Purpose: This paper has a twofold purpose: (1) to demonstrate, largely with historical evidence, that, contrary to what some have argued, thinking about educational research articulated at the start of the twenty-first century was not really "new wine in new bottles" but, rather, a continuation of the so-called paradigm wars about,…

Provides an overview of this special issue of "Educational Researcher" whose research articles critique the recommendations from the 1996 National Education Summit on education and the popular educational reform strategies. Articles address subjects such as charter schools, parental involvement, alternative certification, educational…

This article briefly reviews the central ideas associated with the notion of systemic reform and indicates how these ideas are manifested in the draft of the National Science Education Standards. The draft is critiqued and what the critique suggests about the viability and utility of the notion of systemic reform is considered. The discussion…

Highlights several articles that raise questions about the role of research in educational reform. These articles argue over the use of National Assessment of Educational Progress results for accountability purposes; and the advisability of using cost-benefit analysis in critiquing educational reform proposals, and particularly, in evaluating the…

Reviews "On Claims That Answer the Wrong Questions" (James Greeno, 1997) that argues differences between situative and cognitive views of learning are more conceptual than empirical and suggests a need for something greater than empirical evidence to assess the relative worth between these competing perspectives. Additionally reviewed is…