge required of teachers who adopt constructivist pedagogy; and the difficulty this requirement imposes on elementary teachers who must deal with many subject matter areas. And the fourth issue raises the possibility that the vision of constructivist pedagogy, as presently recommended, if not mandated, locally and nationally, is strongly ideological and may impose, inappropriately, a dominant view of pedagogy on those who wish to operate differently.

This article examines the notion of quality teaching, exploring its conceptual, empirical and normative properties. We begin by analyzing the concept of teaching, separating it into its task sense (what teachers try to do) and its achievement sense (the student learning that teachers foster). The analysis suggests that any determination of quality in teaching must account for both the worthiness of the activity (good teaching) as well as the realization of intended outcomes (successful teaching). Good teaching is not the same as successful teaching, nor does one logically entail the other. For teaching to be both good and successful, it must be conjoined with factors well beyond the range of control of the classroom teacher. The analysis of the concept of teaching is then used to explore three programs of research on teaching: process-product, cognitive science, and constructivist. The article concludes with an analysis of the policy implications of this explication of quality teaching.

This research examines gender differences in adjustment to retirement during the first year of retirement. It identifies differences in patterns of adjustment and differences in the discriminating variables that predict these patterns. The study was longitudinal in design and included a pretest interview of 250 people at the time of retirement, a posttest interview of 242 retirees six months after retirement, and a one-year follow-up of 222 completed by mail. A significant main effect for time was found for all three adjustment variables, with well-being declining at the six-month interval. A discriminant analysis of three types of adjustment groups revealed that responses to retirement varies depending on several factors. The findings suggest the need for a dynamic view of continuity theory.

This paper addresses two questions: What is involved in bringing about significant and worthwhile change in teaching practices? How can or should research aid in this process? In order to do so, two related literatures will be explored—teacher change and learning to teach. These literatures will be used to develop a third perspective, which will be grounded in examples from a teacher change research project which is funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education. This perspective suggests that empirical premises derived from research ( Fenstermacher, 1986 ) be considered as warranted practice, which, in combination with teachers's practical knowledge, become the content of reflective teacher change. It also suggests that practice should be viewed as activity embedded in theory. The paper concludes with suggestions for ways of approaching the introduction of research into teachers' ways of thinking.