In March 2014, The National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education, convened a Technical Working Group (TWG) of practitioners to provide input on research needs in education and how research could be more…

The aim of this paper is to explore the demand side of the market for educational research. That is, what types of educational research do teachers find useful for advancing their instructional practice and under what conditions do they access the research currently available? Although teachers have mixed opinions--both positive and negative--of…

Reconstructs the discussion of a high-school teacher research group. Notes that the intensity of the discussion was not unique to this group of teachers. Notes the common commitment of the teachers to reforming classroom practices and their schools as workplaces. (RS)

The limited impact of educational research on actual classroom practice is considered. It is pointed out that results of research are generally published in "prestige" journals rather than in publications teachers are likely to read. Further, it is stated that research projects are almost always generated by administrators or program directors and…

Research and practitioners are both at fault for failing to understand and communicate with each other. The result has been mutual animosity and a failure of research to bolster educational practice in the way it should. (Author/DS)

Discussion of the assessment and evaluation of educational technology focuses on appropriate research methodologies for use by elementary and secondary education teachers. Distinctions between assessment and evaluation are explained; the need for adequate planning is discussed; student benefits and attitudes are considered; and teacher needs and…

Points out that discrepancies exist in secondary and college level teachers' perceptions of what is essential for student success in college science. Stresses that more research is needed and offers participation in the National Science Teachers Association "Every Teacher A Researcher" program as one means of addressing the concern.…

A 56-item rating scale of research and evaluation competencies for vocational educators was developed. Four skill categories were included: (1) reviewing and analyzing completed research; (2) conducting research; (3) conducting evaluation; and (4) managing research and evaluation activities. Respondents were asked to rate each of the items,…

Currently, the relationship between second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign language learning (FLL) is unidirectional, with theory and hypotheses flowing from SLA to FLL, and making FLL a subset of SLA. However, this relationship is an artificial one resting on debatable or even incorrect assumptions. These include the assumptions that: (1)…

This paper examines the difficulties facing educational researchers in communicating with other professionals and with the public. Public knowledge of the schools and attitudes toward them, community relations problems, and general communications problems are discussed. A program for school researchers is recommended. (DG)

This study explored whether classroom teachers were involved in research, what role teachers should play in educational research, and what educational issues teachers think should be addressed in a newly restructured educational research infrastructure. The project included more than 6,000 educators nationwide with the majority in the Midwest.…

Staff members of a state literary resource center surveyed their practitioner clients to determine how they viewed research and the kinds of uses they made of it. Mail surveys were sent to all of the 404 adult education and English as a second language program directors in the state, and followup telephone interviews were conducted with 16 of the…

The problematic nature of research in the teaching of foreign languages discloses fundamental areas of concern, particularly related to secondary school teacher attitudes. Comments of leading researchers concerning the nature of research, purpose and design, responsibility for generation of research, and the use of research are cited extensively.…