The article "Getting lost in translation" by Harris, Chapman, Muijs and Reynolds addresses the engagement of policy-makers and educational practitioners with (the results of) educational effectiveness and improvement research. In this commentary the article is discussed from the perspectives of research utilisation, the solidity of the…

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…

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…

Considers contributions of basic/theoretical, applied/practical, and marketing research to the field of camping. Outlines research concerns: application of qualitative methods, practical application of marketing research, effective research dissemination, and focus on longitudinal studies using larger samples. Affirms role of research to document…

Teachers cannot afford to ignore the research findings on right and left brain functions. Basically, three things have been discovered: (1) each hemisphere of the brain processes information differently; (2) in some people, the hemispheres work well together, in others they are in a constant state of disagreement; and (3) each hemisphere is…

Examines factors that might explain the increased interest in research on school effectiveness; summarizes three articles that deal with school improvement and effectiveness research; and stresses the importance of using exceptional schools' research in developing school improvement strategies. (MJL)

In an era of ever-shrinking dollars for education and especially for educational research, one must ask the question, "Does the proposed research add value to agricultural education?" Although it may not be possible to answer the question completely, a framework can be developed within which the answer can be pondered. Researchers,…

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)

Recent commission and task force reports calling for significant improvements in American education are considered in this set of three papers, and methods for implementing the recommendations are suggested. In his paper, Glen Harvey reviews the reports, noting the extent to which they fail to consider change implementation research and commenting…

Examines research reviews on exceptional schools and summarizes findings on the leadership, efficacy, and efficiency dimensions of effective schooling. Discusses strengths and weaknesses of the research, and suggests ways that research can be used to improve schools. (MJL)

Discussed are three issues in early childhood education that have been addressed extensively by the research literature, namely: (1) the risks of early academic pressures on young children; (2) the importance of play in early childhood education; and (3) interaction as the context for early learning. Several reasons that child development and…

The direction teacher education will take depends upon careful examination of the processes and activities that affect teacher behavior and on meticulous re-definition of the skills, attitudes, and knowledge that contribute to teaching effectiveness. The restrictions of educational bureaucracy and the perpetually changing demands of educational…

Research on teaching, learning, and schooling, while extremely helpful, does not translate automatically into prescriptions for change, which requires support, trust, and adaptation rather than inflexible mandates that imply distrust. (CB)

Details a program used effectively in training a group of principals in a large school district as part of a change implementation effort. Concludes that consideration of principals'"stages of concern" should be a key element in the planning and conduct of any principal training. (RDN)

There are two reasons that ethnographic research in education produces good results but has a bad reputation. First is the way that scientific research has been used to justify the faults of educational institutions. Second is the inability of ethnographic research to be useful to educational practitioners. (Author/GC)