Decision-oriented educational research in school districts: The role of dissemination processes

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Abstract

This article addresses the broad issue of how research information can be integrated into the policy and decision processes of educational systems. Our specific foci here is on one type of educational system -- school districts; on research designed to answer specific questions for that district; and, on one major element of the research process -- dissemination. This paper draws heavily upon our experiences in a large, urban American school district, where we work on the problem of how to improve the system's evaluation research capability. This work began in 1978 and continues today. This article has four major section. Background is provided on the nature of the collaboration with the school district. Then, basic strategies for conducting decision-oriented educational research that have emerged from the work are described briefly. This is followed by a discussion of the broad issue of research use. The final section is a detailed review of what we have learned about the relationship between dissemination and utilization.

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  • Cited by (0)

    The research contained herein was supported by the Learning Research and Development Center, funded in part by the National Institute of Education (NIE), U.S. Department of Education. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position of NIE, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

    1

    WILLIAM W. COOLEY was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences during the 1972–1973 academic year. He was President of the American Educational Research Association in 1982.

    2

    WILLIAM E. BICKEL is a Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. Prior to joining the Center he was a teacher and administrator in the public schools. He has served as Chair of the AERA Awards Committee for Relating Research to Practice.

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