In an effort to bring more knowledge about "what works" to educational practitioners, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has made significant investments in developing and disseminating focused, rigorous research projects in order to increase the supply of and demand for this research in educational decision making. These efforts…

Discusses the context of a regional education service agency and presents a brief summary of the more visible of the needs of local clients from the perspective of the practitioner in the regional agency. (VT)

Proceedings of the Conference on "The Public Interest vis a vis Educational R & D, held at Airlie House, Warrenton, Virginia on July 16-17, 1969 with the cooperation of the U.S. Office of Education.

By 1969-70 it was clear to a number of development communities at both the state and federal level that education didn't need more programs, but more programs that work. Research and development products that address a wide variety of local needs were available. Over the past four or five years, more research and development funding has been used…

To determine whether the content of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory's (AEL) Regional Exchange, which is published as a regional insert to a quarterly magazine entitled the Educational R&D Report, is geared to its target audiences, a content analysis was conducted on five of the AEL inserts. The research questions formulated for the…

Evaluations by school district research and evaluation units have minimal impact, because they do not meet the realities of school district decision making. School districts are loosely coupled systems that do not respond to centralized planning or evaluations, particularly if findings are unfavorable. To maximize utilization of their findings,…

An overview is presented of decision-oriented educational research, based on experiences in a large urban school district and on the literature. Alternative definitions of research use and evaluation use are discussed, with particular attention to the dissemination of research outcomes. (GDC)

This paper argues that a mix of expertise is required to develop curricula and adapt them successfully to local school districts and outlines the strategies involved in using linking agents or agencies to bridge the gap between research and development (R & D) agencies and local school districts. After an introduction, the second section of…

Selected issues in educational research and development are discussed as they relate to local educational agencies and institutions of higher education. Local education agencies are defined as public supported schools (elementary, middle/jr. high and high schools) and institutions of higher education as state supported colleges and universities…

How can research and practice can be linked together to improve vocational education? Vocational education researchers should conduct research that can directly benefit policy makers and practitioners and present their findings in ways that influence the improvement of policy and practice. Three basic assumptions need to be recognized: (1) the…

This presentation discusses the products the South Carolina Department of Education derives from that State's management information system and traces the processes used to deliver those products to local school districts. Emphasis is on a description of the technical assistance the State department of education provides the local school district…

This handbook is designed to help state and local vocational education evaluators and persons using evaluation results by presenting strategies and procedures for improved use of vocational education evaluation results. It is divided into five sections, followed by a glossary and annotated bibliographies. Chapter 1 contains an overview of the…

This volume is designed to achieve several objectives--to produce for educational leaders an up-to-date synthesis on the role of linking agents and agencies in educational improvement activities and, in the process, to identify and discuss important knowledge utilization issues of interest to the research, development, and training communities; to…

Actual and potential relationships between evaluators and linkers--curriculum or management specialists who disseminate the products of evaluation to school districts--were explored. Evaluation and linkage evolved as distinct educational occupations, stimulated by federal involvement in research, development, and school improvement since the early…

This book contains a series of articles which grow out of the assumption that American public schools and teacher-training institutions can and will renew themselves and adapt to the needs of a changing society. A further assumption is that an emerging new discipline -- educational development -- can play a catalytic role in the change process…