Cynthia Coburn and Erica Turner have made an important contribution by developing a framework to synthesize the various strands of research and theory related to data use in schools. The framework illustrates the complexity of the pathways between the adoption of a data-use intervention and the attainment of desired outcomes, and it clarifies the…

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third issue brief in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards,…

Problem Statement: The current higher learning institutions in developed countries have adapted to their changing role in a knowledge-based society It is time for developing countries like India to focus on Knowledge Management thus, the current study presents research undertaken in understanding the implication of Knowledge Management in the…

This dissertation research investigated undergraduates' academic information behaviors in the modern digital age to identify their perspective on the role of the academic library in their academic life. The research examined usage of a broad range of information sources and means to access, selection criteria, and obstacles encountered during…

Using a case study, the complex challenge of making mathematics education research accessible to secondary mathematics teachers was addressed with two questions. How can we design a method that will meet the challenge of making research usable for mathematics teachers? And what would this method be? To address this challenge we describe a process…

In their opening comments to this special issue on data use, Coburn and Turner point to "one of the most central questions in social theory: the interrelationship between macro-social structure and micro-level action." Questions about data use--which entail social phenomena that range from federal policy to moment-to-moment interactions…

Surveys and benchmarks continue to grow in importance for community colleges in response to several factors. One is the press for accountability, that is, for colleges to report the outcomes of their programs and services to demonstrate their quality and prudent use of resources, primarily to external constituents and governing boards at the state…

A focus group of 49 teachers revealed that teachers do use research, but they seek it out under very specific conditions. They also use different criteria than researchers use to judge the quality of research. For teachers, important factors include an ethos of localized learning, a shortage of time, and the primacy of local context. Researchers…

Drawing on the authors' experience in the international Campbell Collaboration, this essay presents a principled and pragmatic approach to evidence-informed decisions about child welfare. This approach takes into account the growing body of empirical evidence on the reliability and validity of various methods of research synthesis. It also…

A variety of sources can help school business managers find the information and data they need to make informed decisions. The purpose of this article is to increase one's awareness of sources that one might use to access desired educational information. The author aims to introduce sources that can help alleviate some of the costs associated with…

In this article, the author discusses how learning to effectively conduct, analyze, and present research has had an impact on her academic success, her ongoing development as an ESL teacher, and her proposals and protocols as the ESL department coordinator at an adult school in the Bay Area. The author triangulates these 3 areas of impact to…

While much research utilisation literature shows an increasing emphasis on the added value of structural partnerships, which should facilitate prolonged interactions between researchers, policy makers and professionals, the question of how such collaborative structures "develop over time" and what consequences that has in terms of…

This chapter discusses frameworks and conceptual lenses that help orient design-based implementation research (DBIR) work to the types of infrastructure required for success, while contributing to theories about the processes of educational improvement. Such infrastructures can be conceived as a framework: a set of interconnected elements that…

This study examined the effects of scientifically research based (SRB) teaching strategies on the learning of students living in poverty in a Educational Service Center (ESC) Region VI of East Texas. By interviewing teachers within academically successful campuses with high economically disadvantaged student populations, an accurate assessment was…

In April and May of 2012, the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Research conducted a survey of users of archives to learn more about their habits and preferences. In particular, they focused on the roles that social media, recommendations, reviews, and other forms of user-contributed annotation play in archival research. OCLC surveyed faculty,…