In this essay we begin with a discussion of what we call the "great gap" between our research and its influence on society. We point out that although there is ample evidence speaking to these areas, a lack of societal change suggests that evidence has largely gone unnoticed, ignored, or not well promoted or disseminated. Throughout this…

This essay offers a framework for broader community involvement as a means of increasing the relevance and usefulness of evidence developed. This essay begins by defining key concepts related to democratizing the development of evidence. The sections that follow outline a logic model that calls for a bidirectional, iterative set of core activities…

The challenges of transforming our educational systems to fulfill enduring needs for equity, justice, and responsiveness will take a multitude of partners. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) arrange collaboration and engagement with research to bring about shared commitments and resources to tackle these challenges. Just as sociocultural and…

Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah's article, "The New Territory of Educational Research in TESOL/TEFL: What Novice Researchers Should Know", provides a comprehensive guide for novice researchers in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). It emphasises the importance of research…

The Evidence to Action project (2019-2021), led by MDRC and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and supported by Arnold Ventures, initiated a body of work designed to disentangle the barriers that exist between research and state-level higher education policy and partnered with state higher education agencies to…

Education researchers have been impacted by COVID-19 as school closures interrupted ongoing education research, including clinical trials, case study and ethnographic inquiry in schools, and longitudinal studies using federal, state, or district administrative data. The recommendations we present here focus on immediate and future actions…

The puzzle of how to connect research with policy and practice is a vital area for scientific inquiry. The William T. Grant Foundation believes that attempts to improve the use of research evidence in policy and practice should be subject to rigorous theory building and empirical analysis. The stakes are high for the research community: If we do…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Survey of Evidence in Education for Schools (SEE-S) Descriptive Report." In the United States, increased pressure through accountability policy and through the production and dissemination of scientifically based research are intended to create conditions for improving research use.…

Research influences policy more often than much of the academic community thinks, and more frequently every day. But its influence is less linear than researchers expect, and it is driven as much by relationships and organizational capacity as by the actual information studies produce. Research use operates through conversations, not code;…

There is an ongoing debate about how best to infuse "evidence" into school evaluation and reform efforts, and what role education researchers can play in this effort. A lot of support has been garnered for evidence-based reform or policies that place a premium on practices that have been proven effective using rigorous research methods;…

The National Academy of Education (NAEd) undertook this consensus report on the evaluation and improvement of teacher preparation programs (TPPs). Specifically, this consensus report aims to (1) identify and disseminate best practices for evaluating and improving TPPs to promote teacher effectiveness and student achievement; (2) provide…

A key job of education policymakers is to make decisions under uncertainty. They must weigh the risks, rewards, and costs of different interventions, policies, and mixes of resources, and make decisions even when the likely outcome is uncertain. How policymakers think about and deal with uncertainty has important implications for resource…

Every year the federal government spends more than $600 billion on grants to fund programs and services in education, social sectors, and health. When deliberating such commitments, policymakers weigh evidence from research, practice, and their own experience while also navigating political pressure, the demands of their constituents, and…

Academic research often does not find its way into the policy arena because of the nature of the work. Policymakers often find journal articles and academic books too long, difficult to understand, and lacking in policy-relevant ideas and recommendations. This article provides suggestions to academic and other researchers on how to make their…

The eight presidential addresses included in this essay, delivered between 1923 and 2009, focus wholly or partly on education politics and policy. Although they reflect their different intellectual and social times, they share a dominant theme in documenting the shifting and uneasy relationship between research and education policy. Presidents…