As the U.S. Department of Education prepares final rules for the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund, officials face strong concerns from school districts and philanthropies that requiring matching funds from the private sector is unworkable and would turn foundations into the gatekeepers for the federal grants. Concern about the proposed…

The authors investigated he National Educational Research and Priorities Board' s (1999, 2000) claim that evidence-based research often lacks relevance for practitioners by investigating the relevance among the Professors' of Curriculum (POC) publications between 1997 and 2003. Findings showed that forty-four (13%) were data-driven and relevant to…

The current status of classroom inclusion activities among agriculture teachers in comprehensive secondary agricultural education programs in Ohio is reported. The researchers describe secondary agriculture teachers' needs related to teaching learners with special needs in inclusion classes, given legislative mandates. Specifically, the…

This study questions the belief that little or no social studies is being taught in regular elementary education classrooms. That belief is based on time studies and a body of research that looks at curriculum and teacher interviews and concludes that the social studies time block has been decreased in elementary classrooms, therefore little or no…

The purpose of this article is to explore the nature of partnerships and to discuss ways that partnerships foster teacher-as-researcher activities. Based on the work of the Association of Teacher Educators commission Teacher as Researcher: School and University Collaborations, this article focuses on a national Association of Teacher Educators…

Amid stepped-up school accountability pressures under the No Child Left Behind Act, many teachers appear to be adjusting how they do their jobs. However, principals and district leaders are not necessarily in control of those instructional changes, a new study concludes. Using data collected through surveys of math teachers, principals, and…

Researchers looking to tap into the treasure troves of long-term student-achievement data that states and districts are starting to pile up say their efforts are increasingly running up against a decades-old federal law designed to protect student privacy. "More and more people are starting to look into questions of the federal…

Securing data on students' academic achievement is typically one of the most important and costly aspects of conducting education experiments. As state assessment programs have become practically universal and more uniform in terms of grades and subjects tested, the relative appeal of using state tests as a source of study outcome measures has…

Examining the implementation efforts associated with NCLB mandates and policies can help educational leaders frame their associated school responses and actions to better meet the challenges set forth by the federal legislation in meeting the needs of their local student populations. This study addressed the question, "How are middle school…

Some journeys that the author and his colleagues take are by choice and others are forced upon them. Some they take because their hearts, minds, and spirits are drawn to the "rightness" of what lies ahead. Others are done out of obligation and still others rest in their compliance to the demands of others. This article is actually about…

"When Research Matters" considers the complex and crucially important relationship between education research and policy. In examining how and under what conditions research affects education policy, the book focuses on a number of critical issues: the history of the federal role in education policy; the evolving nature of educational…

Today, there are critics of teacher education who believe that the system itself is archaic. These critics say that "schools of education" are by their very nature incapable of educating teachers. They say there is nothing worth preserving in them. In this paper, the author proposes that teacher education should engender a set of…

Researchers reviewed 20 articles on peer tutoring research in secondary settings and addressed demographics of tutors and tutees, content areas in which peer tutors were employed, tutor training required for implementing effective tutoring programs, and the effects of peer tutoring on tutee performance. Generally, peer tutoring in secondary…

Numerous scholars have promoted "practitioner research" or "teacher-research" as a way of facilitating professional development for pre-service and in-service teachers, promoting change and reform in K-12 settings, and giving voice to teachers" personal and professional knowledge. In this article, the authors consider what…

Written for students, educators, and researchers, "Methods in Educational Research" offers a refreshing introduction to the principles of educational research. Designed for the real world of educational research, the book's approach focuses on the types of problems likely to be encountered in professional experiences. Reflecting the…