The five major societal changes in the past twenty-five years which have had a major impact on education services are (1) our transition from a rural, agrarian society to an urban, technological society; (2) changes in occupational and employment structures; (3) education services have become a major enterprise; (4) expansion of Federal and State government roles in education; and (5) groups comprising the education community have become more specialized and organized around selected vested interests. Largely due to Federal programs, a new profession, education researcher and developer (R and D), has emerged. While the R and D profession has been expanding, many of the same societal forces have led to a renewal within the teaching profession. The primary implication of this renewal is that the education R and D community needs to develop a direct linkage system with classroom teachers and a collaborative relationship with teacher groups in articulating educational needs and lobbying for programs. Much of the discord between education R and D and teachers begins because they view each other's roles and responsibilities negatively. Education R and D can increase the communication and collaboration with teachers by involving them in institutional governance, program design, development and field testing of materials, and diffusion and adoption of educational products. (The author's answers to nine questions from the audience of vocational education R and D personnel are appended.) (EM)