Describes the action research model used by the Pennsylvania Action Research Network, summarizes impact evaluation results since 1995, and concludes that the network has had a major impact on the professional development of adult educators in the state. (SK)

The National Research Council proposes to improve student learning through its Strategic Education Research Program. With its focus on effective translation of research into practice, the proposal fails to acknowledge the public and professional value of research as a source of understanding, reflection, and action. Presents educational,…

Practices to ensure access of students with disabilities to general education include assessments, reading instruction, cooperative learning, strategy-based instruction, accommodation practices, block scheduling, co-teaching, and technology. Organizational and systemic change should be the ultimate outcome of the use of research-based practices.…

Discusses some of the processes involved in the data flow from U.S. schools through U.S. school districts and examines what is involved in making the data as accurate as possible. Explores how the data, as information, can flow back down to districts and how that flow can be increased. (SLD)

Compares Carr and Kemmis' view of action research, linked to the emancipatory political ideology of critical theory, with Dewey's pragmatic epistemology, focused on moving from a problem identified in experience through a means-end continuum that guides inquiry. (Contains 28 references.) (SK)

A 20-year review of literature on return to work outcomes for ill or injured persons found that research is largely atheoretical and the knowledge base fragmented. The Occupational Competence Model can fill this gap by reflecting the multidimensional nature of work disability (personal, environmental, and occupational dimensions) and factors…

Today's brain research is unveiling new information that supports and advocates for the methodologies and practices seen in technology education laboratories. Technology educators must keep current in order to apply this information in teaching. (JOW)

If vocational psychology is to realize its potential as a developmental science, it must speak authoritatively on substantive questions of vocational development and integrate research findings with those of other fields. This will contribute to the larger framework of life-span human development. (Contains 36 references.) (Author/SK)

This article describes what a structured abstract is and how a structured abstract can help researchers sort out information. Today over 1,000 education journals publish more than 20,000 articles in the English language each year. No systematic tool is available at present to get the research findings from these tens of thousands of articles to…

Background: There will always be a place for stuttering treatments designed to eliminate or reduce stuttered speech. When those treatments are required, direct speech measures of treatment process and outcome are needed in clinical practice. Aims: Based on the contents of published clinical trials of such treatments, three "core" measures of…

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has increasingly been put forth as a new paradigm of social work practice. One of the critical elements of EBP is the ability of consumers of research to be able to critically appraise research evidence. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the extent to which an introductory MSW research methods…

Our goal is to deconstruct the text formed by practitioners' narratives about the use of the claim "It's research based" to understand both how this claim is used and received by practitioners and how it may impact on teachers' attitudes. We map a range of differences in these narratives about what is "real" (research versus…

The concern that educational research is often divorced from the problems and issues of everyday teaching practice, is strongly influenced by the chosen paradigm in which the research is framed. Modelled on design-based research methods, this paper presents the development of a theoretical research framework that accommodates complex…

"When Research Matters" considers the complex and crucially important relationship between education research and policy. In examining how and under what conditions research affects education policy, the book focuses on a number of critical issues: the history of the federal role in education policy; the evolving nature of educational…

This article explores the applicability of interdisciplinary research on the implementation of technological innovations to the field of e-learning research. Arguing that there are important ways in which e-learning systems can be treated as "technological innovations," this article presents a review of several key theoretical and research design…