In some countries it is common for policy makers to advocate research use by practitioners as a means to bring about school development. Yet, despite their increasing sophistication, the enactment of protocols for using research is problematic and, even in optimal environments, practitioners have difficulty mobilising research findings to improve…

Research Informed Teaching Practice has become a fundamental aspect of educational reform in the modern world, aiding the development and improvement of teaching and learning, decision-making and the school improvement agenda in general. This article presents the findings from a small-scale study across three infant schools in England involving 15…

The San Diego City Schools Research Cooperative is an attempt to integrate the work of practitioners, researchers, and community members to meet the individual needs of each group while providing programmatic, practical research findings to district officials. This paper discusses issues pertaining to the development of a research cooperative: the…

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…

This paper contains a mission statement and overview of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education's (NCRVE) agenda for 1993. The first part outlines the goals and programs of NCRVE's six research and development areas: the economic context of vocational education; the institutional context of vocational education; curriculum and…

To talk about the dissemination of research is to talk about the relationship between theory and practice. A body of empirical and conceptual knowledge has accumulated in an area known as the dissemination and utilization of scientific knowledge. Researchers and practitioners will interact at two points: as the knowledge base is transferred, and…

This paper makes a case that when teachers and school leaders (administrators) engage in site-based action research they become more efficacious leaders. This paper reviews eight years of research work of site-based research projects completed by school-based personnel as well as the experiences of teachers and school administrators who have…

The Research and Development Exchange (RDx) is a network of eight regional educational laboratories, one university-based research and development center, and a consortium of seven state education agencies working to support state and local school improvement efforts. The RDx has four goals, designed to support dissemination and school improvement…

Describes some projects of the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development and discusses how that research attempts to effect change in the processes of teaching and learning. (SK)

Discussed are three issues in early childhood education that have been addressed extensively by the research literature, namely: (1) the risks of early academic pressures on young children; (2) the importance of play in early childhood education; and (3) interaction as the context for early learning. Several reasons that child development and…

Discusses the need for new mechanisms and institutions to cope with crises brought about by rapid societal change. (GB)

This paper describes the need for a regional dissemination system; the conceptualization of the Southwest Educational Development Labortory (SEDL) Regional Exchange as part of the nation-wide Research and Development Exchange (RDx); and the operation of the SEDL Regional Exchange (RX). It emphasizes that the Research and Development Exchange is…

A series of 17 generalizations describes the educational research enterprise in the United States under four headings: Organizational patterns, training programs, dissemination techniques, and the relationship of research to practice. Eight summary statements outline the primary implications of these generalizations and define educational research…

Research as a means to advocacy is discussed in this commentary on the research articles published in volume 16, issue 3 of "Remedial and Special Education." The role of quantitative and qualitative methods is considered, along with the researcher's ideological perspectives on research, and the importance of generating knowledge that promotes…

In this address before the American Educational Research Association, the director of the National Institute of Education discusses the leadership role of that agency in educational improvement and emphasizes the importance of cooperation between research and practice communities, between administrators and policymakers, and among federal, state,…