ABSTRACT
Because of the applied nature of much educational research its funding must be closely linked to the political circumstances of any country and to the ideology of the party in power. In Australia, a federal system, this has meant considerable reliance upon the Commonwealth government. Between the early 1970s and 1983 the government changed four times, with major consequent swings in the nature, organization and extent of funding for educational research. In 1973 the conservative coalition, just beginning to fund such research, was replaced by a Labor government which, at least initially, poured money into education. Between 1975 and 1983 the conservatives cut back severely on all educational expenditure, but savagely on that for research. Since early 1983 Labor, despite an ideological commitment to education, has been unable, except marginally, due to economic circumstances, to increase research funding. Such overseas influences as new methods of research have been mediated through the ideology of the governing party and because of the anti-centralist commitment of the conservatives, so long in power, control of the Australian education research effort has for the most part remained vestigial.
