State Of Education Research Research Articles

THE STATUS OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES IN VIETNAM: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS FROM CLARIVATE WEB OF SCIENCE DATABASE BETWEEN 1991 AND 2018

Since 2013, Vietnam has implemented a plan to reform the whole education sector. However, there is little understanding on the status of educational research in Vietnam, which may lay the foundation for such plan. Thus, this research aims to analyze the whole picture of educational research from Vietnam, as seen from the Clarivate Web of Science (WOS) database: 215 publications were recorded, ranging from 1991 to 2018. These 215 publications were further analyzed from five perspectives: 1) number of publications by year; 2) research fields and levels of education; 3) top institutions with the highest number of publications; 4) international collaboration; and 5) quality. Some of the most notable results are: 1) the educational sciences in Vietnam have been still under-developed until recently; 2) among different research topics research among educational sciences, some (e.g., Vocational Education and Training or Early Childhood Education) seemed to be overlooked whereas others (e.g., Higher Education and Teaching and Learning) seemed to receive more attention from educational scholars; 3) all the most major education – specialized universities did not appear among the top five institutions with highest number of publications; 4) Australia, Thailand, the USA, New Zealand and China were the countries with the highest number of co-publications with Vietnamese researchers; and 5) The majority of publications belonged to low-ranked journals. Implications would be withdrawn for Vietnamese policymakers, education leaders, educational researchers and teachers in order to adjust their policies and/or action plans; thus, enhancing the performance and impacts of educational research in the future. Keywords: academic database, bibliometrics analysis, Clarivate WOS, educational sciences, international publishing, Vietnam.

Why educational research should not just solve problems, but should cause them as well

As we move into the second year of our tenure as editors of the British Educational Research Journal, we offer some reflections on the state of educational research in the UK and beyond, particularly in relation to recent developments in research policy and research practice. We argue that in addition to enhancing the usefulness of educational research, that is, its capacity for solving problems, there is an ongoing need for research that identifies problems and, in that sense, causes problems. This kind of research challenges taken for granted assumptions about what is going on and what should be going on, and speaks back to expectations from policy and practice, not in order to deny such expectations but to engage in an ongoing debate about the legitimacy of such expectations – a debate that crucially should have a public quality and hence should take place in the public domain.

Perspectivas de investigación en educación y pedagogía en el Eje Cafetero

El artículo presenta el resultado de un estudio sobre el estado de la investigación en educación y pedagogía en el Eje Cafetero. La perspectiva metodología usada fue documental. Se buscó en la voz de los líderes algunas justificaciones de sus procesos, lo cual permite esbozar una mirada comprensiva de estas dinámicas. Como uno de los principales hallazgos, se identifica el predominio de la temática de investigación sobre la educación y el desarrollo humano; la formulación de objetivos orientados a la comprensión de los fenómenos educativos; y los métodos de investigación de corte hermenéutico, lo que señala una importante disminución de los estudios de corte explicativo y la emergencia de enfoques desde la complementariedad. Se concluye que la mayoría de los grupos asume marcos teóricos desde las temáticas inherentes al campo de investigación antes que una profunda reflexión sobre el asunto de las pertinencias ontológicas, epistemológicas y metodológicas de los objetos discursivos a investigar.

Status of Research in Education in Pharmacology:The Indian Scene during the last Five Years

Status of Research in Education in Pharmacology:The Indian Scene during the last Five Years

The State of Educational Research: Central European Silence and Controversies

The State of Educational Research: Central European Silence and Controversies

A scoping review of medical education research in family medicine.

BackgroundLittle is known about the state of education research within family medicine. As family medicine education models develop, it is important to develop an understanding of the current state of this research and develop ways to advance the field.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review of family medicine education research to describe 1) research topic areas and 2) the methodologies and methods used to study these topics. MEDLINE, Social Sciences s and ERIC electronic databases were searched. 817 full text articles from 2002 to 2012 were screened; 624 articles were included in the review.ResultsThe following research topic areas were identified: continuing education, curriculum development, undergraduate education, teaching methods, assessment techniques, selection of entrants, non-clinical skills, professional and faculty development, clinical decision-making and resident well-being. Quantitative studies comprised the large majority of research approaches; overall minimal methodological details were provided.ConclusionsOur review highlights an overall need for increased sophisticated in methodological approaches to education research in family medicine, a problem that could be ameliorated by multiple strategies including better engagement of methodologists throughout the research process. The results provide guidance for future family medicine education research programs.

The Professional Status of Educational Research: Professionalism and Developmentalism in Twenty-First-Century Working Life

‘How helpful and how necessary is it for at least some of us to see ourselves as professional educational researchers?’ asked Donald McIntyre in his 1996 presidential address to the British Educational Research Association. Still pertinent to consideration of the direction in which the British educational research community ought to focus its development, this question is revisited through examination of whether or not educational research is a profession. Located within a sociological framework, the paper first examines some of the earliest work that established the sociology of professions as a field of study. It then compares this with recent work in the field, before considering whether or not – against the various criteria for professional status that these studies identify – educational research(ing) may be categorised as a profession. Using Noordegraaf’s three categories, the case is examined for considering educational research(ing) as a ‘pure’, a ‘hybrid’ or a ‘situated’ profession. The conclusion is that it represents none of these, but that, within the context of twenty-first-century working life, this is less important than the need for educational research to embrace a culture of developmentalism.

Living in a 2.2 world: from mapping to strategic capacity building for Australian educational research

The results of Australia’s first national research assessment, excellence for research in Australia, provoked considerable discussion about the state of educational research in Australia. Understanding the nature of this field of research became the focus for empirical research and analysis that was intended to inform strategic planning. This paper provides an overview of the articles in this special issue, bringing together research on Australian educational research and insights from international researchers who research the effects of research assessment in educational research in their own countries. These sources inform a commentary on Australian educational research and suggest an agenda for further action on strategic capacity building for Australian educational research.

Principal leadership in China: an initial review

This article reviews the literature on Chinese principalship written in English and Chinese between 1998 and 2008. The first sections discuss the rationale for the research, the review process, and the state of education research in mainland China. The review findings are presented as a set of core patterns and contributory subpatterns, which flow from either the empirical or non-empirical literature. Two core patterns are identified from the non-empirical pieces – prescriptions and commentaries. Prescriptions focus on telling principals what they need to do to be successful, especially in the present reform environment. Commentaries focus on the key concerns and problems confronting principals. Three core patterns can be discerned from the empirical pieces – imported frameworks, indigenous investigations, and contextual influences. The final section offers a number of conclusions that look within and across the core patterns and pose questions to guide further research.

Vive la Différence? Comparing “Like with Like” in Studies of Learners’ Ideas in Diverse Educational Contexts

This paper considers the status of educational research that looks to replicate previous findings in a novel educational context, taking as its focus an active area of research in a range of national contexts: studies into students’ ideas about scientific topics. The paper considers the circumstances under which a “replication” study should be considered to offer original new knowledge worthy of publication in international research journals. It is argued here that there are sound principled reasons to expect studies undertaken in different educational contexts to be able to contribute to a progressive research programme, and so researchers should be encouraged to undertake such work. However, technically competent papers submitted to prestigious journals will be rejected if they are considered to merely replicate previous work without offering novel empirical or theoretical content that is considered to make an original contribution. This paper explores the basis for welcoming research “testing-out” published findings in new contexts and considers the place of such studies within a progressive research programme. This analysis can inform research design for those looking to explore learners’ ideas in local educational contexts, by offering clear guidance on the forms of research likely to offer significant contributions to public knowledge.

Inside Pasteur’s quadrant: knowledge production in a profession

In this paper, we examine the current state of educational research through the framework of “use‐inspired” knowledge. Previous discussions regarding the nature of educational research have disproportionately focused on the soft/applied nature of knowledge in the discipline or a need for methodological priority. After acknowledging these arguments, we consider the role of education as a professional discipline in American colleges and universities, and explore the inherent relationship between researchers and practitioners. Use‐inspired knowledge prioritises practice, encourages translational research, fosters interdisciplinarity and dissolves rigid educational structures.

Cultural science and qualitative educational research: work ‘in the first place’ on the morality of classroom life

The state of qualitative research in education is addressed in this paper in terms of three categories of scientific inquiry (following Heap, 1992) and the varying place and function of qualitative work in each of these categories. The argument is put that one of these categories of inquiry, specifically cultural human sciences, offers the educational enterprise distinctive theoretical and analytic advantages not shared by the others. An illustration is provided concerning an issue that is both central and particular to educational research: the intertwining of intellectual, curricular, social and moral work accomplished routinely in classrooms. The paper concludes that empirically rich, programmatic and explicitly theorized research continues to hold most promise for the confident and sustained progression of qualitative traditions in education.

Research and teaching cultures in two contrasting UK policy contexts: Academic life in Education Departments in five English and Scottish universities

The paper explores academic staff and departmental research and teaching cultures in the Education Departments of five universities in Scotland and England, countries with increasingly diverging public policies in respect of education. The relationship between research and teaching, how the purposes of universities are defined and the status of research in Education are current UK higher education policy preoccupations. Data is drawn from interviews with 40 academics, observation of department settings, documentation and websites. The analysis draws on the work of Bourdieu, considering the changing habitus of individual academics, their departmental and academic subject context and the forms of symbolic capital now required in Scottish and English Education departments in response to new policies affecting their academic field. The paper also utilises recent literature on the research–teaching relationship. The career trajectories of respondents, their habitus and the forms of symbolic capital that they bring to academic life are examined, as are the extent to which the teaching and research cultures in each of the five departments studied mirror each other and whether these also reflect the two different policy contexts. The themes how academic cultures are shaped and research/teaching connections viewed have international as UK relevance.

A challenge to Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander scholars: what the research literature teaches us about our work

What do we currently know, in light of conceptual, empirical, and applied studies, about the status of educational research on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders? And why is this knowing important? This article proposes that illuminating the themes of what has already been examined might help policymakers, researchers, educational leaders and teachers to better negotiate the tensions of school context, content, and culture. Hence, it examines current research literature, which leads to questions about academic disparity, challenges of methodological support, and areas for further teaching and learning scholarship.

Systematic and Sustainable Reform in Engineering Education

In our global society, with its increasing technological demands and opportunities, engineering education plays an undeniably significant role. Professional preparation is a core ingredient for cultivating the engineering and technology talent required for economic and industrial success ~ASEE 1994!. According to the highest levels of leadership in the engineering community, however, engineering education has not kept up with the sweeping changes in engineering practices and, instead, continues to prepare students to be engineers for a world one or two generations past ~Wulf 1998!. This raises a question: How can we, as a community, promote systemic change to the educational process by taking advantage of our profession as promoters of discovery, learning, and engagement? The path to success is just beginning to take shape. A national awareness regarding engineering education reform is driving the need to establish the field of engineering education as a scholarly endeavor. The challenge facing engineering education cannot be met by simply modifying an outmoded curriculum. We need fundamental research that also transforms learning and teaching. As the National Research Council stated so well in 2002 ~Shavelson and Towne 2002!, “No one would think of getting to the moon or wiping out a disease without research. Likewise, one cannot expect reform efforts in education to have significant effects without research-based knowledge to guide them.” The National Academy of Engineering has recently become both vocal and proactive in sponsoring new initiatives to support innovative work in engineering education ~Wulf and Fisher 2002!. Couple this with the adoption of Engineering Criteria 2000 by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology ~ABET!, the National Science Foundation’s support for educational research, and publication of The Engineer of 2020 ~NAE 2004!, and the stage has been set to substantively elevate the status of educational research in faculty performance reviews, improve engineering educational research quality by demanding appropriate assessment, attract engineering professors into the field, and increase collaborations between engineering faculty and faculty in other areas including education and psychology, among others.

Post-structuralism and policy research in education

This paper critically examines some of the challenges to policy research in education posed by post-modernist and post-structuralist thinking. It starts by characterizing those modernist and structuralist assumptions which have been subject to attack, but suggests that they are still very much in the ascendancy in the official discourse of educational research (as expressed, for example, by the National Educational Research Forum). Thereafter, key features of the assault represented by the work of Foucault, Derrida and Lyotard are outlined and an account of their destabilizing effect on intellectual work, for individuals and institutions, is offered. Several possible responses are considered. It is argued that policy research poses particular problems because, notwithstanding the messiness of the policy process, there must always come a point of closure on options: decisions cannot be delayed until the epistemological status of educational research is resolved. Researchers must find ways of negotiating the shifting configurations in the relationship between research, policy and practice. This will require both theoretical sophistication and robust engagement with issues that matter to practitioners.

Evidence matters: randomized trials in education research

Opinions about education programs and practices are offered frequently --by children, parents, teachers, and policymakers. Credible studies of the impact of programs on the performance of children are far less frequent. Researchers use a variety of tools to determine their impact and efficacy, including sample surveys, narrative studies, and exploratory research. However, randomized field trials, which are commonly used in other disciplines, are rarely employed to measure the impact of education practice. Evidence Matters explores the history and current status of research in education and encourages the more frequent use of such trials. Judith Gueron (Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation), discusses the challenges involved in randomized trials and offers practical advice drawn experience. Robert Boruch (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania), Dorothy de Moya (Campbell Collaboration Secretariat), and Brooke Snyder (University of Pennsylvania) explore the use of randomized field trials in education and other fields. David Cohen, Stephen Raudenbush, and Deborah Loewenberg Ball (all from the University of Michigan) review the history of progress in education over the past forty years and urge increased research on coherent instruction regimes. Maris Vinovskis (University of Michigan) examines the history and role of the U.S. Department of Education in developing rigorous evaluation of federal programs, and suggests a new National Center for Evaluation and Development. Thomas Cook and Monique Renee Payne (both from Northwestern University) take on the claim that randomized field trials are inappropriate in the U.S. education system. Gary Burtless (Brookings Institution) explores the political and professional factors that influence randomized field trials in economic programs, examining possible explanations for their lack of frequent use in education. Carol Weiss (Harvard University) provides a brief history of community studies in the United States and suggests a variety of alternatives to randomization. It is difficult to gauge the impact of various approaches in education. But the authors give a variety of concrete examples to illustrate the feasibility of randomized trials, and the circumstances under which they are appropriate. By offering a variety of suggestions to improve the methods used to evaluate education programs, the contributors to this volume seek to improve education in the United States. Frederick Mosteller is Roger I. Lee Professor in Mathematical Statistics, emeritus, in the department of statistics at Harvard University. Robert Boruch is the University Trustee Chair Professor the graduate school of education and statistics department at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Social Science and Evidence-based Everything: The case of education

Recent moves in academic and policy circles to strengthen the social science research evidence base have raised questions about the quality and status of educational research. They have suggested a need for systematic research synthesis, for greater accessibility of sound educational research evidence, and greater respect for the perspectives of the different stakeholders in the educational research process. This paper looks at the background to 'the evidence movement', and discusses a particular government-funded initiative designed to take forward the challenge of systematic reviews of educational research. It considers some of the ways in which this activity poses challenges for social science methodology.

The educational psychologist as practitioner-researcher: Reality or dream?

AbstractIt is almost five years since the publication of the Special Edition ofEducational and Child Psychology, 15(3)that contextualised the debate on the new paradigm methods for would-be educational psychology practitioner-researchers. Despite the exciting and constructive message conveyed, numerous studies, both concurrent and subsequent to the Special Edition, suggest that, whilst practitioner research is happening, it has still not become a demonstrable reality for the majority of educational psychologists and their services. More recent publications on the state of education research in general and the official Scottish review of the educational psychologist’s role that includes the research remit, add a fresh dimension to the discussion. In addition, the current uncertain climate for professional educational psychology practice is a function of a number of ongoing shifts in paradigms, training, professional role expectations, and legislation, and these factors may be contributing to this lack of progress as well as creating unprecedented opportunities. With particular reference to the context of educational psychology in Scotland, this paper reviews existing and new literature, and focuses on identifying the helps and hindrances to the development of a research ethos and practice within psychological services.

The Tooley Report on Educational Research: two philosophical objections

The report on educational research, commissioned by the Office for Standards in Education, written by James Tooley with assistance, and published under the title Educational Research: a critique, set out to ‘help provide some badly needed evidence to inform the debate about the quality of educational research’ (Tooley, 1998, p. 9). Whether this ‘snapshot’ actually upholds Hargreaves' (1996, p. 1) contention that there is a considerable amount of ‘second rate educational research’ is far from clear, although Tooley does conclude that the majority of studies surveyed lacked a clear focus, employed sloppy methodology and displayed partisanship. Now, those whose work was critiqued might, with some justification, grumble about Tooley's own ideological bias given his well-known right-wing, market-oriented views about education. Concern could also be directed at the report's methodological inadequacies, including the procedures adopted to select the journal sample, the categories employed for analysis, and the validity of the conclusions reached. I leave all of these for others to address. Rather, I shall examine two basic distinctions which Tooley adopts and deems important for his investigation into the state of educational research in Britain. The first is between empirical and non-empirical research, the second is between quantitative and qualitative empirical research. Philosophically, both of these distinctions are highly problematic and as a philosopher Tooley should, at the very least, have acknowledged their contentiousness rather than simply taking them for granted. The purpose of this short note is to indicate why Tooley's reliance on these two distinctions will not do.