Addresses the problems involved in educational research and the issues surrounding its contribution to policy making and practice. This work examines the diverse approaches within qualitative research and considers what role research should play and examine the case for randomized controlled trials and for action research. Acknowledgements vii Introduction viii Part 1: Debates about evidence-based practice 1(138) Teaching as a research-based profession: possibilities and prospects 3(15) David H. Hargreaves Educational research and teaching: a response to David Hargreaves' TTA Lecture 18(25) Martyn Hammersley In defence of research for evidence-based teaching: a rejoinder to Martyn Hammersley 43(18) David H. Hargreaves A reply to Hargreaves 61(5) Martyn Hammersley Making evidence-based practice educational 66(23) John Elliott Making evidence-based practice educational: a rejoinder to John Elliott 89(2) Ann Oakley Evidence-informed policy and practice: challenges for social science 91(15) Ann Oakley Intellectuals or technicians? The urgent role of theory in educational studies 106(15) Stephen J. Ball Beyond reflection: contingency, idiosyncrasy and reflexivity in initial teacher education 121(18) Alex Moore Part 2: The nature of educational research 139(152) On the kinds of research in educational settings 141(10) Michael Bassey The paradigm wars and their aftermath: a `historical' sketch of research on teaching since 1989 151(16) Nathaniel Gage Action research 167(14) Stephen Kemmis Increasing the generalizability of qualitative research 181(23) Janet W. Schofield Critical incidents and learning about risks: the case of young people and their health 204(16) Martyn Denscombe Interrogating the discourse of home-school relations: the case of `parents' evenings' 220(25) Maggie MacLure Barbara Walker Labouring to learn? Industrial training for slow learners 245(18) Paul Atkinson David Shone Teresa Rees An appraisal of `Labouring to learn' 263(13) Martyn Hammersley The obviousness of social and educational research results 276(15) Nathaniel Gage Index 291