Defining Progress in Educational Research

Abstract

This paper addresses the question, What is progress in educational research? It is argued that the question is fundamental to understanding how effective educational research is and might be in improving practice. The paper begins with a discussion of the problem of partial specification. The consequences of this problem for defining the research-practice relationship are considered. Next, three solutions to the problem of partial specification are presented. It is shown that these solutions represent different approaches to defining progress in educational research. In addition, it is argued that these solutions have different implications for relating research to practice. The paper concludes by raising several questions that educational researchers need to consider if some type of rapprochement among definitions of progress in educational research is to be made. © 1985, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.