The Federal Role in Educational Research and Development

Abstract

Policymakers have usually downplayed the value of supporting long-term research and development compared with providing immediate and direct assistance to local schools. When the sciences and social sciences were called upon to increase their contributions during World War II, the U.S. Office of Education (USOE) scaled back its support of educational research and development. 2 However, as it became increasingly evident in the mid-1960s that adequate knowledge was lacking about how to improve the schooling of poor children, the Johnson administration and Congress supported larger investments in long-term educational research and development. 3