In a survey of educational researchers, school and district administrators, and policymakers, 1,818 respondents rated educational practices and policies according to their influence on learning and assessability. Classroom practices, design and delivery of curriculum, and schoolwide practices were rated as more influential than federal, state, and…

Empirical research in education seems to have an international tendency to concentrate on problems that can be grasped adequately. But that approach tends to direct more research to smaller and smaller areas, where results are more precise but more irrelevant for the complex practice of education. To try to bridge this gap between research and…

The objectives of the program were to develop personnel capable of (1) upgrading existing educational curricula through research, (2) seeking better educational practices through empirical knowledge in the use of research techniques to improve classroom instruction, (3) applying research methods to provide insights into sociological problems…

The basic goal of the "linkage agent" or research utilization agent is to facilitate the use of educational research and development to improve educational practice. This task may be conceptualized by a "system" or a "process" model. Successful work in the field of research utilization must encompass elements of both models. In this context, the…

Describes the policy changes in early childhood development in South Africa since 1994. Examines changes in Norther Province based on discussions by a group of teacher-practitioners and highlights the actions necessary to develop and implement the policies. Discusses the methodology of the change process, with particular reference to the role of…

Six teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders were observed during reading instruction and interviewed. Three teachers provided some reading instruction that was documented as effective and designed to meet students' needs. Controlling student behavior through isolating students, providing extensive time for worksheets, and negative…

As part of the efforts of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) in support of the national goals for education (America 2000), staff members are cataloguing and synthesizing research to connect it to federal practice. This paper presents the basic argument that synthesizing research and translating it into practice-oriented…

Currently, findings of educational research are of little consequence to the curricular/instructional decisions of social studies teachers. Four basic conditions have created this inconsistency. (1) Since social studies teaching takes place among value and factual assumptions, decisions about educational practice are based more on value judgments…

The process of education will be fully understood only by studying it as a process, as a few anthropologists and sociologists have begun to do. The problems of inner city education need more such studies, especially longitudinal investigations of the processes by which exceptional teachers and schools succeed in the education of impoverished…

The purpose of this document is to twofold: First, it serves to summarize and record the content and comments from the presentations and breakout sessions during the Northeastern States NCLB/IDEA Invitational State Leadership Forum: Joining Forces: High Achievement For Each and Every Student, September 27-28, 2005. Secondly, it hopes to capture…

A follow-up was conducted 10 years after a study of teacher evaluation practices in the 100 largest US school districts to determine changes since 1987. Responses from 68 districts show that teacher evaluation practices and policies at the local level usually still do not incorporate important research findings. (SLD)

This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…

In the 2008-09 school year researchers from EdSource and Stanford University conducted a large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. The team surveyed 303 principals, 3,752 English Language Arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents of the districts and charter management organizations that oversee the…

Chapters in this book, based on the efforts of the Urban Education National Network Task Force, define the nature of obstacles to the academic performance of urban students and identify, validate, and disseminate a knowledge base of theory and practice to inform decision making about urban schools. The chapters are: (1) "The Nature of the…

Development has traditionally been seen as part of a one-way street running from the researcher to the practitioner. Studies of the "mutual adaptation" of development products undercut this view of development and suggest that it should be seen as a two-way street that takes into account the practical knowledge of teachers and administrators. A…