The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) and the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (NAEPDC), with funding from the National Institute for Literacy, created a one-day workshop to assist practitioners and administrators in adult basic education, TANF (Transitional Assistance for Needy…

Knowledge use and production is complex and so also are attempts to judge its quality. Research synthesis is a set of formal processes to determine what is known from research in relation to different research questions and this process requires judgements of the quality and relevance of the research evidence considered. Such judgement can be…

One prominent issue in contemporary special education is that teaching techniques found by research to be effective in improving the educational outcomes of students with disabilities are not routinely implemented. One way to enhance teachers' use of research-based practices is to disseminate information on effective teaching techniques in ways…

Using data to redesign instruction is a means of increasing student achievement. Educators in Camden County (Georgia) Schools have used data from benchmark testing since 1999. They hired a commercial vendor to design a benchmark test that is administered four times a year and use the data to generate subject-area reports that can be further…

The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement has the potential to significantly advance the quality of psychological and educational services provided by psychologists working in schools. Training psychologists in EBP has challenged the profession and caused faculty in graduate programs to reevaluate and retool professional training curricula and…

Thomas Jefferson recognized the value of reason and scientific experimentation in the eighteenth century. This chapter extends the idea in contemporary ways to standards that may be used to judge the ethical propriety of randomized trials and the dependability of evidence on effects of social interventions.

Recent work integrating Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) with Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) forms a basis for systematizing action research in higher education. This basis strengthens what are often otherwise its methodological weaknesses, namely, the disconnection between analysis and subsequent plans for action and the…

There is a recognized gap between HRD practice and HRD research. In recent years, actions have been taken to understand and close the gap, and more are planned. Those efforts would benefit from a greater understanding of how the gap is experienced and addressed in other professions. This paper summarizes a literature review of material from other…

Investigating University-School Partnerships: A Volume in Professional Development School Research, the fourth book in the PDS Research Series developed by the same editors, includes a collection of organized papers that represent the best and latest examples of practitioner thinking, research, and program design and evaluation in the field at the…

A project team from the Program Evaluation and Methodology Division of the U.S. General Accounting Office was asked to review recent research on education and summarize the findings for policymakers. This paper captures the team's reflections on the utility of education research for policymakers and others interested in improving schools. The…

Universities and colleges are a critical component of the nation's research system. The availability and condition of research facilities at these institutions influence the ability of scientists and engineers to conduct research and train the future science and engineering work force. To insure that information regarding these institutions is…

Suggesting that the contention that phonemic awareness must be taught directly and that children need explicit systematic instruction in phonics is less of a scientific "fact" than an exercise in political persuasion, this book presents the story of the political campaign that is taking place to change the minds of Americans about how…

This paper rebuts four common assumptions underlying criticisms of higher education policy scholarship and policy making. The first assumption, policymakers agree on the nature of policy problems and therefore on the kinds of research needed, is rebutted by noting that actually, there is no way to identify and research all possible future policy…

The process by which five national organizations making up the State Education Policy Consortium meet their members' information needs is examined in this paper. The study sought to improve information services to state policymakers and to strengthen national organizations' dissemination capacity. During May through June 1984, interviews were…

This paper elaborates on the concept of "linkage"--the utilization of educational research information--as implemented by the Documentation and Technical Assistance (DTA) Project, a program designed to enhance the problem solving capacity of urban schools. The paper begins with an overview of the DTA project and discusses the educational…