Title: The Federal Role in Educational Research and Development
Abstract:T HE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has been collecting, analyzing, and disseminating educational statistics for more than 130 years.Over time the focus has shifted from data gathering to research and development...T HE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has been collecting, analyzing, and disseminating educational statistics for more than 130 years.Over time the focus has shifted from data gathering to research and development (R&D) to find more effective ways of educating children.Educational research and development, however, has not been held in high esteem by most academics and policymakers in the twentieth century. 1 Policymakers have usually downplayed the value of supporting longterm research and development compared with providing immediate and direct assistance to local schools.When the sciences and social sciences were called upon to increase their contributions during World War II, the U.S. Office of Education (USOE) scaled back its support of educational research and development. 2However, as it became increasingly evident in the mid-1960s that adequate knowledge was lacking about how to improve the schooling of poor children, the Johnson administration and Congress supported larger investments in long-term educational research and development. 3he need for federal involvement in educational research, development, and statistics has increased today.Analysts and policymakers are slowly and reluctantly acknowledging that many of the basic federal compensatory education programs established in the 1960s are not as effective as originally hoped.Large-scale, popular federal educational initiatives such as Title I and Head Start probably do offer assistance for some disadvantaged students.But these programs have not provided the same educationalRead More