Speaking Up and Speaking Out: Editorials as a Means to Shape Public Perceptions and Education Policy

• In Event: Maximizing the Policy Relevance of Research for School Improvement

Abstract

This presentation explains the value and purpose of writing editorials as a researcher, and particularly as university faculty members. Editorials provide an outlet for scholars to engage in public discourse on important and timely issues. These editorials can help to shape public opinion and translate the work of researchers in accessible language and action. These researchers share their backgrounds in education along with their personal experiences writing editorials. They give an overview of general approaches to editorials, word counts, collaborations, outlets, and key tips to consider, such as timeliness, knowing the audience, and getting feedback.

Knowledge generated through research is not always widely available or accessible to policymakers (Reimers & McGinn, 1997). Most knowledge produced by researchers is locked away behind peer-reviewed journals with paywalls. Even if policymakers could access these journals, they and members of the public would find themselves lost and disinterested in the dense format and academic jargon. In other instances, given that most policymakers are elected officials, policy decisions can also be based on perceptions of public opinion. Indeed, our democracy depends on some degree of public input in the policymaking process (Fishkin, Luskin, & Jowell, 2000). Consequently, researchers who are knowledgeable about school improvement and have generated research with important implications for policy will often have to look to other methods to communicate with policymakers and those who elect and appoint policymakers. Editorials and other opinion-oriented writings have been used to impact policymakers as well as the general public.

Editorials are often made widely available through media outlets, unlike most peer-reviewed research. They are also written in accessible language. Persuasive, opinion-oriented writings have a long history of impacting policymakers and the general public. Editorials can be powerful tools if researchers are willing and able to use them to disseminate critical information. First, editorials are defined, and a call is articulated for more scholarship that engages the general public and policymakers. Next, two educational researchers working in higher education are utilized as examples of how editorials influence policymakers and the general public. Finally, practical steps and recommendations are included for writing editorials.

Researchers have historically published their research in peer-reviewed research journals, but oftentimes policymakers do not have access to these outlets or are turned off by academic writing. Editorials offer an additional way of connecting policymakers and the general public with important research findings that can be used to drive policy decisions or inform local, state, and national elections. A secondary outcome of this form of public scholarship is service to communities and the opportunity to rebuild confidence in institutions of higher education.

Authors

• David E. DeMatthews, University of Texas at Austin

• Richard J. Reddick, University of Texas at Austin

• Lebon D. James, University of Texas at Austin