One cannot begin considering the topic of this colloquium without asking, why twenty years? Why not two hundred? Two hundred years ago, Silvestre Franois Lacroix was about to be named chief officer of the Commission Executive de L'Instruction Publique. Out of that experience, together with his long career in instruction, especially as professor of…

Outlines specific needs for a comprehensive research effort, describes the present status of research in the community colleges of Illinois, defines the comprehensive nature and role of community college institutional research, and considers the implications for the selection and in-service training of researchers. (DC)

This paper presents research findings that suggest a framework for developing essential support systems for beginning teachers, and describes two induction-year pilot projects, now in operation, based on those findings. One project is a Master's level course instituted in August 1987 at the Univesity of Houston; the other is a program…

This document draws on findings from the past decade of research on teaching, particularly on findings developed at the Institute for Research on Teaching, in order to present a model of what good teaching is, a better understanding of why it is difficult, and some hypotheses about how its frequency can be increased. Good teaching is depicted as…

Educational research and evaluation have had less impact on policy and decision making in education than hoped for, since research and evaluation represent fundamentally different kinds of endeavor than policy and decision making do. Evaluation has more impact than research because it is a more administrative activity and is more integral to…

This paper examines what rhetoric used in communicating with general audiences is appropriate to educational research as a form of knowing. Answers to this question depend not only on characteristics of knowledge, but also on what one considers a defensible goal in research reporting. Assuming that this goal is communicating authorized convictions…

The dimensions of the social problem of street children in developing countries is being recognized and the need for social action is being addressed. The tone of recent policy papers, however, is one of sympathy rather than of empathy. This sympathetic stance is prone to distortion and misrepresentation and may result in social action which is…

This bibliography of works cited in the "World Yearbook of Education 1985" on the topic of educational research is divided into four sections. The first covers 264 chapters and articles published in books and booklets by individual authors. The second lists 73 publications issued by official and corporate bodies. The third includes 163…

The Illinois Dissemination Research Project developed a public information brochure on Minimal Competency Testing for distribution to Illinois school boards, teachers and administrators. This method for transmitting research findings to policymaking audiences is called "targeted dissemination." It consists of: (1) translating relevant…

Linking Outcomes to Organizational Planning (LOOP) was initiated during the 1984-85 school year in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. LOOP was designed to ensure that evaluation, research, and informal findings became part of the instructional planning loop; to provide information to the Superintendent on progress toward priorities…

The purpose of this Committee Print on Effective Schools is to add substance to Congressional deliberation on legislation which addresses school improvement as a priority on the national educational agenda. The report provides the written views of some of the nation's leading educators, who have made important research contributions in the area of…

This document, in the form of a scripted conversation, represents the ongoing discussions of a group of teacher educators meeting regularly as a curriculum study group. One of several themes emerging from the conversations was that it is essential that the world-views of teachers be recognized, appreciated, and privileged. Serving as a core of…

The 24 contributions to this volume were written by coaches, sport scientists, and medical authorities who surveyed recent research on biomechanics, physiology, psychology, nutrition, treatment of injuries, and training techniques for cyclists. There are four sections: (1) biomechanics and physiology; (2) research: techniques and results; (3)…