Claims that education research is flawed and that it has little or no impact on school practices have been circulating for at least 75 years, and this chorus of criticism has intensified in the past three decades. Yet the validity of such claims has not been investigated, write Biddle and Saha. The authors interviewed 120 school principals (81 in…

Schools have recently begun to place increased emphasis on the use of rigorous research evidence in guiding instructional decisions. Turning education into an evidence-based field is easier to advocate than to achieve, particularly in an environment of competing claims about what works. In this article, the author discusses the factors which…

This paper makes a case that when teachers and school leaders (administrators) engage in site-based action research they become more efficacious leaders. This paper reviews eight years of research work of site-based research projects completed by school-based personnel as well as the experiences of teachers and school administrators who have…

This keynote address argues that in order for baccalaureate and masters degree students to apply research to make better judgments and decisions in their life-affecting practice and in response to the information revolution, the helping professions need to redesign (from the bottom up) not overhaul (make a few changes in) the way research methods…

As the evidence-based practice movement gains momentum, continuing education practitioners increasingly confront the challenge of developing and conducting opportunities for achieving research uptake. Recent thinking invites new approaches to continuing education for health professionals, with due consideration of what knowledge merits uptake by…

For many researchers and developers in information and communication technology in education (ICTE), the transfer of knowledge from research into educational practice is slow and limited. For most researchers concerned with changing practice, the failure to make a significant impact is attributed to those who practice in education, whilst those in…

The accountability imperative requires schools to evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs. Florida answered the accountability imperative by instituting statewide objective assessments and assigning grades to schools. The latter move led to several initiatives concerning the practices that improve schools in Florida. This article…

Applied research is supposed to take the perspective with the highest degree of corroboration as a basis for action. The realm of organizational perspectives is characterized, however, with a multitude of competing research programs, seldom tested against each other. Epistemological and methodological issues overwhelm inquiry in applied research.…

There have been ongoing debates among educational researchers over the appropriateness of various research methods. This paper begins with the contention that these differences in methodological orientation are in large part reflections of the broader ideological and value convictions of the researchers themselves. A critical point to be made,…

A study compared the topics addressed in a professional trade publication, the RTNDA (Radio and Television News Directors Association) "Communicator," with topics specifically addressing broadcast news in the scholarly journals "Journalism Quarterly" and "Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media." The purpose of…

A study extended the work of M. Allen and R. Preiss (1990) that analyzed the issues in public speaking textbooks and the level of accuracy with which scientific information is represented. A total score analysis of 112 textbooks showed no significant improvement in the accuracy of textbooks over time or with new editions. Findings of the…

In an era of ever-shrinking dollars for education and especially for educational research, one must ask the question, "Does the proposed research add value to agricultural education?" Although it may not be possible to answer the question completely, a framework can be developed within which the answer can be pondered. Researchers,…

Emotional intelligence has been defined as "the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions" (P. Salovey and J. Mayer, 1990). As a subset of social intelligence and of personal intelligences (H. Gardner, 1983), emotional…

Using the Internet, people working to fight substance abuse can gather the information they need to write grant proposals, develop strategies and media campaigns, and contact legislators. The Internet also connects those working on similar issues, enhancing substance abuse education and prevention efforts. This Monthly Action Kit is a roadmap to…

Since 1971 the South Carolina Department of Education has collected data on school dropouts. However, the system did not reconcile the number of students who drop out repeatedly, leave for the summer, re-enroll in the following school year, or move to other educational programs. The new data collection system accumulates more accurate data and…