This book includes a set of rigorous and accessible studies on the topic
of "research evidence" from a variety of levels and educational vantage
points. It also provides the reader with thoughtful commentaries from
leading thinkers in the field. The complex process of acquiring,
interpreting, and using research evidence makes for a rich and under
examined area in educational research, practice and policymaking. Policy
makers, practitioners and scholars are in need of additional knowledge
and practical steps in terms of the uptake of evidence into practice. In
addition, sharpening understanding in terms of the ways in which
research evidence is shaped or adapted at different educational levels
(school, district, state, federal) as well the factors that support or
constrain the acquisition and use of research evidence is of immediate
use.
While professional support for evidence-based practice in schools has
never been stronger, credible research has found only weak large-scale
effects. This book provides us with key insights about the nature of
this problem and a comprehensive approach to its solution; it is a major
step toward realizing the considerable potential for school improvement
of reciprocal working relationships among policy, practice and research
communities. Ken Leithwood, Emeritus Professor, OISE/University of
Toronto
The problem of scant research use at school sites is old, but the
federal to classroom level scope of this book is unique. The authors'
analysis of the current status leads to despair, but they provide a
clear and compelling path forward. Michael Kirst, Professor
Emeritus, Stanford University; President, California State Board of
Education.
We have come a long way since the linear "Research, Dissemination,
Utilization" models of knowledge use of the 1970s and 80s. Each chapter
in this book lays out new directions for understanding how individuals,
relationships and systems advance or impede the movement of new ideas
into policy/practice. Taken together, they redefine knowledge use as a
dynamic process that affects and is affected by specific characteristics
of the social structures in which is occurs. It is a "must read" both
for those interested in educational change and organizational theory.
Karen Seashore Louis, Regents Professor, University of Minnesota
