ABSTRACT
In this Part the relation between educational research and its potential users is examined. Here the changes in the organization of research outlined in Part 1 are shown to be paralleled by changes in the administration and teaching to which the evidence relates. Drysdale stresses the rush and bustle in the office as education officers cope with reorganization, increased political pressure and diminished resources. Mitchell points to the way teachers are trying to respond to similar developments, particularly in the inner cities. Both look to research for help in these efforts, stressing the scarcity of information for decision-making in office and school. Bennett and Desforges detail the variety in contemporary efforts to apply research to schooling and to ensure practical outcomes. But they stress the limitations of such applied research in the absence of understanding about the processes involved. In the end, decision-maker and researcher ask ‘why’, because however useful it is to know what is going on, acting to improve it requires some understanding of the forces involved.
