Making Research Relevant: An Example of Aggregating School-Based Findings in Support of Decision Making With Implications for Educational Leadership

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Abstract

Successful school reform is dependent upon whether educational leadership can make effective decisions. Recently the reliance on randomized filed trials (RFT) as the only reliable and valid way of determining causality has been challenged in both the medical and social science fields. This paper presents an argument that quasi-experimental designs when applied to real world settings can provide educational leaders with the type of data that they need and will trust. As an example, a multiple-base line multi-level design was used to determine the effect of implementing reforms across multiple sites over the course of several years. The central purpose of the study illustrated a research design concept that addresses several issues associated with RFT and how school leaders make decisions.

Authors

• Theodore Stefan Kaniuka, Fayetteville State University

• Michael R. Vitale, East Carolina University

• Nancy Romance, Florida Atlantic University