Combining classic articles that have been key markers in recent debates with some new material, this book addresses the problems involved in educational research and the issues surrounding its contribution to policymaking and practice. The authors examine the diverse approaches within qualitative research and address some of the key areas which have attracted criticism. They consider what role research should play and examine the case for randomised controlled trials and for action research. The book is suitable for any undergraduate or postgraduate student concerned with educational research methodology, as well as those focusing on educational policy and practice, and students doing PhDs and EdDs.

`This valuable book addresses an important current issues for education research in developed countries - the relationship between research on the one hand and policy-making and education practice on the other′ - Stephen Gorard, Cardiff University, British Journal of Education Studies `Martyn Hammersley has produced a remarkably complete analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of educational research. I believe the analysis to be fair to all parties′ - Lewis Elton, British Journal of Educational Technology Educational research and its relationship with policy making and practice has been a perennial concern. This book deals with some basic and controversial questions about that issue, including: - Can there be harmony in the relationship between researchers and educational policymakers or practitioners? - Do increases in knowledge always lead to practical improvement, and never to undesirable consequences? - Would educational research flourish if it were subjected to more central, and external, control? - What is the role of research reviews in making the results of research publicly available? Educational Research maps the demands now being made on educational research against the background complexities of the relationship between research and practice. This book is for students on methodology courses, taught courses and research degrees in education, social science disciplines, social policy and health studies both at masters and doctoral level.

Educational research often discounts the uniqueness and ubiquity of software and the hidden political, economic and epistemological ways it impacts teaching and learning in K-12 settings. Drawing on theories and methodologies from English education, critical discourse analysis, multimodal semiotics and digital humanities, this volume exposes the problems of technology in schools and refocuses the conversation on software. This shifting of focus invites more nuanced questions concerning the role of software in school reform and classroom instruction, and takes a critical stance on software’s role in education. This volume explores the ontology of software and the ways it is construed within educational policy discussions. It is beneficial to schools, companies, policy makers and practitioners seeking a more theoretical framework for technology in education.

"Where does hunch end and evidence begin? Too much is written and said about school improvement - about improvements in teaching and learning - with far too little attention to this question. This book provides vivid discussion from distinguished protagonists and antagonists about what gets called 'evidence-based practice'. Reading it, all involved in education - policymakers and practitioners alike - can proceed more confidently."- Professor Tim Brighouse, London Schools Commissioner The movement to evidence-based practice in education is as important as it is controversial, and this book explores the arguments of leading advocates and critics. The book begins with an explication of evidence-based practice. Some of the ideas of its proponents are discussed, including the Campbell Collaboration, and the application to education of Cochrane-style reviews and meta-analyses. The thinking behind evidence based practice has been the subject of much criticism, particularly in education, and this criticism is aired in the second part of the book. Questions have been raised about what we mean by evidence, about how particular kinds of evidence may be privileged over other kinds of evidence, about the transferability of research findings to practice, and about the consequences of a move to evidence-based practice for governance in education. Given that the origins of the interest in evidence-based practice come largely from its use in medicine, questions arise about the validity of the transposition, and contributors to the third part of the book address this transposition. The issues raised in the book, while primarily those raised by educators, are of relevance also to professionals in medicine, social work and psychology.

New thinking is needed on the age-old conundrum of how to connect research and policymaking. Why does a disconnect exist between the research community, which is producing thousands of studies relevant to public policy, and the policy community, which is making thousands of decisions that would benefit from research evidence? The second edition updates community dissonance theory and provides an even stronger, more substantiated story of why research is underutilized in policymaking, and what it will take to connect researchers and policymakers. This book offers a fresh look into what policymakers and the policy process are like, as told by policymakers themselves and the researchers who study and work with them. New to the second edition: • The point of view of policymakers is infused throughout this book based on a remarkable new study of 225 state legislators with an extraordinarily high response rate in this hard-to-access population. • A new theory holds promise for guiding the study and practice of evidence-based policy by building on how policymakers say research contributes to policymaking. • A new chapter features pioneering researchers who have effectively influenced public policy by engaging policymakers in ways rewarding to both. • A new chapter proposes how an engaged university could provide culturally competent training to create a new type of scholar and scholarship. This review of state-of-the-art research on evidence-based policy is a benefit to readers who find it hard to keep abreast of a field that spans the disciplines of business, economics, education, family sciences, health services, political science, psychology, public administration, social work, sociology, and so forth. For those who study evidence-based policy, the book provides the basics of producing policy relevant research by introducing researchers to policymakers and the policy process. Strategies are provided for identifying research questions that are relevant to the societal problems that confront and confound policymakers. Researchers will have at their fingertips a breath-taking overview of classic and cutting-edge studies on the multi-disciplinary field of evidence-based policy. For instructors, the book is written in a language and style that students find engaging. A topic that many students find mundane becomes germane when they read stories of what policymakers are like, and when they learn of researcher’s tribulations and triumphs as they work to build evidence-based policy. To point students to the most important ideas, the key concepts are highlighted in text boxes. For those who desire to engage policymakers, a new chapter summarizes the breakthroughs of several researchers who have been successful at driving policy change. The book provides 12 innovative best practices drawn from the science and practice of engaging policymakers, including insights from some of the best and brightest researchers and science communicators. The book also takes on the daunting task of evaluating the effectiveness of efforts to engage policymakers around research. A theory of change identifies seven key elements that are fundamental to increasing policymaker’s use of research along with evaluation protocols and preliminary evidence on each element.

Martyn Hammersley′s provocative new text interrogates the complex relationship between research, policymaking and practice, against the background of the evidence-based practice movement. Addressing a series of probing questions, this book reflects on the challenge posed by the idea that social research can directly serve policymaking and practice. Key questions explored include: - Is scientific research evidence-based? - What counts as evidence for evidence-based practice? - Is social measurement possible, and is it necessary? - What are the criteria by which qualitative research should be judged? The book also discusses the case for action research, the nature of systematic reviews, proposals for interpretive reviews, and the process of qualitative synthesis. Highly readable and undeniably relevant, this book is a valuable resource for both academics and professionals involved with research.

Educational Research maps the demands now being made on educational research against the background complexities of the relationship between research and practice.

Beginning and well-seasoned researchers alike face significant challenges in understanding the complexities of research designs arising from both within and across methodological paradigms, and in applying them in ways that maximise impact on knowledge, practice, and policy. This volume engages educational and social researchers in a scholarly debate offering some crucial re-interpretations of established research methodologies in light of contemporary conditions and critical introduction to some contemporary research approaches yet to gain general recognition. This book is a contemporary vademecum for researchers, practitioners and graduate students on research methodologies and designs for educational and social change in today’s world. The chapters chart and analyse the conceptual and practical complexities of a variety research designs for contemporary educational and social work research. This anthology, taken overall, provides readers with the knowledge and understanding needed not only to design technically sound and coherent research studies, but also to develop methodologically innovative research projects that cross the boundaries between different methodological traditions to the benefit of scholarship, policy, and practice. The chapters cover nine research approaches: - Design-based research - Action research - Ethnomethodological research - Negotiated ethnography - Arts-informed research - Historical analysis and postcolonial scholarship - Policy analysis - Comparative research - Quantitative modelling of correlational and multi-level data The book provides a critical discussion of epistemological questions and methodological frontiers: - Knowledge and epistemology in scholarship, practice and policy - Digital knowledge and digital research - Emerging methodological challenges for educational research - Challenges and futures for social work and social policy research methods - Methodology and the knowledge industry

This volume presents an interdisciplinary framework to map out contemporary educational studies in India. Based on conceptual tools, quantitative methods and ethnographic accounts drawn from extensive fieldwork, it addresses emerging discourses on educational policies, their operation in the everyday functioning of institutions and actual practices in teaching and learning. Individual chapters discuss the intersectionality in the current educational system of region, gender, class, caste and minorities. With comparative perspectives and case studies from across states, including under-studied rural and urban regions of India, the book explores a wide range of issues affecting the educational system, including socioeconomic and gender inequalities; the educational status of tribal settlements in the hinterlands and their respective urban areas; the marginalisation of minorities; challenges in accessing educational avenues and choices; and the model for imparting vocational education and training. It navigates complex sites of discrimination and exclusion in the institutional spaces of the educational system and assesses the consequences of market dynamics and ideological undercurrents. Presenting first-hand information from the field, it evaluates educational policies, practices and research; investigates challenges and failures; provides suggestions and fosters critical thinking for a knowledge society. The findings in this book will be of interest to researchers, scholars and teachers of education, economics, sociology, urban education and the politics of education, as well as of public policy, governance and development studies. It will also be useful to research institutions, policymakers, educationists, social scientists, education professionals, and governmental and non-governmental bodies working on education.

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/.