Research and Evaluation Methods in Special Education [Paperback]

Donna M. Mertens (Author), John A. McLaughlin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761946535 | ISBN-13: 978-0761946533 | Publication Date: September 10, 2003

This excellent resource provides an approach to research and evaluation that helps educators better understand and address the needs of students with various disabilities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In an era when government policy emphasizes ‘scientifically based research’ (No Child Left Behind), this book provides an important resource in understanding what this means."

(Diane Browder, Snyder Distinguished Professor of Special Education )

"This is a superb book. I learned by reading it, and I found myself rethinking some of my own thinking about research on individuals with disabilities."

(James E. Ysseldyke, Professor )

"The authors have set for themselves a challenging task--to enable readers to design, conduct, report, and understand research in a way that transforms (when appropriate) the delivery of special education. What is even more amazing is it appears they have developed a guide that makes this task a reality." (CHOICE, June 2004 )

About the Author

For the past 30 years, McLaughlin has been actively engaged in the design, delivery, and evaluation of programs in a variety of settings including federal, state, and local governments, as well as public and not-for-profit organizations. Over the past 10 years, McLaughlin has been responsible for facilitating the strategic planning processes in a variety of settings including public and private schools, as well as state and local governments. McLaughlin has been responsible for designing and implementing training and technical assistance opportunities for managers of federal, state, and local organizations as they migrated to a performance-based organization. He has been a member of several research teams whose work focused on the adoption and dissemination of an outcome-based management approach in a variety of public agencies, including education.

McLaughlin was a recognized leader in the use of interagency collaboration as a vehicle for enhancing service delivery to persons with special needs. He has trained local and state interagency teams and has conducted evaluations of interagency collaboratives in a number of states and localities. McLaughlin has designed and implemented training for local teams of stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of local special education programs in numerous states.

After serving nearly 30 years in higher education, McLaughlin is currently an independent consultant in strategic planning and performance measurement. He is an active member of the American Evaluation Association.

Donna M. Mertens is Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and Research at Gallaudet University. She teaches research methods and program evaluation to deaf and hearing students at the MA and PhD levels.

She conducts research and evaluation studies on such topics as improvement of special education services in international settings, planning for the inclusion of students with disabilities in neighborhood schools, enhancing the educational experiences of students with disabilities, preventing sexual abuse in residential schools for deaf students, improving access to the court systems for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and improving the preparation of teachers of the deaf through appropriate use of instructional technology. Her research focuses on improving methods of inquiry by integrating the perspectives of those who have experienced oppression in our society. She draws on the writings of feminists, minorities, people with disabilities, as well as indigenous peoples who have addressed the issues of power and oppression and their implications for research methodology.

Dr. Mertens has made numerous presentations at the meetings of the American Educational Research Association, the American Evaluation Association, the Association for College Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the International Sociological Association, International Mixed Methods Conference, the American Psychological Association, and other organizations that explore these themes. She served as President and Board member of the American Evaluation Association from 1997 to 2002 and as a member of the Board of Trustees for the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation 2002–2003. She is the co-editor for the Journal of Mixed Methods Research (with Max Bergman).

Her publications include three edited volumes, Handbook of Social Research Ethics (coedited with Pauline Ginsberg), Creative Ideas for Teaching Evaluation and Research and Inequality (coedited with Carole Truman and Beth Humphries), and several books, including Transformative Research and Evaluation, Research and Evaluation Methods in Special Education (coauthored with John McLaughlin) and Parents and Their Deaf Children (coauthored with Kay Meadow-Orlans and Marilyn Sass Lehrer). She also publishes many chapters and articles in edited volumes, encyclopedias, handbooks, and journals, such as Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Qualitative Social Work, Eye on Psi Chi, Educational Researcher, International Journal of Mixed Methods Research, New Directions for Program Evaluation, American Journal of Evaluation, American Annals of the Deaf, Studies in Educational Evaluation, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Corwin Press (September 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761946535
• ISBN-13: 978-0761946533
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, February 6, 2007

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Michelle Holbrook (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Research and Evaluation Methods in Special Education (Paperback)

This text is a helpful tool as a resource for special education. It is easy to read and understand because of its relevance. It is also constructed in a manner that makes sense.