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)

Reviews the history and nature of action research as an approach for dealing with classroom practice problems. Discusses differences between formal and action research. (SK)

Educational researchers and practitioners seem to be involved in the same endeavor without real contact. To remedy this distance, the best research should focus on practice, and the best practice should be informed by research. (SLD)

For many researchers and developers in information and communication technology in education (ICTE), the transfer of knowledge from research into educational practice is slow and limited. For most researchers concerned with changing practice, the failure to make a significant impact is attributed to those who practice in education, whilst those in…

Suggests that the results of research and the practice of teaching are related in many more ways than as a dialogue between a psychologist and a teacher. (Author)

Purposes and methods of attracting articles on educational research to the Journal of Teacher Education are discussed. Three research-oriented formats are introduced that will appear in future issues: (1) Teacher Education Research Commentaries; (2) Research Briefs; and (3) research articles. (FG)

There has been an increasing focus on evidence-based practices in special education with efforts underway to authoritatively identify those practices that are evidence based. However, the identification of evidence-based practices is only the beginning of the process of implementing evidence-based special education. The professional wisdom of…

This digest looks at research findings and instructional applications of effective teacher presentation skills. Research has identified five critical skills: eliciting frequent responses, maintaining an appropriate pace during the lesson, maintaining attention, monitoring student responses and adjusting the lesson, and ensuring all students an…

This paper makes a case for the existence and study of the wisdom of practice by looking at educational practitioners' concepts as its locus and source. (These concepts may also be described as the accumulated "folk wisdom" of the teaching community). These communal concepts, part of an accumulated lore regarding teaching and education…

The movement of research findings from the university to the public school has historically been slow. A random sample of educational researchers and school superintendents were surveyed to determine (1) how superintendents and educational researchers actually perceive responsibility for implementation of research findings, and (2) if the results…

Suggests that what is needed in education is more, not less, research directed at the improvement of instruction and of the schooling experience for children. Such research should be made programmatic, systematic, useful, and cumulative. (Author/AM)

Despite declining public confidence in the schools, education does make a difference in both intellectual and monetary terms. A number of changes are needed, however, including better integration of educational research and practice with other social services, and the development of a more useful system of educational research and development.…

In reaction to presentations at the Airlie House Conference on the Implications of Research on Teaching for Practice, two papers (by O. Smith and N. L. Gage, respectively) discuss how far research on teaching has come as a field, while a third (by G. D. Fenstermacher) explains how implications of research on teaching can be used. (MP)

Commentary from the point of view of an applied psychologist considers the findings of five papers in this special issue on cognitive development, exploring how the contributions of each study or analysis could be used in real instruction. Some areas on which to focus applied research are discussed. (SLD)