Democratizing Educational Research or Why Is Our Nation Still at Risk after Ten Years of Educational Reform?

The purpose of this paper is to offer an alternative explanation of why the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, and educational research in general, has such a low status and its connection to education reform is so remote. Emphasis placed on the differences that divide reformers, researchers, and educators instead of similarities that bind them together lie at the root of why the educational system is still at risk after a decade of reform. A specific group needs to focus attention on how available knowledge is being used. The current system of top-down reform is not working effectively because it does not give teachers and educational professionals a voice in formulating educational-reform policies that they are asked to implement. Imposing educational reform on teachers contradicts a democratic value that says those who are affected by a decision should have a voice in making that decision. Recommendations to improve the status of educational research include the following: (1) reexamine the traditional assumptions of educational research; (2) focus more closely on the "democratic socio-technical" model, by Wirth; (3) encourage values that bring us together as democratic citizens; and (4) bring more teachers into the process of educational research. (KDP)