Educational Research, the National Agenda, and Educational Reform

A volume in Studies in the History of EducationSeries Editor Karen L. Riley, Auburn University at MontgomeryEducational Research, The National Agenda, and Educational Reform examines the origins, history, nature,purposes, and status of educational research by focusing on the relationships among educational research, thenational agenda, educational reform, and the social and behavioral sciences. Its major claim is that the historyof educational research is embedded in the nation’s social, political, intellectual, and economic histories.Attention is given to three significant periods: the Progressive Era when modern educational research began toassume its present form; the Post-World-War-II-Era when educators and educational researchers were directedto return to or turn to the academic disciplines; and the Civil Rights Era after the Supreme Court in Brownended legal racial segregation and raised questions about equality of educational opportunity that are still withus. These were significant periods when there was a clear national agenda shaped by both public and privateagencies. Educators and educational researchers adopted policies and strategies in response to concerns andinterests expressed by the public, by government officials, and by philanthropies. Researchers’ responses have had long-term consequences as seen inthe reaction to The Coleman Report, debates about the merits of quantitative research as opposed to qualitative research, the ongoing discussion aboutthe merits of No Child Left Behind, the achievement gap, the creation of the Institute of Education Sciences, and the emphasis now placed on'scientifically-based research.'The origins of the common school, the work of the philosopher Johann Friedrich Herbart and his followers, and the revolution in scientific methodbrought about by Charles Darwin’s work are included because they serve as the foundation for educational research. Educational researchers’identification with and interest in individual performance and ability and their measurement is related to the close relationship educational researchershave had with psychology, a discipline that typically does not focus on social context. The significance of educational researchers’ borrowing from thebehavioral sciences, especially psychology, is examined through a discussion of the mental hygiene movement, as supported by private philanthropy,and through consideration of contributors such as G. Stanley Hall, Arnold Gesell, Lewis M. Terman, Daniel Starch, and Stuart A. Courtis.