Educational Research, The National Agenda, and Educational Reform examines the origins, history, nature, purposes, and status of educational research by focusing on the relationships among educational research, the national agenda, educational reform, and the social and behavioral sciences. Its major claim is that the history of educational research is embedded in the nation’s social, political, intellectual, and economic histories. Attention is given to three significant periods: the Progressive Era when modern educational research began to assume its present form; the Post-World-War-II-Era when educators and educational researchers were directed to return to or turn to the academic disciplines; and the Civil Rights Era after the Supreme Court in Brown ended legal racial segregation and raised questions about equality of educational opportunity that are still with us. These were significant periods when there was a clear national agenda shaped by both public and private agencies. Educators and educational researchers adopted policies and strategies in response to concerns and interests expressed by the public, by government officials, and by philanthropies. Researchers’ responses have had long-term consequences as seen in the reaction to The Coleman Report, debates about the merits of quantitative research as opposed to qualitative research, the ongoing discussion about the merits of No Child Left Behind, the achievement gap, the creation of the Institute of Education Sciences, and the emphasis now placed on “scientifically-based research.” The origins of the common school, the work of the philosopher Johann Friedrich Herbart and his followers, and the revolution in scientific method brought about by Charles Darwin’s work are included because they serve as the foundation for educational research. Educational researchers’ identification with and interest in individual performance and ability and their measurement is related to the close relationship educational researchers have had with psychology, a discipline that typically does not focus on social context. The significance of educational researchers’ borrowing from the behavioral sciences, especially psychology, is examined through a discussion of the mental hygiene movement, as supported by private philanthropy, and through consideration of contributors such as G. Stanley Hall, Arnold Gesell, Lewis M. Terman, Daniel Starch, and Stuart A. Courtis.

Provides an in depth overview of the history and nature of educational research by focusing on the relationship between educational research and the national agenda in the United States in the twentieth century with implications for the twenty-first century.

In an era of curricular changes and experiments and high-stakes testing, educational measurement and evaluation is more important than ever. In addition to expected entries covering the basics of traditional theories and methods, other entries discuss important sociopolitical issues and trends influencing the future of that research and practice. Textbooks, handbooks, monographs and other publications focus on various aspects of educational research, measurement and evaluation, but to date, there exists no major reference guide for students new to the field. This comprehensive work fills that gap, covering traditional areas while pointing the way to future developments. Features: Nearly 700 signed entries are contained in an authoritative work spanning four volumes and available in choice of electronic and/or print formats. Although organized A-to-Z, front matter includes a Reader’s Guide grouping entries thematically to help students interested in a specific aspect of education research, measurement, and evaluation to more easily locate directly related entries. (For instance, sample themes include Data, Evaluation, Measurement Concepts & Issues, Research, Sociopolitical Issues, Standards.) Back matter includes a Chronology of the development of the field; a Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and associations; and a detailed Index. Entries conclude with References/Further Readings and Cross References to related entries. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and Cross References will combine to provide robust search-and-browse in the e-version.

This book provides an accessible introduction to the philosophy of educational research. A historical-philosophical journey presents the development of research methods from their origins to the present day. In addition, the book reflects on how research methods have influenced scientific effectiveness. Throughout, the book covers the principal things that need to be known today about the theory and practice of educational research, its epistemological bases, and its development as a discipline within scientific knowledge. The historical events that defined both the methodological evolution and the current situation of contemporary educational research are described to enable its understanding.This book provides an accessible introduction to the philosophy of educational research. A historical-philosophical journey presents the development of research methods from their origins to the present day.. It can also be used as didactic material for classroom discussions on educational research, educational philosophy, and current controversies in education. Its usefulness reaches the social sciences, humanities, and experimental sciences in all areas related to teaching and training. The basis of educational research is exposed, both in its concepts or philosophical visions and methodologies, which ultimately define what education means today.

This handbook focuses on the often neglected dimension of interpretation in educational research. It argues that all educational research is in some sense ‘interpretive’, and that understanding this issue belies some usual dualisms of thought and practice, such as the sharp dichotomy between ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’ research. Interpretation extends from the very framing of the research task, through the sources which constitute the data, the process of their recording, representation and analysis, to the way in which the research is finally or provisionally presented. The thesis of the handbook is that interpretation cuts across the fields (both philosophically, organizationally and methodologically). By covering a comprehensive range of research approaches and methodologies, the handbook gives (early career) researchers what they need to know in order to decide what particular methods can offer for various educational research contexts/fields. An extensive overview includes concrete examples of different kinds of research (not limited for example to ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’ examples as present in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, but including as well what in the German Continental tradition is labelled ‘pädagogisch’, examples from child rearing and other contexts of non-formal education) with full description and explanation of why these were chosen in particular circumstances and reflection on the wisdom or otherwise of the choice – combined in each case with consideration of the role of interpretation in the process. The handbook includes examples of a large number of methods traditionally classified as qualitative, interpretive and quantitative used across the area of the study of education. Examples are drawn from across the globe, thus exemplifying the different ‘opportunities and constraints’ that educational research has to confront in different societies.

This work explores how the generally accepted definition or measure of equality of educational opportunity at the beginning of the twenty-first century differs from what it was in the immediate postwar era. While there have been differing definitions or measures of equality of educational opportunity, there has been a continual call from education critics and education reformers for more and better mathematics, science, and foreign language in the nation’s schools. This work maintains that public education acquired significance as a vital part of a national agenda in conjunction with three developments. First, the prosperity of the United States after World War II contributed to a consumer dominated culture and the phenomenon of the citizenconsumer. The nation had to expand educational opportunities in response to the increased birth rate in the postwar years and in response to the increased qualifications that the workplace required for entry and employment. Significantly, the nation had the resources to send its children and youth to school for longer and longer periods of time. Better-educated citizens soon took better jobs and they spent paychecks buying everything from new technologies to new and bigger houses and new and bigger cars. Increased household income allowed young members of the family to attend and even complete high school and increased the chance of affording the cost of attending college. Second, by the end of World War II the globalization of the international community was underway, and the United States’ position and role in the international community were clearly challenged by the Soviet Union. As the United States found itself in the Cold War, its national security required an ideological, a military, and a technological strategy. Each of these strategies ultimately depended on higher or post-secondary education, and that had lasting implications for the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. The nation’s engagement in the Cold War required well-educated professionals to secure intelligence and to develop effective propaganda. That engagement also required scientists, mathematicians, engineers to develop and to maintain the technology the nation required for its defense and subsequently for the space race with the Soviet Union. Third and perhaps most importantly, it was becoming increasingly clear in the Cold War Era that the nation would have to address its long history of denying civil rights to some of its citizens, especially but not exclusively, African Americans. As the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown decision signified, public education was the initial venue where the struggle for racial equality took place.

Leading historians trace the changing fortunes of the social science of social problems since World War II.

Statistics are everywhere. Their power and their undoubted efficacy in many areas have given rise to faith in measurement and metrics. More of them will tell us all that we need to know. Their use carries with it a number of presuppositions: that reality can be satisfactorily represented and that it can be controlled or the risks managed. The papers in this book interpret the ethics and aesthetics of statistics in terms of representation, visualisation and accessibility, focus on the appeal of ‘simplicity’, of technical languages, numbers, diagrams and pictures, and pay attention to their connection with action plans. The book explores what has made educational researchers dependent on statistics, and deals with their use in areas such as the prevalence of maltreatment of children, European citizenship, well-being and happiness, illegal migrants, and university expansion. There is discussion of how the quest for more and better statistics finds its voice in policy initiatives that become slogans, and how public opinion polls are used to rationalise political decision-making. Can a more limited and modest use be made of statistics which does not deflect attention away from education’s core business and which does not destroy the local practical knowledge that on which good education is based? ‘Smeyers and Depaepe continue to bring together a significant international group of educational philosophers and historians on topics of importance to researchers. This fifth volume in their series takes up the ‘gold standard’ use of statistics in case studies not contributed elsewhere. I highly recommend this text to counter a current over-emphasis on technique in research methodology. Use of statistics remains but herein under new, insightful conceptualizations.’ Lynda Stone, Philosophy of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA ‘Once again, Depaepe and Smeyers succeeded in bringing together distinguished international and cross-disciplinary scholars exploring very timely and critical issues in current educational research. This is a groundbreaking book on a theme that can’t be ignored by educational researchers and those interested in a better understanding of the culture of science and science as culture. Moreover, the present book instigates to study history of educational research, a limited but developing field, and invites reflection to those who are sometimes too reliant on number crunching as a mode of interpretation and rather credulous in the acceptance of institutional records. Frank Simon, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium

This book, the product of the task force on research co-sponsored by the American Educational Research Association Division A and the University Council on Educational Administration, sets an ambitious agenda for research in educational leadership. Prominent scholars in the field review current knowledge about leadership, frame new questions to generate important research in the field, and direct researchers and policymakers to rethink how educational administration, leadership, and policy should be understood. Covering a broad range of topics, from accountability systems and school?community relationships to the education of students from diverse backgrounds, the authors submit current research to critical scrutiny in order to develop frameworks for new research that can have a significant impact on policy and practice.

This fully updated, fourth edition of An Introduction to the Study of Education provides a comprehensive and reflective introduction to the study of education, inviting students to question what education is, who it is for and what purpose it serves. Taking the reader from the early years through to lifelong learning, it examines all forms of education and learning. This new edition includes ten completely new chapters and a step-by-step guide to essay writing. There is also a companion website to accompany the book, featuring additional chapters which can be visited at www.routledge.com/cw/matheson.This fully updated, fourth edition provides: a full exploration of the historical, sociological, philosophical and psychological roots of education; a clear focus on the individual levels of education – preschool, compulsory, post-compulsory and lifelong learning; the latest debates within special educational needs; an in-depth examination of learning styles; insights into the historical development of education and the role of, and background to, research in education; a focus on current educational practice and diversity across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Written in a clear and accessible style, this is the essential core text for all beginning students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Education Studies and all those interested in education today, where it came from and where it is going.