The Role of Research in Educational Change

In the last 20 years, we have witnessed an increasing and widening profile of research activities in the field of education. This is evident through research endeavours of increasingly varied scope, ranging from international assessment and testing of abilities, through research at national and regional levels, to action research at the level of an individual school. At the same time, there has been an expansion of the methods in which data is collected, from population data at the level of individual countries through to quantitative research and qualitative studies. In addition, this has been accompanied by significant methodological improvements in the analytical procedures applied to the collected data.

These developments in the field of educational research have occurred in a period where any educational change needs to be supported by and founded upon research findings and data. Although one might expect that such a context would contribute to an increase in the role of research in any proposed changes, this is not always the case. Indeed, researchers often feel that the results of their work are not sufficiently taken into account in the planning and implementation of educational change. Conversely, those responsible for developing and implementing educational change often point out that the existing research is often not sufficiently applicable to practice and that researchers are not communicating their results in an appropriate and accessible manner.

The 2nd Days of Educational Sciences are devoted to examining the role of research in educational change.

All scientists and researchers are invited to submit and present the results of empirical research in which a primary aim was an attempt to inform, activate and direct educational change. Research endeavours of a diverse scope, from international comparative studies to action research, are welcome and encouraged to participate.