This monograph examines a collection of empirical evaluation studies, each of which compares two or more instructional practices, techniques, or systems for teaching a particular subject or curriculum in terms of one or more quantitative indices of instructional productivity, e.g., teaching effectiveness (pupil performance), and cost factors or…

The Model Teacher Induction Project (MTIP) is a research model program for the induction of beginning teachers. The program is being field tested along with a satellite project aimed at building and studying similar staff development programs. This paper reports on what has been learned from the MTIP and its satellite effort. A review of research…

Research on teaching is a pragmatic enterprise that seeks justification in its contributions to a knowledge base for teaching and teacher education. Because professions are generally considered to be occupations that possess specialized knowledge, research on teaching is logically at the heart of discourse about teaching as a profession. This…

This paper examines the recent research on the change process, with emphasis on implementation of educational innovations, to see what messages might be implied for teachers and their teaching skills. How various aspects of the change process research lead to the identification and description of these kinds of skills for teachers are described.…

While educational research efforts have increased dramatically in Latin America in recent years, diffusion and application of the results remain severely restricted. In this chapter, national and international attention focused on educational research in Latin America from the 1950's to the present is reviewed; particular attention is paid to the…

Concepts from organizational theory are used to interpret and review major findings of school effectiveness research to develop a broader perspective for understanding school effectiveness. Results of school-effectiveness research in the Netherlands are compared with those from research in the United States and England. A more-or-less established…

The improvement of instructional methods or the solutions of problems of an instructional nature requires information that is not usually part of the Canadian common experience and must be discovered by means of research. Types of fundamental and applied research are discussed, including action, developmental, evaluation, and diagnostic research.…

This paper provides information about OERI-funded databases containing information about teachers and teaching, and offers a way of thinking about the use of these databases. It is pointed out that while the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) is committed to making its work more accessible to policy, research, and practitioner…

A study examined the impact of assuming the role of action researcher in one's own classroom as an example of inquiry-oriented, professional staff development. The study was a part of a comprehensive, longitudinal investigation of the impact of certain professional development experiences on K-12 classroom teachers. A review of the literature and…

An emphasis on full staff involvement has been the focus of school improvement efforts at Beacon Hill Elementary School in Kelso, Washington. Following a process for improvement through the application of effective schooling research results in instructional programs, the school has involved staff in planning, goal setting, and extensive inservice…

The Project on Research Utilization in Social Work Education established in 1976 is described. There are eight chapters to the report. Chapter 1 describes the project. The broad goals of the project were to: (1) analyze the dynamics of research utilization in social work; (2) identify the obstacles to research utilization, especially those that…

In this paper, a black psychologist shares his thoughts, biases, and educated guesses pertaining to experimental psychology as it might relate to the psychoeducational needs of Afro-American children. First, some of the assumptions embodied in the empirical research enterprise are examined. It is noted that empirical research is a tool for gaining…

Three different approaches to the problem of linking educational knowledge producers and knowledge users are studied in this paper. First, data are reported describing the knowledge generation and knowledge communication behavior of twelve successful innovators. Second, characteristics of twelve programs, conceived to train persons as change…

This lecture describes and examines some of the problems encountered in educational research and suggests recommended courses of action that may result in a stronger, healthier, and more productive educational research and development (R and D) effort. The remarks are organized around the following headings: (1) "Balancing the Program of Research…

Discusses the need for application of research findings. (RC)