A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

We are all better off when we turn to knowledge to solve problems. Research on these priorities can contribute to a culture of knowledge-based reform, where knowledge plays an important role in efforts at school improvement.

Kenji Hakuta
Co-Chair
OERI National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board

Together, the seven educational research priorities discussed in this chapter form the core of an education research agenda for the nation. They deal with many facets of American education inside and outside formal institutions. They address all levels of schooling: from infant and toddler programs through higher education and on-the-job training. The priorities are a framework for building knowledge- to support and inform the efforts of Americans to improve learning and teaching.

These priorities not only will provide a keener focus for new research, they also will provide a framework for the development of new practical applications of research and guide dissemination efforts. In addition, the array of questions that will be refined and addressed under each of the priorities will be selected to create a balanced research agenda. Some questions will address urgent needs of teachers and administrators in schools and classrooms, others will seek to illuminate difficult, long-term policy questions, and still others will contribute to a foundation of scientifically tested knowledge and rich theory on which to ground future research and development.

In setting this agenda, the Assistant Secretary and the Board refrained from ranking the priorities. None of these priorities can stand alone. Research efforts that view the learner in isolation, or a school in isolation, cannot fully succeed. The priorities arise from the conviction that the ultimate aim of educational research is to improve each American's capacity to participate in the nation's cultural, economic, social, and political systems. Efforts to strengthen learning and teaching cannot be conceptualized or implemented apart from these systems.

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[Chapter 1: Research for a Changing World]

[Early Childhood Learning]