The District Role in Instructional Improvement

Corcoran, Thomas B.; Fuhrman, Susan H.; Belcher, Catherine L.

doi:10.1177/003172170108300116

Cited by 101 publications

(109 citation statements)

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“…Second, evidence is used to back existing opinions or decisions, to legitimise them or to complete them. Third, evidence is used for setting up programmes or measures (Corcoran et al, 2001;Marsh, 2006). Considering its significance for building up political support, some authors conclude that evidence does not have a direct, independent effect on decision making, but rather that it is mediated by public opinion (Englert et al, 1977;Kennedy, 1982a).…”

Section: Insights From the European And American Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-Based Education Policy: Lip Service or Common Practice? Empirical Findings from Germany

Dedering

2009

European Educational Research Journal

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Since the late 1990s, it has been the practice in Germany that decisions in educational policy and educational administration should primarily be subject to evidence in terms of reliable empirical data. However, little research has been conducted so far as to the question of how actors in charge receive and process the existing data, and how they use them in decision-making processes. In this article, new empirical findings are presented concerning the way in which the reception and processing of educational scientific evidence is currently carried out. Moreover, differences in the use of data within the last decade are revealed. Relating to an explorative study that consists of 12 qualitative interviews with ministerial personnel in four German school ministries, the findings generally indicate that evidence-based educational policy in Germany is less a matter of paying lip service, but rather increasingly becoming common practice. On the whole, the findings indicate an increasing routine and a more professional treatment of the demands for processing data. All of the school ministries reveal approaches towards systematising the use of data.A few years later than in other European countries and countries outside Europe, the 'empirical shift' in educational policy in Germany occurred in the late 1990s (Lange, 1999). According to the demand that has since been practice, decisions in educational policy and educational administration are no longer solely subject to the scope of knowledge and experience of the bodies in charge, but they are primarily subject to evidence. Thus, they are to be made on an empirical basis, scientifically grounded on the basis of reliable data. The actions of the respective agents are thus considered to be more effective and efficient, and governing activities optimised.In order to generate the necessary database, a general strategy for the area of school educational monitoring was agreed on by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (Kultusministerkonferenz -KMK [1]) in 2006. This strategy includes: (1) regular participation in international large-scale assessment studies; (2) centralised national tests for examining the achievement of educational standards (at school levels 4, 9 and 10); (3) comparative tests for examining the achievement of educational standards regarding individual schools (at different levels); and (4) a joint educational reporting system. Furthermore, the Länder have introduced school inspection systems and educational reporting at the state level.However, little research has been conducted in Germany so far as regards the question of how actors in educational policy and educational administration receive and process the existing data, and how they use them in decision-making processes. New empirical findings in this regard are presented in this article, relating to an explorative study on how the reception and processing of educational scientific evidence is currently carr...

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Section: Insights From the European And American Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-Based Education Policy: Lip Service or Common Practice? Empirical Findings from Germany

Dedering

2009

European Educational Research Journal

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“…However, as Corcoran (2001) pointed out, school staff members often paid lip service to the use of research in classrooms and were more interested in designs that drew on research about practices. It is therefore significant to discuss the characteristics of effective PD viewed and suggested by researchers in the world and use them as starting points in planning and implementing effective professional development programs for language teachers with consideration of the contextual factors of Vietnam.…”

Section: Suggestions For Effective Pd In the Vietnamese Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Search of Effective Professional Development of Efl Teachers in Vietnam

Viên¹

2017

JFS

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Professional development (PD) plays an important role in maintaining and improving teachers' qualities and competences, but how to make a PD program effective in relation to needs in multiple contexts has still been a matter of much concern by administrators, researchers, and teachers alike. This paper therefore aims to deal with this issue with a view to assisting EFL teachers to develop their PD in an effective way. At first, the paper points out necessity of PD and some weaknesses in PD plans from EFL environments in Vietnam and uses them as rationale for discussion in the following parts. Then it starts xthe discussion by defining the concepts of PD and effective PD by different scholars that reflect the current trend of individualized and school-based PD, and presenting scientific evidence about characteristics of effective PD programs in the literature. From this scientific foundation, the paper finally makes suggestions about how an effective PD program for EFL teachers and by EFL teachers should be designed and implemented in the Vietnamese context with sufficient attention to contextual factors.

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“…For example, studies of central office administrators found that they most often considered budgetary, political, and administrative issues when framing policy discussions, suggesting that the practicalities of district governance, rather than evidence, set parameters for decision making (Burkhardt & Schoenfeld, 2003;Fusarelli, 2008;Lagemann, 2002). District administrators appear to weigh multiple forms of information simultaneously when making decisions rather than to rely on one or two instrumental student data points or research studies (Corcoran, Fuhrman, & Belcher, 2001;Kennedy, 1982).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the collaborative research process

Kochanek

Scholz

Garcia

2015

EPAA

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Despite significant federal investments in the production of high-quality education research, the direct use of that research in policy and practice is not eviden t. Some education researchers are increasingly employing collaborative research models that use structures and processes to integrate practitioners into the research process in an effort to produce more relevant and useful work. This article presents and describes the logic model developed by researchers at American Institutes for Research (AIR) to guide their work on the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest. Under this program, AIR researchers have developed eight research alliances. The alliance members, who represent districts, state education agencies, and other organizations with a vested interest in education, partner with researchers to develop three-to five-year research agendas. These Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 23 No. 121 2 agendas drive the research and technical assistance projects that the alliance members and AIR researchers do together. It contributes to the emergent literature on research -practice partnerships, providing a theory-based approach to the work that others might model, build upon, or revisit. Keywords: collaborative research; research-practice partnership; knowledge utilization; collaborative partnership; logic model; theory of action Mapeando el proceso de investigación colaborativa Resumen: A pesar de las inversiones federales significativas en la producción de investigaciones en educación de alta calidad, el uso directo de que la investigación en la política y la práctica no es evidente. Algunos investigadores en el área de educación están empleando cada vez más modelos de investigación en colaboración que utilizan estructuras y procesos para integrar los profesionales en el proceso de investigación, en un esfuerzo para producir un trabajo más relevante y útil. Este artículo presenta y describe el modelo lógico desarrollado por investigadores de la American Institutes for Research (AIR) para orientar su trabajo en el Laboratorio Educativo Regional del Medio Oeste. Bajo este programa, los investigadores de AIR han desarrollado ocho alianzas de investigación. Los miembros de la alianza, que representan a los distritos, las agencias estatales de educación y otras organizaciones interesados en la educación, forman un equipo con investigadores para desarrollar programas de investigación de tres a cinco años de duración. Estos programas de investigación y de asistencia técnica orientan a los miembros de la alianza e investigadores AIR en su colaboración. Este trabajo contribuye a la literatura sobre las asociaciones de investigación-práctica, proporcionando un enfoque teórico que otros podrían modelar, utilizar o modificar. Palabras clave: investigación colaborativa; asociación de investigación-práctica; utilización de los conocimientos; asociación de colaboración; modelo lógico; teoría de la acción Mapeando o processo de pesquisa colaborativa Resumo: Apesar dos investimentos federais significativos...

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The District Role in Instructional Improvement

Cited by 101 publications

References 0 publications

Evidence-Based Education Policy: Lip Service or Common Practice? Empirical Findings from Germany

Evidence-Based Education Policy: Lip Service or Common Practice? Empirical Findings from Germany

In Search of Effective Professional Development of Efl Teachers in Vietnam

Mapping the collaborative research process

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