The article aims at improving the quality of higher and technical education in India to world class standard. Institutions in knowledge economy are reckoned to be the drivers of development. Indian institutions are making efforts, investing money, appointing professors, students are studying hard but due to the lack of marketing strategy, their…

These days, information overload seems to be the normal state of existence. School leaders are inundated with descriptions of best practices and programs that work. They are exhorted to use evidence in all facets of decision-making and to employ research-based strategies to improve schools. Of course, research findings are seldom definitive, and…

A decade ago, it was disconcertingly easy to find education leaders who dismissed student achievement data and systematic research as having only limited utility when it came to improving schools or school systems. Today, we have come full circle. Educators have made great strides in using data, and it is hard to attend an education conference or…

The Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) at the University of Chicago was founded in 1990, two years after the passage of the Chicago School Reform Act that decentralized governance of the city's public schools. Since then, CCSR has distinguished itself as a unique organization, conducting research of high technical quality that is…

This special edition of the journal focuses on what is, arguably, the biggest challenge facing education systems, that of developing practices that will reach out to those learners who are failed by existing arrangements. Specifically, the papers look at ways of using the views of stakeholders in order to move schools and other centres of learning…

Formative feedback systems live at the heart of systemic school improvement efforts. Without accurate and timely information on the results of intended interventions, school leaders and teachers fly blind in their efforts to link what they expect to what actually happens in their schools. This paper draws on the results of a 5-year National…

Suggests that findings of brain research have been adopted uncritically by educators; points out misconceptions about such studies. Cautions educators to ensure that practices are based on well-designed and validated studies. (Contains 16 references.) (SK)

The research base in the study of teaching is broader than it has ever been. The most obvious use of this research is in teacher education programs. Pedagogy must become a laboratory-based field of study, with environments in which to experiment with producing cognitive and affective change in children. (MT)

Reviews the status of educational anthropology. Argues that (1) anthropology's strength lies in understanding groups; (2) the complexity of the gap between a school and its community must be better understood; (3) anthropological research offers theoretical paradigms for understanding educational problems holistically; and (4) without significant…

Factors that have slowed progress in middle grades reform include (1) emphasizing school-level, structural changes, such as merging curricular areas and instructional assignments, which do little to change the experience of students; and (2) basing reform more on rhetoric than research. Reviews the articles in this special issue, which seeks to…

Educational reform should be viewed less as the replacement of old with new and more as a process of renewal; the triumph of reform lies in its never succeeding. School reform intended to repair, once and for all, a broken institution will inevitably be frustrated. Schools depend ultimately on motivation. (RDN)

Educational research has changed greatly in recent years, is more sophisticated, and is based on more appropriate theories than behaviorism was, with more direct relevance to practice. A new system of education using constructivist theories of learning such as Piaget's would promote the development of powerful learning strategies. (MSE)

While those involved in staff development often seek new or further information or research on effective successful staff development, they often overlook or do not know how to use the voluminous amount of literature that already exists regarding conditions, processes, adaptations, motivation, and strategies for effective educational change. (CB)

The balance between college teaching and faculty scholarship is examined in the context of growing economic concern over the education of an internationally competitive workforce. "Aggregative scholarship," the effort to integrate and interpret highly specialized research findings for interconnections and trends, for both specialists and…

A research and development approach to performance monitoring in public agencies involves establishing objectives, selecting indicators, establishing criteria for comparison, and using information. Examples from Virginia education agencies indicate that performance monitoring requires commitment, patience, openness to ideas, and risk taking. (SK)