ABSTRACT
Educational research in England and Wales is characterized by pluralism of funding, diversity of organization and the absence of ‘system’. The educational research efforts of the Social Science Research Council, the Department of Education and Science, the Schools Council, the National Foundation for Educational Research and a number of independent foundations are reviewed, with particular reference to recent developments. There has been a marked tendency for the recent policies of funding bodies to favour ‘policy-oriented’ rather than ‘curiosity-oriented’ work, and some diminution of responsive-mode funding. There is less ‘free money’ available for research, and the ‘floor of support’ for university-based work has been weakened by financial restraints in higher education. A substantial volume of resources is still devoted to various forms of educational research, however, and most of the bodies engaged in such work ten years ago are still active, albeit with reduced resources and, in some cases, less participative and representative forms of governance.
