Research Tools

We have posted on this page tools developed and used by NCSALL researchers in the course of their research projects. By doing so, we hope to share our resources with the research community and provide examples of survey instruments and other measures that may be adapted by others interested in conducting studies modeled on NCSALL research.

• Survey and Methodology for Assessing ABE Teachers' Characteristics and Concerns

Developed as part of NCSALL's Professional Development Study, which was directed by Cristine Smith and Judy Hofer. Most of the questions in this survey were tested with 100 adult education and literacy teachers in the New England area. The goal of the survey was to collect information about the factors that support or hinder teachers within their jobs and their programs.

We offer the survey questions here as one sample of a questionnaire that states or organizations could use to learn more about the teachers working for them. Collecting and analyzing data using this survey will assist states or organizations in their efforts to design professional development activities or set program policies that support teachers to do the best job possible.

We encourage you to review the NCSALL Report entitled Characteristics and Concerns of Adult Basic Education Teachers (NCSALL Reports #26) to gain an understanding of the kind of data and information you can gather, use, and apply to your setting.


• Research Methods for Studying ABE/ESOL Populations

An Occasional Paper written by Eleanor Drago-Severson, a member of NCSALL's Adult Development Team, this paper examines the research team's experiences in studying 41 adult basic education/English for speakers of other languages (ABE/ESOL) learners enrolled in three different U.S. programs (community college, family literacy, and workplace sites) for a year or more to examine their experiences of learning and change.

Included in this Occasional Paper are six appendices that reproduce the measures employed by the Adult Development Team, the use of which is discussed at length in the narrative.