2007 Wallace Foundation Distinguished Lecture—What Makes Education Research “Educational”?

Education research is plagued by skeptics who doubt its quality and relevance. Inhabitants of schools of education have been among the sharpest critics, and internal battles rage over method and rigor. Yet often lacking is research that explains causes or examines the interplay at the heart of educational practice and policy. This article argues for a conception of research in education that deliberately presses into what is called here the instructional dynamic. Using a sample of studies that exemplify this quintessentially educational perspective, the authors unpack key features of research that probes inside education. They discuss how such research complements in essential ways the other kinds of scholarship that examine and inform education.

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