Harvard Graduate School of Education

The Role of Research in Educational Improvement

Edited by John D. Bransford, Deborah J. Stipek, Nancy J. Vye, Louis M. Gomez, and Diana Lam

Critics within and outside the field of education often point out the absence of a strong reciprocal connection between research and practice. The emergence of standards-based reform and the passage of NCLB have generated increasing pressure for evidence-based decision making at all levels. Yet there is little clarity about how research results are actually used in education, or what kinds of evidence are most useful to practitioners and policymakers. In this book, leading scholars in the field examine the available research on the use of evidence in education and provide suggestions for strengthening the research-to-practice pipeline.

Advance Praise:

“Turn a gaggle of scholars loose on a vital subject—the relation of education research to education practice—and if you are lucky, you get a collection like this. It draws on the authors’ long experience and reams of research to provide lessons worth pondering by everybody from the Congress to the classroom.”
—Carol Hirschon Weiss, Beatrice B. Whiting Professor, Emerita, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“ With all the fuss about evidence-based decision making, The Role of Research in Educational Improvement makes a stellar contribution. The chapters cover the full range of issues from federal, state, district, and school levels. In each case instruction is the focus. This invaluable resource, at once comprehensive and focused, unravels the mystery of research and makes it accessible. A great read whether you are in the schoolhouse or the statehouse.”
—Michael Fullan, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto