By any metric, the twentieth century university was a successful institution. However, in the twenty-first century, ongoing neoliberal educational reform has been accompanied by a growing epistemological crisis in the meaning and value of the humanities and social sciences (HaSS). Concerns have been expressed in two main forms. The governors of…

This paper presents an update of a 2010-literature review on class size research completed as background in preparation of an affidavit on class size provided by the lead author in the case of "British Columbia Teachers' Federation v. British Columbia," argued before the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2010, appealed ultimately to…

This report presents data on peer-reviewed S&E journals and conference proceedings reflecting the rapidly expanding volume of research activity, the involvement and scientific capabilities different countries, and the expanding research ecosystem demonstrated through international collaborations. Publication output grew about 4% annually over…

This Policy Snapshot defines and explores statewide longitudinal data systems, as well as relevant 2016 and 2017 legislation.

Learning analytics provide a set of powerful tools to inform and support learners. They enable institutions and individuals to better understand and predict personal learning needs and performance. Universities already collect vast amounts of data about their student populations, but often this is underutilised. The current "state of the…

Grounded in critical policy theories and democratic conceptions of research, case studies of three community-based organizations, one in Canada and two in the U.S., were analyzed to determine if and how the groups engaged with research in their efforts to influence education policy. The findings demonstrate that the community-based organizations…

The implementation of evidence-based psychological programming to meet the needs of a global population has been impeded by the translation of theories and research findings across populations and settings without due consideration of cultural factors. The purpose of this article is to discuss the rationale for use of partnership-based methods in…

Current changes affecting education systems have impacted teaching work as a whole. The concept of teachers' and establishments' effectiveness was introduced to operationalise an approach that is dominated by the cost-benefit model. This article uses this premise to suggest an analysis of the social value of teaching work, and more specifically…

Educational effectiveness research (EER) has accumulated much knowledge in the areas of school effectiveness research (SER), teacher effectiveness research (TER) and school/system improvement research (SSIR). Yet many schools and educational systems are not making enough use of the material and their insights. The article reviews evidence of…

The article "Getting lost in translation" by Harris, Chapman, Muijs and Reynolds addresses the engagement of policy-makers and educational practitioners with (the results of) educational effectiveness and improvement research. In this commentary the article is discussed from the perspectives of research utilisation, the solidity of the…

Increase in numbers of postgraduate students worldwide represent an opportunity and necessity for nurturing and recognising the diversity of culturally inflected research topics, methodologies and expression. However, there are tensions in the definitions, encouragement and recognition of diversity in theses, and in balances of power in…

In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) hosted a Forum, Emphasizing Evidence-Based Programs for Children and Youth, to convene the nation's leading practitioners and researchers with experience using and evaluating an array of evidence-based…

The current educational policy climate in the USA places immense pressure on school district central offices to use evidence to inform their decisions in order to improve student learning. In light of both the expectations of evidence-based decision making and the significance of central offices in supporting teaching and learning, there is…

Educational action is a species of praxis in both an Aristotelian sense and a post-Marxian sense: in the first, it involves the morally informed and committed action of the individual practitioners who practise education; in the second, it helps to shape social formations and conditions for collectivities of people. In this paper, it is argued…

In February 2009, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) commissioned RAND Europe to review approaches to evaluating the impact of research as part of their wider work programme to develop new arrangements for the assessment and funding of research--referred to as the Research Excellence Framework (REF). The objectives were 1) to…