Argues that defining "progress" is fundamental to understanding how effective educational research is in improving practice. Discusses the problem of partial specification and its consequences for defining the research-practice relationship. Presents three different, but complementary, approaches to defining "progress":…

Feedback is discussed in relation to measuring the change process, a three-step procedure of dialogue, decision-making, and action-taking. Measurement problems resulting from feedback are presented. (AG)

There are two reasons that ethnographic research in education produces good results but has a bad reputation. First is the way that scientific research has been used to justify the faults of educational institutions. Second is the inability of ethnographic research to be useful to educational practitioners. (Author/GC)

A CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN MUSIC EDUCATION SPONSORED BY THE USOE AND THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY WAS HELD IN COLUMBUS, OHIO, FEBRUARY 26 THROUGH MARCH 4, 1967. THE CONFERENCE WAS DEVELOPED BECAUSE OF CONCERNS ABOUT THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF RESEARCH IN MUSIC EDUCATION. THE PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE WAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR THE…

Much institutional research is carried out at great cost but has little continued impact on institutions of higher education. Some of the barriers to the effective use of research and the experience of institutional research at the Open University of Great Britain are discussed. (JMD)

This inquiry was conducted to develop indigenous research methodology aimed at minimizing the gap between educational research and practice. The intent was not to produce a final or complete solution to the problem, but rather to suggest a procedure which would provide partial closure. Alternative methods, including various types of linkage…

The purpose of this paper is to offer an alternative explanation of why the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, and educational research in general, has such a low status and its connection to education reform is so remote. Emphasis placed on the differences that divide reformers, researchers, and educators instead of similarities that…

The changing role of research in curriculum development since the late 1950's is reviewed. Factors are discussed that have affected the prevailing attitudes toward research and its value, including its role in fields other than education and the mixed success with which various research and development models have met in education. Particular…

Educational research is not having the impact on teaching practice that it could and should be having. In the past fifteen years, a four-tier pattern has emerged, with each tier more complex and revealing than the one before. Earlier researchers focused on description and differentiation in their studies, building a body of knowledge that could be…

Decision-oriented inquiries emanate from a specific need for information and are conducted under a number of constraints. Conclusion-oriented research originates with the researcher and can be pursued in ways decided on by the researcher. Two examples of decision-oriented evaluation studies conducted by school districts and the relationships…

Protests the trend to turn cultural analysis into a managerial tool by arguing that our research on school culture has only skimmed the cultural surface, and demonstrating the promise of language analysis for research on school culture. (BJV)

An international colloquium, held in Bucharest, Romania, in November, 1980, brought together educational researchers and persons responsible for educational policies and programs. They examined ways and means of making research more relevant to socioeconomic development and of increasing the internal effectiveness of education. Topics of…

Explores the opportunities and problems inherent in the working relationship between sociologists and educators. Examines the ways that educational sociologists can participate in linking research, policy, and practice. Posits three requirements for productive collaboration between educators and sociologists: multilingualism, mutual programs, and…

This article discusses the problem of translating research results into special education practices. It stresses that achieving effective research in schools requires extensive collaboration between researchers and practitioners, and outlines the role of researchers, practitioners, faculty in teacher preparation programs, state departments of…

Seven papers on educational research and educational improvement are presented. Robert Glaser, in the introduction, states that efforts to realize our aspirations for educational change, as well as in the social surroundings and public attitudes that aid school reforms, can be greatly assisted through research. John B. Carroll discusses…