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

Building Knowledge for a Nation of Learners: A Framework for Education Research - 1997

Epilogue

Powerful Questions

This country was generated out of powerful questions about how individuals, journeying together, might create a new nation; about how, in a new world, they might live their lives; about how the people making this passage might cast off old habits, solve problems in new ways, and build a better future. This country grew out of bitter conflict, as Americans asked powerful questions about what it means, day by day, to construct a society on the foundation of democratic values. These are the very questions many Americans are asking again as we move into a new century. They are part of our history and our ethos, and they inform our nation's quest to strengthen education.

These national education research priorities are a set of questions that elaborate on the fundamental questions from which our nation evolved. These questions are not the exclusive province of academics or policy makers. They are part of our history and our culture, and they inform the preparation of new generations to carry on that history and revitalize that culture.

Education research, in this sense, is not an academic exercise. It draws on the methods of science to assure its validity and reliability, but it is rarely conducted in remote laboratories. It exploits the power of technology, but it does not stop with silicon or circuitry. Education is about connecting people with the world, and education research is about strengthening those connections. It is something in which all Americans can participate.

If we infuse a more reflective, analytic approach into all of our educational endeavors, we can renew a sense of confidence and hope in our nation's educational enterprise. We can change the tenor of PTA meetings and in-service workshops, of political debate and policy deliberations. We can journey together, using research as a roadmap, toward a future in which all learners and all institutions are committed to excellence and equity--not just in principle, but in practice. We can use these priorities to develop the core knowledge that drives education reform. And over time, we can create not only livelier classrooms, but also a stronger, more vital nation.
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