The field of learning analytics was founded with the goal to harness vast amounts of data about learning collected by the extensive use of technology. After the early formation, the field has now entered the next phase of maturation with a growing community who has an evident impact on research, practice, policy, and decision-making. Although…

Scientific modeling has been advocated as one of the core practices in recent science education policy initiatives. In modeling-based instruction (MBI), students use, construct, and revise models to gain scientific knowledge and inquiry skills. Oftentimes, the benefits of MBI have been documented using assessments targeting students' conceptual…

Government agencies and professional organizations have attempted to improve education research by creating common standards for judging research quality. However, the absence of agreement regarding research quality has limited the effectiveness of this approach. This article argues that, rather than focusing on standards, policy makers should…

This paper uses business management analysis to review the belief systems that have dominated educational research in the past and those that dominate today. Examples of current beliefs which lead educational research into unproductive channels are given. Developing useful myths is discussed. (Author/MT)

Proposes model, based on Kuhn's paradigmatic epistemology, for employing the scientific method in education. Model acknowledges that all scientific knowledge is social knowledge derived through social processes and allows for all scientific truths to be subjected to constant scrutiny and reviews by both practitioners and scientists. (CMG)

Suggests that the absence of conceptually based research in science education may derive from an attempt to conduct scientific research based on misperceptions of the nature of science and an inability to identify a suitable conceptual model. Suggests that Ausubel's model of meaningful learning may serve as a candidate for a science education…

The article states a need for two kins of educational research and evaluation, one which derives from scientific methodology and one which derives from aesthetic and humanistic criticism. (CD)

The workings of schools have not received the attention due them in the study of educational administration. We need to generate new "images" or models of school organization that are more congruent with reality. These models need to be refined through expression and discussion and selected and changed through scientific methodology.…

Author expresses concern about a number of problems inherent in the DD and A processes as they now exist in education and feels that educational practitioners making changes and innovations need to be protected from research and evaluation reports of poor quality. (Author/MB)

This introductory chapter addresses the question of whether the field of instructional development is a science, an art, or some combination of the two. It is suggested that the field is not merely a collection of flow charts, diagrams, and techniques, but a unified whole, to be understood first in terms of its underlying research foundation,…

Reviews and criticizes papers by Rist, Fienberg, and Erickson in this issue of the Quarterly. (JM)

Discusses a focal issue in the public relations field: the way that practitioners use academic theories. Offers an exploration of the possible modes of use of academic or scientific theory in public relations practice. Notes that the premise of this model is that scientific knowledge is seldom used in an unaltered form in practice. Closes by…

Concludes that if we do find ourselves in a situation of multiple paradigmatic perspectives on educational research, then it is not appropriate to think in the near future of there being a 'ground synthesis' of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. If the two major paradigms do exist as outlined here, and neither finds its present framework…

The scientific method is described as intending to be the guarantor of objectivity, neutrality, and diligent application of its rigorous procedures and to produce a body of cumulative knowledge that is systematic and general. The central argument of this essay addresses the discovery that research findings appear to be context-dependent; methods…

The activities and research directions of the Educational Search Strategies project are outlined in this progress report. A pilot project was undertaken to study the development of problems into research projects. The research was to be divided into three areas: problem perception and problem definition, information search and dissemination, and…