This report sets forth some notions which attempt to provide some perspective on the relationship between work on discourse and the needs of educators. The position is taken that a perspective focused on the individual school and setting is necessary and that educators themselves must participate in the research if the growth of research in discourse is to be helpful to education. The first section of the report deals with the question of what educators can expect to learn from studies of classroom discourse. The second section considers how the study of discourse has developed in relation to the various fields taking part in it, especially linguistics. This section reviews and critiques the literature in linguistics and discourse analysis, philosophy of language, ethnomethodology, and interaction and cultural orientation. The third and final section considers critically the notion of language itself in relation to the notion of discourse. It suggests that the evolution of studies of language and discourse may be toward the establishment of a style of work which has special relevance to education. (Author/AMH)