The Office of Educational Research and Improvement shall actively solicit recommendations from education researchers, teachers, school administrators, cultural leaders, parents, and others throughout the United States to develop the Research Priorities Plan.
Introduction
Americans have always been serious about education. They may be quick to criticize, but they believe a good education is essential for both personal success and for preserving common, democratic ideals. Indeed, from the beginning of the Republic, conversations about the role of education and ways to adapt it to changing circumstances have reflected the democratic process. In every renewal of the discussion about schooling, educational institutions have realigned themselves to support wider societal goals, expanding during each major period of American history to provide even greater opportunity for people. In this century alone, education made industrialization possible by opening up the curriculum to students not planning on higher education. At mid-century, it took another major step and began to include those previously denied access to equal educational opportunity.
Today, conditions indicate that another major transformation is under way, affecting what we teach, how we teach it, and how we organize to provide every child with the best possible education. Within a few years, American schools will enroll more students than ever before, surpassing by several million the peak "baby boom" years of the late 1960s. Most of this increase will be among those populations traditionally least successful in school-low-income children and racial or linguistic minorities. This expansion comes at a time when the demands for participation in the workplace and full participation in our society are elevating the expectations of student attainment to ever-higher levels.
The perceived need for education to change to meet new conditions and new demands has resulted in efforts to reform the system. In just over a decade, as many as three distinct waves of reforms have swept over American education, beginning with adding time in school and graduation requirements, followed by curriculum reforms, and now encompassing multiple efforts for improvement under the umbrella of systemic reform.
Several factors, however, make the current reform efforts very different from major changes of the past. One is the remarkable inclusiveness of the process under way. Many groups and individuals are taking part; this is not just an educators' or a business leaders' reform movement. Similarly, the scope of the initiatives is varied and extensive, involving curriculum, assessments, professional development, school structure, and ways to tie all of these together into a cohesive vision. Most importantly, the intensity of education reform that began with the publication of A Nation At Risk in 1983 shows no signs of abating. When certain initiatives have failed to produce the results envisioned for them, policymakers and practitioners have pushed on to other approaches. The willingness to keep working at school improvement sterns at least partly from a continuing uneasiness about the quality of American education. But it also reflects excitement over the possibilities for change and a reservoir of talent, energy, and good will in schools and in communities.
Lessons Learned
The pace of current education reforms, spurred by pressing societal demands, makes the creation of the best possible research agenda urgent if we are to meet the challenges that we face. It is through systematic and well-reasoned programs of educational research that we can best develop the theory, the knowledge, and the know-how that undergird sound practice. There is ample evidence that this is so.
Walk through most schools today and you will find evidence of educational research results at work. For example, research pointed out that students can undertake more complex tasks and internalize what they learn better if they work cooperatively; thus, cooperative learning has become an important strategy in classroom management. Research on metacognition, cognitive strategies, and behavioral interventions has truly revolutionized the education of students with disabilities, helping a large percentage of them move toward independence rather than lifelong dependence. Research on educating linguistically diverse students shows that flexibility is a key component of success. Rather than one mode of instruction, schools with successful programs to help students acquire English language skills and master the core curriculum use multiple approaches that fit with varying levels of language fluency and backgrounds.
The larger environment around classrooms-the organization of the school, the professional development available to teachers, and the resources provided - influences what happens in them. Research tells us how these factors affect student learning and the creation of professional communities for teachers. For example, extensive research on how to build capacities for changing classroom practice shows that teachers' abilities to change depend on the capacities of the organization-the knowledge of their colleagues, the networks to which they belong, the extent to which their school supports their learning as well as that of students. This information is changing views of professional development, moving it away from the one-shot workshop approach and toward collaboration among teachers that is grounded in a common vision about what they want for their students. Continuous improvement becomes the norm for teachers and students.
Because of solid research on education finance, state policymakers have the tools to understand the source of inequities and to shape alternatives. Researchers have provided legal arguments for significant changes in state funding systems, based on data about district wealth and district taxing patterns. Consequently, funding policies of many states now consider disparities among communities in their ability to raise tax revenue, tax burden, and revenue when funding formulas are developed.
These are a few examples of research that have changed a profession and children's lives. With such probing, research can help a teacher explain to parents how to improve their child's math ability. Or help a principal discern what new skills teachers need to learn. Or help policymakers decide where it is best to put resources to obtain certain goals.
Unfortunately, despite the great progress made in understanding the nature of learning and other aspects of schooling, this knowledge is not widespread, nor it it strategically used to guide program development. Use of reserach results to encourage school imporvement occurs haphazardly. Research impacts practice more because of personal commitment to access to expert help than because of systematic use of research in decision-making. As a major report by the National Academy of Education on education research concluded:
"increasingly, foundations and corporations have funded bold and large-scale demonstration projects that make no attempt to provide objective research-based determinations of success and failure. Where research is supported, it is often for quick snap-shot evaluations of existing programs. . . . In the funding world, whether philanthropic or governmental, R&D has come to stand for `replication and dissemination' rather than `research and development.' "
These are the reasons for undertaking a research priorities planning process. A way must be established to provide coherence around a research agenda for the nation and ensure that the research conforms to and encourages on-going school reform efforts. It is very important that priorities are set and investments made in a systematic way. We must get smarter about our choices.
Next Steps
Not every research endeavor can be funded, nor can every worthy social need be addressed. We need to give high priority to areas defined by the intersection of the greatest public concern with important scientific opportunity.
We know educational research can enrich almost every endeavor in public education, although there may be some problems or issues that are not currently amenable to research-based solutions. But we must make choices. This difficult task can be an opportunity to broaden participation in determining the most pressing problems and in deciding what are our best scientific opportunities for finding solutions for them.
In approaching this task we must remember that education is more than the core curriculum and takes place out of school as much as in school. Artistic and physical talents, which have both expressive and intellectual components, are important to growing up. A range of institutions in the community and multiple forms of media greatly influence what students know and what they understand.
We must also be mindful that education reform that leads to high student achievement must provide appropriate learning opportunities for all children, not just those from the upper and middle classes, but especially those from less advantaged circumstances and those with particular and special needs, including children with disabilities.
We seek a diversity of ideas and advice from those who would choose to participate in setting priorities for the national research agenda. We want to hear from teachers and other educators, from researchers, from parents and policymakers, from scholars and citizens who don't ordinarily participate in debate about education issues.
The draft of a suggested Research Priorities Plan is organized around five education themes:
Clearly, what we have learned in each of these areas is helping to improve education in sound and systematic ways. By building on this knowledge, we can meet the challenges of tomorrow. We seek your input and help in identifying those issues that are of priority and warrant particular attention.
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