This epilogue to a series of articles addressing changes in speech-language pathology practices, discusses the influence of evidence-based approaches to clinical services. A bibliography of readings addressing English and Spanish phonology, spelling, recent regulations and guidelines, and evidence-based research and practices is appended.…

This article synthesizes key findings to facilitate the translation of research into classroom practice and provides guidelines for how effective instructional practices might be implemented, supported, and sustained in schools. Excerpts from a case study are presented to show how research-based instructional approaches translate into classroom…

Examines three international comparative research projects in higher education, commissioned by the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (Netherlands). Develops a model of the influence of research on various stages of the educational policy process, focusing on three uses of research: enlightenment, political decision making, and problem…

Explores experiences of a school board member, himself an educational researcher, that relate to the relationship between social science research and educational policymaking. Why decision makers are skeptical about the value of research in formulating policy is considered, and thoughts are presented on the future of educational research. (SLD)

Reports on a survey of 78 newspaper editors. Includes information about the types of readership research that newspapers conduct, the extent to which such research has influenced editorial decisions, and the characteristics of newspaper organizations that conduct research. Suggests that while most newspapers conduct research, the type and quality…

This article discusses teachers' ability to discriminate between effective and ineffective practices in terms of some etiological macrosystem influences and possible sequelae in practice that determine likely outcomes for teaching children and youth with disabilities. The relationship between high discriminative ability and efficient and effective…

Compares the presumption of "validity" of student evaluation of teaching quality with: (1) results of studies at the University of Washington on the influence of grade expectation and workload on student ratings; (2) attempts at the University of Rochester to use agency theory to improve teaching quality; and (3) the peer review model…

This article describes the characteristics of Participatory Research and Development (PR&D), a means of integrating research and practice by linking the university research and teacher practice. It outlines related methods and activities, details a number of qualitative findings regarding the nature of instructional change, and discusses the…

Getting answers to questions about schools and student learning requires that educators know how to collect, analyze, and interpret data. Six critical steps in this process include: posing questions, establishing judgment criteria, making a plan, gathering data, analyzing data, and interpreting results. These steps can serve as a beginning guide…

Rather than informing the teaching community about good research, five experienced teachers and three university researchers developed a discourse community around vocabulary learning to reflect on practice, engage in shared critiques, and support professional choices. In doing so, they were able to inform the research community about good…

Describes the National Network of Partnership Schools, initiated in 1996, and shows how research can be used to inform and improve educational practice by highlighting the research that resulted in the creation of the National Network. The Network presently works with over 1,100 schools, 130 districts, and 12 states. (SLD)

Asserts that the central problem of the analysis by M. Wang, G. Haertel, and H. Walberg is that they tend to view the teacher, at least implicitly, as the compliant beneficiary of the knowledge of the educational researcher. Any knowledge base that aims to affect classroom practice should take into account and respect the teacher's world.…

Asserts that because M. Wang, G. Haertel, and H. Walberg never clarify the contours of their "knowledge base for school learning," it is difficult to know what their broad-based comparison of research studies has really yielded. Explores dilemmas posed by the methodology of the study. (SLD)

Identifies gaps between what research reveals about how college students learn and current academic, pedagogical, and administrative practices and policies. Offers five explanations of why these gaps exist and suggests that change must be systemic, and will also require that people relearn their roles, systematic measurement of progress, and a…

A study explored the perceptions of 12 administrators and policy makers, 13 family members, 12 friends, and 9 adults with challenging behavior and mental retardation and/or autism, 7 researchers, and 13 teachers regarding current behavioral information and dissemination. Results indicate a continued gap between research and practice. (Contains…