Why is Educational Research Important ?

1. Why is Educational ResearchImportant ?

2. Objectives • Explain the difference in Evaluation and Research. • Identify the individuals or groups that should care about Educational research. • Explain why Educational Research is important. • Explain why Research may be more important to CTE than Academic Education. • Explain why it is important to be good consumers of research. • Explain how to locate sources of good research. • List 5 good sources of research for Career and Technical Education.

3. Research Can be Basic, Applied, or Action but is most likely Action (conducted by educators in the field) and maybe Applied In general research is inferential in nature Often times the conclusions are further removed from opportunities for applications Evaluation/Assessment evaluation is the systematic assessment of the worth or merit of some object evaluation is the systematic acquisition and assessment of information to provide useful feedback about some object Question is how well did we (our students) do? Results used in justification of actions, for accountability Objective 1: Difference in Research & Evaluation/ Assessments

4. Objective 2: Who Cares About Educational Research? • Since there is public money involves, the PUBLIC at large is interested • Since time, money, and reputation is involved EDUCATORS themselves are interested • Since PARENTS pay taxes and spend some time involved with schools and they have children they are very interested. • Society in general cares to some degree for reasons of self preservation.

5. Objective 3: Why Educational Research is Important? • Accountability -- Education is a public trust, therefore it has a responsibility to be wise in it’s decision making. • There are three main reasons Research is important….. • Money – Time – Outcomes (status) • Education spends a lot of money. • Programs, personnel, eq, books, software, facilities • What is the cost of a bad decision? • Even if it was not money what would it be? • Time – Time spent in activities that are not productive. • Loss or gains in student learning -- After all that is why we exist

6. Issues Related to Accountability? • First we have to admit there are problems in Education before we can solve the problem. • When there is a problem what do we do? • Propose solutions • Test solutions • Testing involves measuring outcomes • This leads to interpretation of results • Testing involves reporting • Results become the rationale for change

7. Why is Accountability So Hard in Public Agencies • We are slow to admit any degree of failure. • Fear of loss of public trust • Loss of funds • Loss of jobs • Fear of loss of control • Education is who we are and what we do. • It means answering to people. • We can never be perfect, so why try? • This gets to the gut issues of life, money, success of our children, the hope of the future, etc…

8. Issues • The following are issues reflect concern in the area of accountability • Charter schools • Taxes • Illiteracy • Vouchers • Private schools • Consolidations • The addition or cutting of programs • Standards based ED • NCLB • School control • Parent involvement • Teacher certification

9. Objective 4: Why is Research & Evaluation Important to CTE? • Large expenditures in CTE • Any CTE program cost more than most any academic program • Change is harder for costly programs • We need more evidence to justify change • Goal of CTE is employment • Puts people to work • Goal of employment is to keep the population working, to keep paying taxes • Funding is different – more subject to public opinion

10. Objective 5: Why it is important to be good consumers of research? • To interpret research and reports associated with our programs. • To be more effective teachers • To be more effective administrators • To be able to establish a benchmarks

11. Objective 6: Locating Sources Of Good Research • If I ask you to find me some research on a topic where would you go to get some? • Library – First order sources • Journals devoted to research in a field of study • Books written by experts • Proceedings of conferences of learned forums • ERIC and other data bases help in finding • Professional organizations • Some Websites, if connected to a professional organization, etc.. • Some Clearinghouses, depending on who is sponsoring • Some Published Reports, government or private • Private • Foundations/Non-profits • Commercial

12. What Are Some Less Desirable Sources Of Research? • Magazines, Maybe….only because they are second or third conveyors of the knowledge, but they can be very good for taking results to the public. • Newspapers, Maybe • Bias groups / groups that might have a vested interest in the outcomes, because of economic benefits. They usually pay for the research. • People with a know history of bias / People with agendas… they want their point of view to be dominate.

13. Some Terms That Imply Quality • Juried • Scholarly • Learned forums • Peer reviewed • Blind review, Double blind review • Empirically based

14. Objective 7: Sources of Research CTE • Journal of Vocational Education Researchhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JVER/ • Journal of Agricultural Education (JAE) http://pubs.aged.tamu.edu/jae/ • Journals in the Field of Educationhttp://aera-cr.asu.edu/ejournals/ • Proceeding of conferenceshttp://aaae.okstate.edu/proceedings.html • USOE (also the old NCRVEhttp://vocserve.berkeley.edu/) • http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/index.html?src=mr

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16. Accountability • Definition – • The state of being accountable, liable, or answerable. • Education. a policy of holding schools and teachers accountable for students' academic progress by linking such progress with funding for salaries, maintenance, etc. • http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=accountability

17. Accountability in Education and In Arkansas • Arkansas Department of Education • http://arkansased.org/ • Implementing Accountability in Public Education • http://policy.uark.edu/ritter/sr-acct.html • The National Office for Research on Measurement and Evaluation Systems • http://orme.uark.edu/