Educational practice

Educational practice is developed in part through the results of educational research, and an analysis of a number of recent studies shows how theory, research, and practice. Researchers have a strong awareness of the fact that what they develop in an empirical study may lead in time to changes in the classroom or administrative office, and they take this responsibility seriously and consider its ramifications, often in terms of how research should be shaped. A number of theorists indeed conduct what amounts to research on research or on specific aspects of the research process as it is utilized in the educational field. One of the ideas that emerges from a number of theoretical studies is that the experience of teachers itself serves as a form of research and that teachers who are aware of this or who are involved in more direct forms of research benefit from their knowledge and can convey those benefits to others in terms of the development of future policy.

Valimaa and Westerheuden (1995) consider specifically how policy discourse and research discourse meet in contract research in higher education, and they find that the interplay of these discourses has consequences for researchers who must balance conflicting demands. The authors note that policy makers and researchers have different positions and interests. The authors provide a good overall analysis of the different positions a researcher occupies on different levels--local, national, and in the scientific commu

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that practice itself is a form of research and development. He calls this action research, identifying it as the study of a social situation that involves the participants themselves as researchers. This is a broad view of research that fits with the analysis offered by Hargreaves (1996) and others noted above and that also makes a much more direct connection among the elements of practice, research, and policy formation. It also emphasizes the nature of experience as a form of research that shapes future behavior: Because it is action oriented and linked to change it is easy to see why it is an attractive option for teacher educators. Moreover, it may be carried out at different levels, so that, whatever the experience of the researcher or would-be researchers, it can contribute both to their growth and the growth of others (Day, 1995, 361). Hargreaves (1996) says he is blurring the boundaries among research, policy, and practice, and Day (1995) does the same thing by showing how these elements are inter-related. Allison (1994) examines the same issue in the British context and notes how much emphasis is being placed on research in the development of educational policy. Teachers, Allison finds, learn more by themselves b

Category: Psychology - E