Responding to Bulterman-Bos (2008), the author argues that the effort to make education research more relevant is counterproductive. Teachers and researchers have different orientations toward education that arise from different institutional settings, occupational constraints, daily work demands, and professional incentives. These are not…

In response to Bulterman-Bos (2008), this article discusses three kinds of research needed in education: problem-finding research, which helps frame good research questions; problem-solving research, which helps illuminate educational problems; and translational work, which transforms the findings of research into tools that practitioners and…

The purpose of this paper is to state the reasons why secondary analysis serves an important function in educational research. (Author)

Three major propositions discussed in this article include: (1) There are two major obstacles to research influencing educational practice in the long term. (2) These are the pragmatic-practical notion that research should pay off and that it should be relevant to contemporary social and educational problems. (Author/AM)

Argues that defining "progress" is fundamental to understanding how effective educational research is in improving practice. Discusses the problem of partial specification and its consequences for defining the research-practice relationship. Presents three different, but complementary, approaches to defining "progress":…

Educational research has been excessively atheoretical and has not produced an accumulating body of systematically observed empirical facts. Much of the best work has been reductionist, partly because it has been rooted in paradigms of the behavioral sciences and partly because of the fragmentation of the community of professional researchers.…

The exchange among M. McKenna, R. Robinson, and J. Miller and C. Edelsky about language instruction is a starting point for an examination of what is behind the current fragmentation in educational research. It is argued that this fragmentation results from the use of different vocabularies to tell stories about research. (SLD)

This book is a significant contribution to the field of sociology of school knowledge. It looks at the historical development of the field and argues that, although this field has appealed only to a limited audience, it has the potential to reach a larger audience of scholars if an alternative research agenda could be created. (SLD)

Reviews four hypotheses that describe the disconnection between educational research and practice. These hypotheses claim that research needs to be more authoritative, relevant, and accessible; and that the educational system is often unable to adequately reply to research findings. The historical thought behind each hypothesis and the place for…

This reply to an article on educational research by Chester E. Finn agrees that the U.S. Department of Education does not give enough support to research, but disagrees with Finn's analysis. What is needed is a strong infrastructure for educational research. This in turn will inspire educators to identify and examine the important questions. (VM)

Relativism is an inevitable consequence of our interpretive mode of being in the world. This is so for both our daily lives and our professional lives. What does not overly concern us at the former level should likewise not concern us at the latter level. (Author/BJV)

Concludes that the social sciences must meet the same standards of rationality and honesty as the natural sciences, and, in addition, be wary of the uncertainties that arise from bias within and from the interests at stake outside. (Author)

Points out that educational research has more critics than supporters. Until researchers convince lawmakers, educators, and taxpayers that research is useful, support for research will not be forthcoming. The constraints on and accomplishments of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement are discussed. (VM)

The articles of this theme issue explore the use of educational research and whether the American Educational Research Association should play more of an advocacy role in the educational policymaking process. The challenge is one of expanding debate and discussion on educational research beyond the research community to the policy process. (SLD)

Triangulation strategy results in evidence characterized by the following: (1) convergence; (2) inconsistency; and (3) contradiction. In order to render the data sensible, the researcher or evaluator must report data collection procedures, as well as the three levels of information from which explanations of social phenomena are constructed. (BJV)