The Dilemmas of Change: Lessons From a School Improvement Effort Gone Awry

In a post hoc analysrs of a school improvement effort that provided individually tailored reports to 93 Kentucky schools, the authors describe the research project from which these reports were derived, their purpose and format, and the dilemmas encountered in encouraging schools to use their results. Established patterns of school organization and practitioners' attitudes toward educational research influenced the effects of these reports. The implications of the analysis are also considered in the context of the educational knowledge utilization process in general.