In an effort to bring more knowledge about "what works" to educational practitioners, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has made significant investments in developing and disseminating focused, rigorous research projects in order to increase the supply of and demand for this research in educational decision making. These efforts…

The Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) at the University of Chicago was founded in 1990, two years after the passage of the Chicago School Reform Act that decentralized governance of the city's public schools. Since then, CCSR has distinguished itself as a unique organization, conducting research of high technical quality that is…

This chapter examines lessons learned by states that are using student unit record (SUR) data to improve outcomes for community college students and recommends steps states can take to strengthen their use of SUR databases to benefit students and communities. (Contains 1 exhibit.)

This article describes the breadth of federal support for educational knowledge production and application. Support from the Education Division of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare is discussed in detail. (Author/MC)

Using five research topics mainly in educational administration as illustrations, the author describes some of the processes of Chilean educational research and questions concerning its impact on educational policy. (SJL)

The focus of this paper is on the research/policy linkage, within the complex educational administrative structure and pluralistic informal power structure which characterize Thai research. Thailand has experienced some success in building analytical educational research capacity and ensuring its utilization. Lessons to be learned from this…

Vocational rehabilitation agencies throughout the U.S. employed research utilization specialists as part of a national demonstration project. The nature and scope of this program's effort to link rehabilitation practitioners to research and other information is reported, including the RUS's goals, roles, and functions; training provided; skills…

In the United States, recent educational research and development efforts reflect an overriding concern for maximizing these impact areas on practice, as illustrated by five thrusts: development work; evaluation; fundamental research; dissemination; and attention to the process of social inquiry. The complexity of American education makes research…

The following issues are considered: the functions of educational research, the kinds of educational investigations conducted in Poland, ways of disseminating educational findings, and the organisation of research in Poland. The paper ends with a discussion of some of the more important conclusions reached. (Author)

In a review of the challenges to progress in providing social research evidence that might usefully inform policy, Oakley (2004) argues strongly that the "paradigm divide" between qualitative and quantitative research communities continues to constitute a major problem. Oakley refers to a number of recent critiques of what is seen as "misplaced…

An experience in attempting to transform research into practice is described, with questions raised about the relationship between research and practice. The author begins by describing the two research traditions which exerted the most force on the design of the program. How the philosophy and findings of those traditions were interpreted and…

Basic science is a process by which new knowledge is discovered; engineering is the process by which this new knowledge is made useful for practical situations or to solve particular problems. In education, new products are developed, research is completed, and the knowledge base is expanded, but there is no corollary to the engineer to make…

Described in this document are ways the Tennessee Research Coordinating Unit (RCU) utilizes the services of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). Topics covered include: (1) About ERIC and Microfiche, (2) Who ERIC Helps, (3) ERIC and Other Information Products on File in the RCU Library, (4) How To Use ERIC, and (5) Query--A…

Three forms of research activity are defined: free, policy-oriented, and development. In the United Kingdom, structures for each have developed rapidly in the past 20 years. Present weaknesses are lack of collaboration between research institutions and the small scale of financial support. (Author/SJL)

The Childhood Education Program is a teacher education effort based upon long-term field experience, substantive areas of study (curriculum, methods, etc., taught over a long period of time) and a seminar that acts as psychological "home base" for socializing, problem discussion, suggestions, complaints, and recordkeeping. (MB)