This paper seeks to raise awareness among educational researchers and practitioners of some significant weaknesses and internal contradictions of randomised control trials (RCTs). Although critiques throughout the years from education scholars have pointed to the detrimental effects of this experimental approach on education practice and values,…

This article is written for educators who serve as teachers, administrators, policy-makers in childcare settings, schools, classrooms, teacher preparation programs, programs that prepare educational researchers, and universities. Its purpose is to provide background, rationale, and support for individuals within those institutions to address the…

In this essay David Labaree explores the historical and sociological elements that have made educational researchers dependent on statistics. He shows that educational research as a domain, with its focus on a radically soft and thoroughly applied form of knowledge and with its low academic standing, fits the pattern in which weak professions have…

This paper investigates the history and concept of liberalism from its first uses to its most modern incarnations. The paper aims to serve as a primer for educators and educational researchers to better understand liberalism and its place as a foundational and controversial discourse in politics, social science, and education. Through reference to…

The growing emphasis on teachers as "reflective" and "expert practitioners" has led to a noticeable increase in action research involving a wide range of educational practitioners as well as professionals from the academic community. In the light of the complex demands frequently faced by action researchers, this article…

Teacher education has been subject to both scathing criticism and innumerable efforts designed to reform it or to save it from being dismantled. One of the latest and most well funded efforts aimed at teacher education reform is boldly titled Teachers for a New Era (TNE). Eleven colleges and universities of various types nationwide were selected…

This paper examines the recent growth and changes in the discipline of mathematics, as well as current trends in the research on the teaching and learning of mathematics. The focus of this paper is revolution, reform, and research and their effects on school mathematics. The first section deals with revolution with regard to the teaching of…

The researchers who conducted a study of the views of regular elementary teachers toward provision of special services through either "pull-in" or "pull-out" programs consider the researcher's role as change agent. The authors stress the timing of their research (with new legislation mandating consultant teacher services) and…

Examines the possible roles and contributions of postmodernist thought to educational research. Models some of these approaches in its consideration of interviews collected during a project reviewing the careers of educational researchers. Provides a number of verbatim transcripts from the interviews and discusses their various narrative and…

Action research, a term first used in the 1940's by Kurt Lewin, implies the application of tools and methods of social science to immediate, practical problems, with the goals of contributing to theory and knowledge in the field of education and improving practice in the schools. Collaborative action research suggests that each group represented…

Argues that educational research and policymaking are hampered by increased intervention by governmental agencies and misrepresentation in the media. Asserts that current educational reform efforts are in conflict with research findings related to curriculum, learning, and assessment. (CFR)

Reports on a review of 25 content analysis studies of social studies textbooks published between 1982 and 1992. Finds that many of the problems noted in other types of social studies research also are evident in these studies. Provides recommendations for improving the quality of content analysis studies. (CFR)

As exemplified by New Zealand, the nature of educational policy research is shaped by political and social factors that impinge upon the research environment. Following a description of the educational system and research funding methods, this paper analyzes three areas that affect policy research in New Zealand and addresses relevant social…

A curriculum project is described which illustrates the use of collaborative inquiry, a cooperative effort between university researchers and educational practitioners. Four tenets of collaborative inquiry are outlined. (1) Researchers and school practitioners work together on all phases of the effort. (2) The effort is focused on real world as…

This paper proposes a model of a democratic paradigm for educational researchers and practitioners. It attempts to explore the kinds of thinking that would be required to create such a system, to determine what principles and curriculum theories are involved and how they would work. It seeks to relate this model to the new National Council for…