The rise in the influence of and spending by educational philanthropists and foundations over the past two decades, especially in the area of market-based reforms, such as charter schools, vouchers, and merit pay, is evident across the United States. Largely due to philanthropic investments, relatively new educational intermediary organizations…

District central office administrators increasingly face policy demands to use "evidence" in their decision making. These demands up the ante on education policy researchers and policy makers to better understand what evidence use in district central offices entails and the conditions that may support it. To that end, the authors conducted a…

The relationship between policy formation and research is explored. Three theories accounting for the non-utilization of research, ways in which research is utilized by administrators, and situational factors influencing use are covered. Implications for future action within an increasingly political framework are presented. (SW)

The popularity of using qualitative, or ethnographic, research methods to improve educational practices is increasing. However, an examination of how research findings are translated into policy is necessary to assess accurately the extent to which this goal can be realized. This paper assesses the efficiency of four strategies for increasing…

This paper explores ways in which practitioners can use research findings in their daily jobs--to keep up to date, to support program proposals, to substantiate budget requests, to improve selection of media, to evaluate services and communication, and to compare methods of instruction in the use of materials. Specific studies are reviewed and…

The French language article analyzes 60 research projects undertaken in an urban Quebec school board in order to describe the research which has actually been incorporated into educational policies. The article demonstrates the importance of the way in which research is produced and adopted to the circumstances at hand. (Author/SB)

The six chapters of this special issue focus on how and why educational research is, or is not, used by its intended audiences of policymakers, practitioners, and other educational researchers. Texts that accept the more traditional notions of research knowledge precede the more radical visions in this collection. (SLD)

The educational surveys of which some account is given in this bulletin do not by any means represent all the foreign investigations that have been made; it is believed, however, that they will serve to acquaint American students of education with certain foreign types, and at the same time throw some light on the history of surveys and of…

This document contains 95 papers and summaries of 5 poster sessions from an Australian conference on putting vocational education and training (VET) research to work. The following are among the areas covered in the papers: factors affecting VET graduates' employability over time; technical and further education (TAFE) institutes as models of…