Every year the federal government spends more than $600 billion on grants to fund programs and services in education, social sectors, and health. When deliberating such commitments, policymakers weigh evidence from research, practice, and their own experience while also navigating political pressure, the demands of their constituents, and…

The science of reading is the latest version of the reading wars brought to national attention by the popular press. Although most of the popular press has focused on phonics and early reading, in this article, we chose to study what happened to the research on reading comprehension. By the beginning of the 21st century, there had emerged a…

Purpose: This article examines the state of progress of evidence-based educational policies in Europe and identifies organizations for the generation and dissemination of evidence. Further, it discusses some of the most relevant challenges facing the development of evidence-informed education policies in Europe. Design/Approach/Methods: This…

This study provides an insight into the challenges faced in establishing a closer collaboration between educational research and its use in the policy-making process. It aims to identify the factors influencing transfer from research to policy-making and the policy-makers' needs, expectations, and perception on the use of educational research.…

This paper presents results from a survey of Romanian education researchers on their experience of research uptake and transfer to policy makers and practitioners. A range of variables are analysed in order to understand the factors they perceived to influence the use of educational research. The researchers' context was analysed, including…

Recent efforts to improve the quality and availability of scientific research in education, coupled with increased expectations for the use of research in practice, demand new ways of thinking about connections between research and practice. The conceptual framework presented in this paper argues that increasing research in educational…

Even though the evidence-based movement and the concept of public good have been thoroughly discussed and from a range of perspectives in the literature, there is no general consensus on the definitions and nature of these terms and concepts. In this chapter, the author conceptualizes what is meant when educators speak of the concepts like…

Recent scholarship suggests that research use is an interactive, social phenomenon, and that brokers play important roles in facilitating the exchange of research evidence. We add to this body of literature by exploring the role of brokers in the exchange of research evidence among state education agency leaders involved in K-12 science education…

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Student as Producer, as a form of curriculum development in higher education based on the practice and principles of research-engaged teaching. The paper provides an account of my experiences embedding and adopting Student as Producer within my own research and teaching at the University of Lincoln, an…

In recent years, we have reached a homeostasis in education policy, characterized by clearer and fairer but lighter-touch accountability systems and the incremental growth of school choice options for families--but little appetite for big and bold new initiatives. To be sure, there are still fights--battles in state legislatures between reform…

This article examines the impetus for schools to engage in and with evidence in England's self-improving school system. It begins with an examination of how the education policy environment has changed, shifting from predominantly top-down approaches to school improvement to the current government's focus on schools themselves sourcing and sharing…

In this chapter the authors provide an overview of the evidence-for-education landscape across countries. Although the importance of using evidence to inform policy and practice in education was identified over 20 years ago, many education systems are still struggling to make this a reality. The enormous expansion of publicly available data on…

This Policy Snapshot defines and explores statewide longitudinal data systems, as well as relevant 2016 and 2017 legislation.

While scholars develop research with clear implications for policy and practice, this work has been largely ineffective in influencing thought beyond the academy. In this article, we explore challenges researchers face in designing public scholarship to influence policy. To illustrate, we profile one such effort, the "Opportunity to Learn…

Academic research often does not find its way into the policy arena because of the nature of the work. Policymakers often find journal articles and academic books too long, difficult to understand, and lacking in policy-relevant ideas and recommendations. This article provides suggestions to academic and other researchers on how to make their…