Diverse Perspectives on Understanding the Policy Uses of Education Research

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

The expectation in federal policy is that states, districts, and schools will base their programs on research evidence. Yet little is known about how state officials, school boards, and educators have responded. How do they define research-based evidence? To whom do they turn to interpret, translate, and apply research findings? How much weight do they give research relative to other evidence such as professional judgment and experience with past policies? Does research use vary by policy, phase of the process, or level of the system? This symposium addresses these questions through four presentations drawn from separate studies, each focused on research use at different levels of the education system.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Educational Policy and Politics

Chair

• George W. Bohrnstedt, American Institutes for Research

Papers

• The Acquisition and Use of Evidence District-Wide - Kara S. Finnigan, University of Rochester; Alan J. Daly, University of California - San Diego

• “The Research Says . . .”: Uses of Research Evidence in School-Board Deliberations - Robert Asen, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Deb Gurke

• State Education Department Acquisition and Use of Research in School Improvement - Margaret E. Goertz, University of Pennsylvania; Diane Massell, University of Michigan

• Evidence Use in the Common Core State Standards Initiative - Lorraine M. McDonnell, University of California - Santa Barbara; Stephen Weatherford, University of California - Santa Barbara

Discussant

• Kenji Hakuta, Stanford University