Describes four stages of policy formulation (issue definition, deliberation on policy options, authoritative allocation, and performance oversight) and four types of policy-relevant social research (descriptive, explanatory, critical, and forecasting). Proposes a model showing the linkages among research types, policy-making stages, and policy…

This chapter examines, from four perspectives, the ways in which educational research, development, and evaluation activities in the United States are organized, controlled, and supported, and considers whether research can be properly used to shape educational policy and practice. First, the size and historical development of the research and…