This book provides a fascinating insight into the sometimes troubled relationship between ‘research’ and ‘policy-making’ in education. It shows how each of these areas of social and intellectual endeavour is in a state of dynamic change and how, as a result, they are becoming more mutually inter-permeable and posing increasingly challenging problems for each other. It suggests a number of scenarios for the future development of the relationship and throws down some challenges for both communities. Drawing together contributions from the premier league of UK educationalists the book is both thought-provoking and anxiously awaited by other academics wanting to learn from the experience of senior researchers.

Brings together papers from international experts on evidence-informed policy in education from a wide range of OECD countries to look at the issues facing educational policy makers, researchers, and stakeholders – teachers, media, parents – in using evidence to best effect.

Co-published by Routledge for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Educational policy continues to be of major concern. Policy debates about economic growth and national competitiveness, for example, commonly focus on the importance of human capital and a highly educated workforce. Defining the theoretical boundaries and methodological approaches of education policy research are the two primary themes of this comprehensive, AERA-sponsored Handbook. Organized into seven sections, the Handbook focuses on (1) disciplinary foundations of educational policy, (2) methodological perspectives, (3) the policy process, (4) resources, management, and organization, (5) teaching and learning policy, (6) actors and institutions, and (7) education access and differentiation. Drawing from multiple disciplines, the Handbook’s over one hundred authors address three central questions: What policy issues and questions have oriented current policy research? What research strategies and methods have proven most fruitful? And what issues, questions, and methods will drive future policy research? Topics such as early childhood education, school choice, access to higher education, teacher accountability, and testing and measurement cut across the 63 chapters in the volume. The politics surrounding these and other issues are objectively analyzed by authors and commentators. Each of the seven sections concludes with two commentaries by leading scholars in the field. The first considers the current state of policy design, and the second addresses the current state of policy research. This book is appropriate for scholars and graduate students working in the field of education policy and for the growing number of academic, government, and think-tank researchers engaged in policy research. For more information on the American Educational Research Association, please visit: http://www.aera.net/.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Situated in education policy analysis, this book is at the cutting edge of major debates across the social sciences regarding the nature of science, qualitative/quantitative tensions, post-foundational possibilities, and the research/policy nexus. Located between «the aftermath of poststructuralism» and the «new scientism» afoot in neoliberal audit culture, the book posits an engaged social science that is accountable to complexity and the political value of not being so sure. Its insistence is to put deconstruction to work in the midst of messiness, contingency, and ambiguity. The book will be useful in courses on education, feminist policy analysis, and qualitative research across disciplines.

Education has continued to grow in stature and significance as an academic discipline. In addition to world renowned research studies the growth of education has been seen in the methodology and methods underpinning its research. The BERA/SAGE Handbook of Educational Research provides a cutting edge account of the research and methodology that is creating new understandings for education research, policy and practice. Over two volumes, the handbook addresses educational research in six essential components: Section 1: Understanding Research Section 2: Planning Research Section 3: Approaches to Research Section 4: Acquiring Data Section 5: Analysing Data Section 6: Reporting, Disseminating and Evaluating Research Featuring contributions from more than 50 of the biggest names in the international field, The BERA/SAGE Handbook of Educational Research represents a very significant contribution to the development of education.

This edited volume brings together a collection of chapters from leading scholars in rural education with the purpose of linking knowledge from the rural education field to the wider discipline of education studies. Through addressing significant issues in the rural education field, the book gives insights from rural education that have general relevance for the wider disciplines of education, and provides up-to-date scholarship in research in rural contexts. This book aims to be a definitive and comprehensive edition of contemporary rural education scholarship that works as a guide for those new to researching in and for rural contexts, as well as actively expand the other sub-fields of education from a rural perspective. It examines the connection between rurality and the other domains of educational research, exploring what a rural perspective might bring to the broader fields of educational research, and how it might evolve them. In its unique approach, this book brings the concept of ‘rural’ to the disciplines of education; chapters regarding the ethics of research in the rural context speaks to a gap in rural education, and provide tools for engaging marginalised communities more generally in educational research.

This book provides a unique assessment of the development of research in geography education and its future prospects, offering a challenging critique of subject-based education research, with particular reference to geography education across a range of different jurisdictions. It covers a range of topics, including the changing role of research in geography education; the relationship between education research and professional practice, with special reference to geography education research; the place of academic subject knowledge in geography education research; critiques of the functions of research in geography education; and the key issues for education policy and policymakers concerning educational research at national and international levels. Importantly, in a period marked by radical change for education research and researchers, the book offers a timely appraisal of possible ways forward for geography education research. Addressing the needs of academics, research students, policymakers, and education practitioners who undertake, use or shape the future of research in geography education, it comprehensively explores the forces that have driven the development of geography education research and pedagogy. Further, by positioning its analysis in the context of education policy debates in the UK, and further afield, it assesses the role and function of research in education, and offers an outlook on its future. This book is essential reading for all those who wish to understand the sporadic and increasingly uncertain development of subject-based research in education

Considering both the theoretical and practical possibilities of the sustainability of higher education research in a world in which research budgets are often hard to secure, this book shares results from international research to demonstrate the innovation occurring to secure sustainable research funding. Rooted in diverse research experiences and reflections of academics and higher education institutional leaders, this book explores ways to promote and sustain pedagogical innovation in the higher education context. Beginning with an analysis of theoretical views from political, institutional and research practice spheres about the relevance of sustainability of educational research in higher education, it considers the need to promote educational research focused on pedagogical innovations in higher education. The second part of the book addresses practical experiences of funded educational research and offers guidance to assure the future of sustainable pedagogical interventions. This book is ideal reading for anyone interested in the role of sustainable funding in ensuring the future of higher education research, including researchers and postgraduate or undergraduate students who are researching or interested in the topic. It will also be of interest to senior institutional leaders and managers responsible for educational development in higher education.