Argues that the routine use of experimental or quasi experimental designs in educational research often constrains the value of its conclusions. Also critizes educational research for its atheoretical nature and its paucity of conceptual frameworks. (GC)

Because history describes and explains the past, it is a relevant tool for many other disciplines, including education. Historical studies can contribute to the improvement of schooling by providing information, demonstrating errors of memory, helping explain the present, and encouraging the introduction of new concepts. In the past, educational…