The neo-liberal restructuring of academia justifies research concerning what constitutes academic work, what it means to be an academic researcher and how researchers manoeuvre in academia. The aim of this article is to investigate how this reshaping of higher education affects how research careers are formed and impacts on "becoming…

FIVE MAJOR TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL SETTINGS FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ARE IDENTIFIED BY S.D. SIEBER--(1) UNIVERSITY BASED, (2) REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES, (3) STATE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION, (4) LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS, AND (5) PRIVATE TESTING AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS. FOUR PROBLEM AREAS RELATED TO EACH SETTING ARE DEALT WITH BY N.L.…

Presents excerpts from a symposium in Charlottesville (VA) at which researchers, policymakers, and journalists discussed educational issues and the relationship of research to reform. Discusses issues concerning communication problems between groups and why it is important to keep talking with each other. Explores ways of improving the…

Explores reasons for the tenuous relationship between educational research and educational practice. Suggests changes in research and policy to bring educational research directly to bear on educational problems. The major problem is that researchers are searching for variables that relate to improved outcomes, whereas educational innovators are…

Argues that geography education lacks empirical data that might inform and underpin decisions about standards setting, curriculum design, materials development, teaching strategies, and assessment procedures. Identifies four needs: (1) a new attitude toward research; (2) baseline studies; (3) a research agenda; and (4) a research clearinghouse.…

The Coalition of Essential Schools is involved in a 3-year study to translate collaborative inquiry into a research process to simultaneously build schools' capacities for change. A current collaborative project is described, with a dialog between a principal, a teacher, and a researcher who are engaged in a process of school improvement. Members…

States White, Eurocentric, normative orientation research on people of color has presented a deficit model of the Afro-American. Advocates new research theories and fewer static research methods. Considers an Afrocentric perspective to research, offering a framework for social research for Blacks rather than about them. (NL)

Proceedings of the 1979 conference of the Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR) are presented. The conference theme was the future of institutional research. Contents include reports of preconference workshops, speeches, panel reports, abstracts of papers, and reports pertaining to the affairs of the SAIR. Documents and authors…