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This chapter calls for researchers to reconceptualize research quality from the perspective of its expected use, attending to power dynamics that influence how knowledge is defined, constructed, and validated through the research enterprise. Addressing these concerns when designing and conducting education research can yield more useful research evidence for building more equitable education systems. Anchored in scholarship on research utilization and methodological critiques, the chapter introduces a research quality framework that integrates relevance and rigor through five key dimensions of Research Worth Using: (1) relevance of question: alignment of research topics to practical priorities; (2) theoretical credibility: explanatory strength and coherence of principles investigated; (3) methodological credibility: internal and external credibility of study design and execution; (4) evidentiary credibility: robustness and consistency of cumulative evidence; and (5) relevance of answers: justification for practical application. This framework simultaneously uplifts the voices and needs of policymakers, practitioners, and community members, while elevating standards for excellence in education research. We call attention to the myriad ways in which the quality of evidence generated can be strengthened, before describing implications for curating and using research. We conclude by offering suggestions for applying and further developing the framework.

ATHERINE, a 22-year-old first-year teacher in an inner-city high school, faces on a daily basis what many would consider an impossible situation. Her students, all economically disadvantaged, are products of the city's poorest neighborhoods. Many come from the area's large immigrant communities and struggle with English. Others are years behind in their reading and computational skills; several have severe behavior problems. Catherine became a teacher so that she could be a "role model" for such students, and she believed herself to be prepared to teach them. But the complexities of addressing her students' needs far exceed what she learned in her teacher education program. More frustrating still is her belief that she has neither the resources nor the supports necessary to help her in her task. "I feel like I've been thrown into deep water without a life preserver," she admits. She is reluctant to ask for help, citing the school's individualistic culture. "We are the ones responsible for our own classrooms, and we are supposed to be able to handle this ourselves. No one ever asks me if I need help. No one ever comes into my classroom. I had no idea teaching could be such a lonely job." Catherine confesses that she is thinking of quitting teaching or at least trying to get into a "better" school.

EduSoft, together with the Hebrew Herzlia Gymnasium, has delivered a computerized English learning center which includes multimedia English language learning courseware on CD-ROM. In this paper, we will discuss some of the socio-cultural effects of implementing such a multimedia classroom as part of the general English curriculum. Through observations and interviews, we have detailed the impact on students and also on teachers of implementing a multimedia English Center into the general English curriculum of one Tel Aviv junior high and high school.