Generating Improvement Through Research and Development in Education Systems

Abstract

To effectively address problems in education, research must be shaped around a problem of practice. Reorienting research and development in this way must overcome three obstacles. First, the incentive system for university researchers must be changed to reward research on problems of practice. Second, the contexts must be created that will allow the complexity of problems of practice to be understood and addressed by interdisciplinary teams of researchers, practitioners, and education designers. And third, meaningful experimentation must become acceptable in school systems in order to develop a better understanding of how to effectively stimulate and support the desired changes.

Science Teaching Reform Through Professional Development: Teachers’ Use of a Scientific Classroom Discourse Community Model

“…By acknowledging the complexity of the educational system, this study highlights the need for administrative support for "meaningful experimentation" in school systems as identified by Donovan (2013) to develop a better understanding of how to reform education. Like Hewson, O'Donnell (2008) reminded us there is insufficient research to guide researchers on "how fidelity of implementation to core curriculum interventions can be measured and related to outcomes, particularly within efficacy and effectiveness studies, where the requirements for fidelity measures differ" (p. 33).…”

Research–Practice Partnerships in Education

“…Some focus on in-school and out-of-school spaces and the connections between them (e.g., the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities), whereas others focus on issues of policy and practice within public schools. Some involve university researchers (e.g., Stanford University/San Francisco Unified School District Partnership), whereas others involve researchers in intermediary organizations (SERP; Donovan, 2013). RPPs of all types are currently proliferating, fueled by increased interest from local and national funders but also by researchers' and practitioners' desire to find new models of research that make a difference in public schools in more tangible ways.…”

“…RPPs are long-term collaborations between practitioners and researchers that are organized to investigate problems of practice and solutions for improving schools and school districts (Coburn, Penuel, & Geil, 2013). Advocates argue that RPPs can enable greater use of research in decision making (Tseng, 2012), address persistent problems of practice, and improve educational outcomes (Donovan, 2013;Fishman, Penuel, Allen, & Cheng, 2013). Perhaps because of the perceived success of high-profile RPPs, such as the University of Chicago Consortium for Chicago School Research, the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP), the Carnegie Foundation's Networked Improvement Communities, and others, funders are beginning to invest resources to support the development of new RPPs.…”

Spitting for Science: Danish High School Students Commit to a Large-Scale Self-Reported Genetic Study

“…In a typical scenario, researchers partner up with public entities with the support of third-party funding agencies [6]. Denmark has a long tradition of supporting such partnerships.…”