Quality Research in Literacy and Science Education: International Perspectives and Gold Standards Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2009 Edition

The strength of this book, its inclusion of many perspectives that include political and policy pressures, budget priorities, task force reports, research complexities, curriculum complexities, and teaching-learning complexities, will be appreciated by many who see “No Childe Left Behing” and “high-stakes testing” as overly simplistic and potentially harmfull to education. It contains important information and valuable insight into the complexities of conducting quality sience literacy research in particular and education research in general. Also, the emphasis on producing research that can be understood and used properly by policy makers at local, state, and national levels is a strength of the book. I have been in the science education research field for over 40 years, including a stint as editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and I can say that I profited from reading this book.

Ron Good, Professor Emeritus, Louisiana State University and Florida State University, USA

This book addresses implications for “Gold Standards” of education research―especially in science education and literacy. These standards are meant to provide evidence-based educational outcomes found effective in randomized controlled trials, following patterns of evidence used in medical research. Similar expectations have emerged in other countries―from education ministries, for researchers working with U.S. colleagues, and for researchers with multinational and non-profit support.

The current “Gold Standard” policy, developed in the United States through the 2001 “No Child Left Behind” [NCLB] Act and the 2002 Education Sciences Reform Act, attempts to improve the effects of schooling and enhance educational research. The contributions to this book explore perspectives on how best to implement multiple standards of education research.