Seventeen years ago Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) published the landmark article "Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy," giving a coherent theoretical statement for resource pedagogies that had been building throughout the 1970s and 1980s. I, like countless teachers and university-based researchers, have been inspired by what it means…

The authors, present and recent presidents of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), discuss that organization's endorsement of federal funding for long-term, large-scale educational research and development and its insistence that current competition for funding be both fair and open. (GC)

Describes administrative changes at the National Institute of Education (NIE) over the last four years and relates these to NIE's recent revision of its peer review system. Briefly describes changes in peer review and asserts that the new system provides researchers great opportunity for participation in maintaining quality research. (KH)

Discusses the functions of educational research. Examines differences between decision-oriented research and conclusion-oriented research. Urges researchers to improve the quality of their writing. (FMW)

Areas of need in educational research are discussed: (1) assessment of student achievement; (2) necessary content area skills; (3) traits of outstanding teachers; (4) how to teach higher order thinking skills; (5) effective computer use; (6) skills to enhance worker productivity; (7) sound investments for education; (8) effective methods of…

Responds to Sue Klein's comparative analysis on Design Competitions and Expert Panels (Educational Research, 1997) in which the author addresses drawbacks of the Expert Panels approach to educational product evaluation. Cautions that the approach is so minimalist a strategy that it could inhibit more serious attempts to build a system based on…

Proposes the need for a design competition system (DCS) in federally funded educational research and development and discusses the key issues that a DCS must address in methodology. Also addresses the high cost of using a DCS and whether such costs can be justified. Concludes that a DCS is justified and necessary. (GR)

Examines the structure of Indian teacher education, current criticisms of it, and the themes of research and innovation. Identifies many parallels between North American and Indian practices and asserts that, like the American system, the structure of Indian teacher education lacks mechanisms to promote experimentation and research. (KH)

Suggests that policymakers and educators take advantage of the present opportunity to alter fundamentally the nation's understanding of the role and importance of education research in achieving education improvement. Discusses the need for restructuring the federal research program and calls for the creation of the National Institutes for…