Topic: Educational Research

10-second review: When someone uses the words “Research says….” as proof for a certain educational practice, buyer beware.

Summary: “As education policy becomes a hot topic among those campaigning for local, state and national office, that well-worn phrase ‘all the research shows’ is cropping up with new abandon. We believe that research can indeed provide important insights to guide practice and policy—but given the complexity of school settings and students’ diverse needs, the research record seldom yields simple solutions that will do everywhere and for all.”

Source: A DiPardo & M Sperling, eds. Research in the Teaching of English (May 2004), 349. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Comment: Nothing makes me more upset than the statement, “Research says….” in education. I read a lot of educational research and gain many interesting ideas from it, but proof positive I don’t find in conclusions that say “indicates” and “suggests,” which are usually found in most educational research conclusions. As teachers, we are supposed to be critical readers, but, at least in the journals I read, even the best educated offer blanket statements from an educational research that has been termed “poorly designed” in general. The questions are good and the conclusions are helpful and they deserve thinking about, but they do not provide proof positive for the “best” educational practices. As the quote above says, education is too complex to apply to every situation. RayS.