research problem of education

• Our Mission

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2021

From reframing our notion of “good” schools to mining the magic of expert teachers, here’s a curated list of must-read research from 2021.

It was a year of unprecedented hardship for teachers and school leaders. We pored through hundreds of studies to see if we could follow the trail of exactly what happened: The research revealed a complex portrait of a grueling year during which persistent issues of burnout and mental and physical health impacted millions of educators. Meanwhile, many of the old debates continued: Does paper beat digital? Is project-based learning as effective as direct instruction? How do you define what a “good” school is?

Other studies grabbed our attention, and in a few cases, made headlines. Researchers from the University of Chicago and Columbia University turned artificial intelligence loose on some 1,130 award-winning children’s books in search of invisible patterns of bias. (Spoiler alert: They found some.) Another study revealed why many parents are reluctant to support social and emotional learning in schools—and provided hints about how educators can flip the script.

1. What Parents Fear About SEL (and How to Change Their Minds)

When researchers at the Fordham Institute asked parents to rank phrases associated with social and emotional learning , nothing seemed to add up. The term “social-emotional learning” was very unpopular; parents wanted to steer their kids clear of it. But when the researchers added a simple clause, forming a new phrase—”social-emotional & academic learning”—the program shot all the way up to No. 2 in the rankings.

What gives?

Parents were picking up subtle cues in the list of SEL-related terms that irked or worried them, the researchers suggest. Phrases like “soft skills” and “growth mindset” felt “nebulous” and devoid of academic content. For some, the language felt suspiciously like “code for liberal indoctrination.”

But the study suggests that parents might need the simplest of reassurances to break through the political noise. Removing the jargon, focusing on productive phrases like “life skills,” and relentlessly connecting SEL to academic progress puts parents at ease—and seems to save social and emotional learning in the process.

2. The Secret Management Techniques of Expert Teachers

In the hands of experienced teachers, classroom management can seem almost invisible: Subtle techniques are quietly at work behind the scenes, with students falling into orderly routines and engaging in rigorous academic tasks almost as if by magic. 

That’s no accident, according to new research . While outbursts are inevitable in school settings, expert teachers seed their classrooms with proactive, relationship-building strategies that often prevent misbehavior before it erupts. They also approach discipline more holistically than their less-experienced counterparts, consistently reframing misbehavior in the broader context of how lessons can be more engaging, or how clearly they communicate expectations.

Focusing on the underlying dynamics of classroom behavior—and not on surface-level disruptions—means that expert teachers often look the other way at all the right times, too. Rather than rise to the bait of a minor breach in etiquette, a common mistake of new teachers, they tend to play the long game, asking questions about the origins of misbehavior, deftly navigating the terrain between discipline and student autonomy, and opting to confront misconduct privately when possible.

3. The Surprising Power of Pretesting

Asking students to take a practice test before they’ve even encountered the material may seem like a waste of time—after all, they’d just be guessing.

But new research concludes that the approach, called pretesting, is actually more effective than other typical study strategies. Surprisingly, pretesting even beat out taking practice tests after learning the material, a proven strategy endorsed by cognitive scientists and educators alike. In the study, students who took a practice test before learning the material outperformed their peers who studied more traditionally by 49 percent on a follow-up test, while outperforming students who took practice tests after studying the material by 27 percent.

The researchers hypothesize that the “generation of errors” was a key to the strategy’s success, spurring student curiosity and priming them to “search for the correct answers” when they finally explored the new material—and adding grist to a 2018 study that found that making educated guesses helped students connect background knowledge to new material.

Learning is more durable when students do the hard work of correcting misconceptions, the research suggests, reminding us yet again that being wrong is an important milestone on the road to being right.

4. Confronting an Old Myth About Immigrant Students

Immigrant students are sometimes portrayed as a costly expense to the education system, but new research is systematically dismantling that myth.

In a 2021 study , researchers analyzed over 1.3 million academic and birth records for students in Florida communities, and concluded that the presence of immigrant students actually has “a positive effect on the academic achievement of U.S.-born students,” raising test scores as the size of the immigrant school population increases. The benefits were especially powerful for low-income students.

While immigrants initially “face challenges in assimilation that may require additional school resources,” the researchers concluded, hard work and resilience may allow them to excel and thus “positively affect exposed U.S.-born students’ attitudes and behavior.” But according to teacher Larry Ferlazzo, the improvements might stem from the fact that having English language learners in classes improves pedagogy , pushing teachers to consider “issues like prior knowledge, scaffolding, and maximizing accessibility.”

5. A Fuller Picture of What a ‘Good’ School Is

It’s time to rethink our definition of what a “good school” is, researchers assert in a study published in late 2020.⁣ That’s because typical measures of school quality like test scores often provide an incomplete and misleading picture, the researchers found.

The study looked at over 150,000 ninth-grade students who attended Chicago public schools and concluded that emphasizing the social and emotional dimensions of learning—relationship-building, a sense of belonging, and resilience, for example—improves high school graduation and college matriculation rates for both high- and low-income students, beating out schools that focus primarily on improving test scores.⁣

“Schools that promote socio-emotional development actually have a really big positive impact on kids,” said lead researcher C. Kirabo Jackson in an interview with Edutopia . “And these impacts are particularly large for vulnerable student populations who don’t tend to do very well in the education system.”

The findings reinforce the importance of a holistic approach to measuring student progress, and are a reminder that schools—and teachers—can influence students in ways that are difficult to measure, and may only materialize well into the future.⁣

6. Teaching Is Learning

One of the best ways to learn a concept is to teach it to someone else. But do you actually have to step into the shoes of a teacher, or does the mere expectation of teaching do the trick?

In a 2021 study , researchers split students into two groups and gave them each a science passage about the Doppler effect—a phenomenon associated with sound and light waves that explains the gradual change in tone and pitch as a car races off into the distance, for example. One group studied the text as preparation for a test; the other was told that they’d be teaching the material to another student.

The researchers never carried out the second half of the activity—students read the passages but never taught the lesson. All of the participants were then tested on their factual recall of the Doppler effect, and their ability to draw deeper conclusions from the reading.

The upshot? Students who prepared to teach outperformed their counterparts in both duration and depth of learning, scoring 9 percent higher on factual recall a week after the lessons concluded, and 24 percent higher on their ability to make inferences. The research suggests that asking students to prepare to teach something—or encouraging them to think “could I teach this to someone else?”—can significantly alter their learning trajectories.

7. A Disturbing Strain of Bias in Kids’ Books

Some of the most popular and well-regarded children’s books—Caldecott and Newbery honorees among them—persistently depict Black, Asian, and Hispanic characters with lighter skin, according to new research .

Using artificial intelligence, researchers combed through 1,130 children’s books written in the last century, comparing two sets of diverse children’s books—one a collection of popular books that garnered major literary awards, the other favored by identity-based awards. The software analyzed data on skin tone, race, age, and gender.

Among the findings: While more characters with darker skin color begin to appear over time, the most popular books—those most frequently checked out of libraries and lining classroom bookshelves—continue to depict people of color in lighter skin tones. More insidiously, when adult characters are “moral or upstanding,” their skin color tends to appear lighter, the study’s lead author, Anjali Aduki,  told The 74 , with some books converting “Martin Luther King Jr.’s chocolate complexion to a light brown or beige.” Female characters, meanwhile, are often seen but not heard.

Cultural representations are a reflection of our values, the researchers conclude: “Inequality in representation, therefore, constitutes an explicit statement of inequality of value.”

8. The Never-Ending ‘Paper Versus Digital’ War

The argument goes like this: Digital screens turn reading into a cold and impersonal task; they’re good for information foraging, and not much more. “Real” books, meanwhile, have a heft and “tactility”  that make them intimate, enchanting—and irreplaceable.

But researchers have often found weak or equivocal evidence for the superiority of reading on paper. While a recent study concluded that paper books yielded better comprehension than e-books when many of the digital tools had been removed, the effect sizes were small. A 2021 meta-analysis further muddies the water: When digital and paper books are “mostly similar,” kids comprehend the print version more readily—but when enhancements like motion and sound “target the story content,” e-books generally have the edge.

Nostalgia is a force that every new technology must eventually confront. There’s plenty of evidence that writing with pen and paper encodes learning more deeply than typing. But new digital book formats come preloaded with powerful tools that allow readers to annotate, look up words, answer embedded questions, and share their thinking with other readers.

We may not be ready to admit it, but these are precisely the kinds of activities that drive deeper engagement, enhance comprehension, and leave us with a lasting memory of what we’ve read. The future of e-reading, despite the naysayers, remains promising.

9. New Research Makes a Powerful Case for PBL

Many classrooms today still look like they did 100 years ago, when students were preparing for factory jobs. But the world’s moved on: Modern careers demand a more sophisticated set of skills—collaboration, advanced problem-solving, and creativity, for example—and those can be difficult to teach in classrooms that rarely give students the time and space to develop those competencies.

Project-based learning (PBL) would seem like an ideal solution. But critics say PBL places too much responsibility on novice learners, ignoring the evidence about the effectiveness of direct instruction and ultimately undermining subject fluency. Advocates counter that student-centered learning and direct instruction can and should coexist in classrooms.

Now two new large-scale studies —encompassing over 6,000 students in 114 diverse schools across the nation—provide evidence that a well-structured, project-based approach boosts learning for a wide range of students.

In the studies, which were funded by Lucas Education Research, a sister division of Edutopia , elementary and high school students engaged in challenging projects that had them designing water systems for local farms, or creating toys using simple household objects to learn about gravity, friction, and force. Subsequent testing revealed notable learning gains—well above those experienced by students in traditional classrooms—and those gains seemed to raise all boats, persisting across socioeconomic class, race, and reading levels.

10. Tracking a Tumultuous Year for Teachers

The Covid-19 pandemic cast a long shadow over the lives of educators in 2021, according to a year’s worth of research.

The average teacher’s workload suddenly “spiked last spring,” wrote the Center for Reinventing Public Education in its January 2021 report, and then—in defiance of the laws of motion—simply never let up. By the fall, a RAND study recorded an astonishing shift in work habits: 24 percent of teachers reported that they were working 56 hours or more per week, compared to 5 percent pre-pandemic.

The vaccine was the promised land, but when it arrived nothing seemed to change. In an April 2021 survey  conducted four months after the first vaccine was administered in New York City, 92 percent of teachers said their jobs were more stressful than prior to the pandemic, up from 81 percent in an earlier survey.

It wasn’t just the length of the work days; a close look at the research reveals that the school system’s failure to adjust expectations was ruinous. It seemed to start with the obligations of hybrid teaching, which surfaced in Edutopia ’s coverage of overseas school reopenings. In June 2020, well before many U.S. schools reopened, we reported that hybrid teaching was an emerging problem internationally, and warned that if the “model is to work well for any period of time,” schools must “recognize and seek to reduce the workload for teachers.” Almost eight months later, a 2021 RAND study identified hybrid teaching as a primary source of teacher stress in the U.S., easily outpacing factors like the health of a high-risk loved one.

New and ever-increasing demands for tech solutions put teachers on a knife’s edge. In several important 2021 studies, researchers concluded that teachers were being pushed to adopt new technology without the “resources and equipment necessary for its correct didactic use.” Consequently, they were spending more than 20 hours a week adapting lessons for online use, and experiencing an unprecedented erosion of the boundaries between their work and home lives, leading to an unsustainable “always on” mentality. When it seemed like nothing more could be piled on—when all of the lights were blinking red—the federal government restarted standardized testing .

Change will be hard; many of the pathologies that exist in the system now predate the pandemic. But creating strict school policies that separate work from rest, eliminating the adoption of new tech tools without proper supports, distributing surveys regularly to gauge teacher well-being, and above all listening to educators to identify and confront emerging problems might be a good place to start, if the research can be believed.

Research Topics & Ideas: Education

170+ Research Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring education-related topics for your dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of research topics and ideas , including examples from actual dissertations and theses..

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Education Research Topics

• How to find a research topic (video)
• List of 50+ education-related research topics/ideas
• List of 120+ level-specific research topics 
• Examples of actual dissertation topics in education
• Tips to fast-track your topic ideation (video)
• Free Webinar : Topic Ideation 101
• Where to get extra help

Education-Related Research Topics & Ideas

Below you’ll find a list of education-related research topics and idea kickstarters. These are fairly broad and flexible to various contexts, so keep in mind that you will need to refine them a little. Nevertheless, they should inspire some ideas for your project.

• The impact of school funding on student achievement
• The effects of social and emotional learning on student well-being
• The effects of parental involvement on student behaviour
• The impact of teacher training on student learning
• The impact of classroom design on student learning
• The impact of poverty on education
• The use of student data to inform instruction
• The role of parental involvement in education
• The effects of mindfulness practices in the classroom
• The use of technology in the classroom
• The role of critical thinking in education
• The use of formative and summative assessments in the classroom
• The use of differentiated instruction in the classroom
• The use of gamification in education
• The effects of teacher burnout on student learning
• The impact of school leadership on student achievement
• The effects of teacher diversity on student outcomes
• The role of teacher collaboration in improving student outcomes
• The implementation of blended and online learning
• The effects of teacher accountability on student achievement
• The effects of standardized testing on student learning
• The effects of classroom management on student behaviour
• The effects of school culture on student achievement
• The use of student-centred learning in the classroom
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on student outcomes
• The achievement gap in minority and low-income students
• The use of culturally responsive teaching in the classroom
• The impact of teacher professional development on student learning
• The use of project-based learning in the classroom
• The effects of teacher expectations on student achievement
• The use of adaptive learning technology in the classroom
• The impact of teacher turnover on student learning
• The effects of teacher recruitment and retention on student learning
• The impact of early childhood education on later academic success
• The impact of parental involvement on student engagement
• The use of positive reinforcement in education
• The impact of school climate on student engagement
• The role of STEM education in preparing students for the workforce
• The effects of school choice on student achievement
• The use of technology in the form of online tutoring

Level-Specific Research Topics

Looking for research topics for a specific level of education? We’ve got you covered. Below you can find research topic ideas for primary, secondary and tertiary-level education contexts. Click the relevant level to view the respective list.

Research Topics: Pick An Education Level

Primary education.

• Investigating the effects of peer tutoring on academic achievement in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of mindfulness practices in primary school classrooms
• Examining the effects of different teaching strategies on primary school students’ problem-solving skills
• The use of storytelling as a teaching strategy in primary school literacy instruction
• The role of cultural diversity in promoting tolerance and understanding in primary schools
• The impact of character education programs on moral development in primary school students
• Investigating the use of technology in enhancing primary school mathematics education
• The impact of inclusive curriculum on promoting equity and diversity in primary schools
• The impact of outdoor education programs on environmental awareness in primary school students
• The influence of school climate on student motivation and engagement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of early literacy interventions on reading comprehension in primary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student achievement in primary schools
• Exploring the benefits of inclusive education for students with special needs in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of teacher-student feedback on academic motivation in primary schools
• The role of technology in developing digital literacy skills in primary school students
• Effective strategies for fostering a growth mindset in primary school students
• Investigating the role of parental support in reducing academic stress in primary school children
• The role of arts education in fostering creativity and self-expression in primary school students
• Examining the effects of early childhood education programs on primary school readiness
• Examining the effects of homework on primary school students’ academic performance
• The role of formative assessment in improving learning outcomes in primary school classrooms
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on academic outcomes in primary school
• Investigating the effects of classroom environment on student behavior and learning outcomes in primary schools
• Investigating the role of creativity and imagination in primary school curriculum
• The impact of nutrition and healthy eating programs on academic performance in primary schools
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on primary school students’ well-being and academic performance
• The role of parental involvement in academic achievement of primary school children
• Examining the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior in primary school
• The role of school leadership in creating a positive school climate Exploring the benefits of bilingual education in primary schools
• The effectiveness of project-based learning in developing critical thinking skills in primary school students
• The role of inquiry-based learning in fostering curiosity and critical thinking in primary school students
• The effects of class size on student engagement and achievement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of recess and physical activity breaks on attention and learning in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of outdoor play in developing gross motor skills in primary school children
• The effects of educational field trips on knowledge retention in primary school students
• Examining the effects of inclusive classroom practices on students’ attitudes towards diversity in primary schools
• The impact of parental involvement in homework on primary school students’ academic achievement
• Investigating the effectiveness of different assessment methods in primary school classrooms
• The influence of physical activity and exercise on cognitive development in primary school children
• Exploring the benefits of cooperative learning in promoting social skills in primary school students

Secondary Education

• Investigating the effects of school discipline policies on student behavior and academic success in secondary education
• The role of social media in enhancing communication and collaboration among secondary school students
• The impact of school leadership on teacher effectiveness and student outcomes in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of technology integration on teaching and learning in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of interdisciplinary instruction in promoting critical thinking skills in secondary schools
• The impact of arts education on creativity and self-expression in secondary school students
• The effectiveness of flipped classrooms in promoting student learning in secondary education
• The role of career guidance programs in preparing secondary school students for future employment
• Investigating the effects of student-centered learning approaches on student autonomy and academic success in secondary schools
• The impact of socio-economic factors on educational attainment in secondary education
• Investigating the impact of project-based learning on student engagement and academic achievement in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of multicultural education on cultural understanding and tolerance in secondary schools
• The influence of standardized testing on teaching practices and student learning in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior and academic engagement in secondary education
• The influence of teacher professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of extracurricular activities in promoting holistic development and well-roundedness in secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models on student engagement and achievement in secondary education
• The role of physical education in promoting physical health and well-being among secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of gender on academic achievement and career aspirations in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of multicultural literature in promoting cultural awareness and empathy among secondary school students
• The impact of school counseling services on student mental health and well-being in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of vocational education and training in preparing secondary school students for the workforce
• The role of digital literacy in preparing secondary school students for the digital age
• The influence of parental involvement on academic success and well-being of secondary school students
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on secondary school students’ well-being and academic success
• The role of character education in fostering ethical and responsible behavior in secondary school students
• Examining the effects of digital citizenship education on responsible and ethical technology use among secondary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of educational technology in promoting personalized learning experiences in secondary schools
• The impact of inclusive education on the social and academic outcomes of students with disabilities in secondary schools
• The influence of parental support on academic motivation and achievement in secondary education
• The role of school climate in promoting positive behavior and well-being among secondary school students
• Examining the effects of peer mentoring programs on academic achievement and social-emotional development in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of teacher-student relationships on student motivation and achievement in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning programs in promoting civic engagement among secondary school students
• The impact of educational policies on educational equity and access in secondary education
• Examining the effects of homework on academic achievement and student well-being in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of different assessment methods on student performance in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of single-sex education on academic performance and gender stereotypes in secondary schools
• The role of mentoring programs in supporting the transition from secondary to post-secondary education

Tertiary Education

• The role of student support services in promoting academic success and well-being in higher education
• The impact of internationalization initiatives on students’ intercultural competence and global perspectives in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of active learning classrooms and learning spaces on student engagement and learning outcomes in tertiary education
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning experiences in fostering civic engagement and social responsibility in higher education
• The influence of learning communities and collaborative learning environments on student academic and social integration in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of undergraduate research experiences in fostering critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills
• Investigating the effects of academic advising and mentoring on student retention and degree completion in higher education
• The role of student engagement and involvement in co-curricular activities on holistic student development in higher education
• The impact of multicultural education on fostering cultural competence and diversity appreciation in higher education
• The role of internships and work-integrated learning experiences in enhancing students’ employability and career outcomes
• Examining the effects of assessment and feedback practices on student learning and academic achievement in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty-student relationships on student success and well-being in tertiary education
• The impact of college transition programs on students’ academic and social adjustment to higher education
• The impact of online learning platforms on student learning outcomes in higher education
• The impact of financial aid and scholarships on access and persistence in higher education
• The influence of student leadership and involvement in extracurricular activities on personal development and campus engagement
• Exploring the benefits of competency-based education in developing job-specific skills in tertiary students
• Examining the effects of flipped classroom models on student learning and retention in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of online collaboration and virtual team projects in developing teamwork skills in tertiary students
• Investigating the effects of diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus climate and student experiences in tertiary education
• The influence of study abroad programs on intercultural competence and global perspectives of college students
• Investigating the effects of peer mentoring and tutoring programs on student retention and academic performance in tertiary education
• Investigating the effectiveness of active learning strategies in promoting student engagement and achievement in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models and hybrid courses on student learning and satisfaction in higher education
• The role of digital literacy and information literacy skills in supporting student success in the digital age
• Investigating the effects of experiential learning opportunities on career readiness and employability of college students
• The impact of e-portfolios on student reflection, self-assessment, and showcasing of learning in higher education
• The role of technology in enhancing collaborative learning experiences in tertiary classrooms
• The impact of research opportunities on undergraduate student engagement and pursuit of advanced degrees
• Examining the effects of competency-based assessment on measuring student learning and achievement in tertiary education
• Examining the effects of interdisciplinary programs and courses on critical thinking and problem-solving skills in college students
• The role of inclusive education and accessibility in promoting equitable learning experiences for diverse student populations
• The role of career counseling and guidance in supporting students’ career decision-making in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty diversity and representation on student success and inclusive learning environments in higher education

Education-Related Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic in education, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses in the education space to see how this all comes together in practice.

Below, we’ve included a selection of education-related research projects to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• From Rural to Urban: Education Conditions of Migrant Children in China (Wang, 2019)
• Energy Renovation While Learning English: A Guidebook for Elementary ESL Teachers (Yang, 2019)
• A Reanalyses of Intercorrelational Matrices of Visual and Verbal Learners’ Abilities, Cognitive Styles, and Learning Preferences (Fox, 2020)
• A study of the elementary math program utilized by a mid-Missouri school district (Barabas, 2020)
• Instructor formative assessment practices in virtual learning environments : a posthumanist sociomaterial perspective (Burcks, 2019)
• Higher education students services: a qualitative study of two mid-size universities’ direct exchange programs (Kinde, 2020)
• Exploring editorial leadership : a qualitative study of scholastic journalism advisers teaching leadership in Missouri secondary schools (Lewis, 2020)
• Selling the virtual university: a multimodal discourse analysis of marketing for online learning (Ludwig, 2020)
• Advocacy and accountability in school counselling: assessing the use of data as related to professional self-efficacy (Matthews, 2020)
• The use of an application screening assessment as a predictor of teaching retention at a midwestern, K-12, public school district (Scarbrough, 2020)
• Core values driving sustained elite performance cultures (Beiner, 2020)
• Educative features of upper elementary Eureka math curriculum (Dwiggins, 2020)
• How female principals nurture adult learning opportunities in successful high schools with challenging student demographics (Woodward, 2020)
• The disproportionality of Black Males in Special Education: A Case Study Analysis of Educator Perceptions in a Southeastern Urban High School (McCrae, 2021)

As you can see, these research topics are a lot more focused than the generic topic ideas we presented earlier. So, in order for you to develop a high-quality research topic, you’ll need to get specific and laser-focused on a specific context with specific variables of interest.  In the video below, we explore some other important things you’ll need to consider when crafting your research topic.

Get 1-On-1 Help

If you’re still unsure about how to find a quality research topic within education, check out our Research Topic Kickstarter service, which is the perfect starting point for developing a unique, well-justified research topic.

You Might Also Like:

55 Comments

This is an helpful tool 🙏

Special education

Really appreciated by this . It is the best platform for research related items

Research title related to school of students

Research title related to students

Good idea I’m going to teach my colleagues

You can find our list of nursing-related research topic ideas here: https://gradcoach.com/research-topics-nursing/

Write on action research topic, using guidance and counseling to address unwanted teenage pregnancy in school

Thanks a lot

I learned a lot from this site, thank you so much!

Thank you for the information.. I would like to request a topic based on school major in social studies

parental involvement and students academic performance

Science education topics?

How about School management and supervision pls.?

Hi i am an Deputy Principal in a primary school. My wish is to srudy foe Master’s degree in Education.Please advice me on which topic can be relevant for me. Thanks.

Every topic proposed above on primary education is a starting point for me. I appreciate immensely the team that has sat down to make a detail of these selected topics just for beginners like us. Be blessed.

Kindly help me with the research questions on the topic” Effects of workplace conflict on the employees’ job performance”. The effects can be applicable in every institution,enterprise or organisation.

Greetings, I am a student majoring in Sociology and minoring in Public Administration. I’m considering any recommended research topic in the field of Sociology.

I’m a student pursuing Mphil in Basic education and I’m considering any recommended research proposal topic in my field of study

Kindly help me with a research topic in educational psychology. Ph.D level. Thank you.

Project-based learning is a teaching/learning type,if well applied in a classroom setting will yield serious positive impact. What can a teacher do to implement this in a disadvantaged zone like “North West Region of Cameroon ( hinterland) where war has brought about prolonged and untold sufferings on the indegins?

I wish to get help on topics of research on educational administration

I wish to get help on topics of research on educational administration PhD level

I am also looking for such type of title

I am a student of undergraduate, doing research on how to use guidance and counseling to address unwanted teenage pregnancy in school

the topics are very good regarding research & education .

Can i request your suggestion topic for my Thesis about Teachers as an OFW. thanx you

Would like to request for suggestions on a topic in Economics of education,PhD level

Would like to request for suggestions on a topic in Economics of education

Hi 👋 I request that you help me with a written research proposal about education the format

l would like to request suggestions on a topic in managing teaching and learning, PhD level (educational leadership and management)

request suggestions on a topic in managing teaching and learning, PhD level (educational leadership and management)

I would to inquire on research topics on Educational psychology, Masters degree

I am PhD student, I am searching my Research topic, It should be innovative,my area of interest is online education,use of technology in education

request suggestion on topic in masters in medical education .

Look at British Library as they keep a copy of all PhDs in the UK Core.ac.uk to access Open University and 6 other university e-archives, pdf downloads mostly available, all free.

May I also ask for a topic based on mathematics education for college teaching, please?

Please I am a masters student of the department of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education Please I am in need of proposed project topics to help with my final year thesis

Am a PhD student in Educational Foundations would like a sociological topic. Thank

please i need a proposed thesis project regardging computer science

Greetings and Regards I am a doctoral student in the field of philosophy of education. I am looking for a new topic for my thesis. Because of my work in the elementary school, I am looking for a topic that is from the field of elementary education and is related to the philosophy of education.

Masters student in the field of curriculum, any ideas of a research topic on low achiever students

In the field of curriculum any ideas of a research topic on deconalization in contextualization of digital teaching and learning through in higher education

Amazing guidelines

I am a graduate with two masters. 1) Master of arts in religious studies and 2) Master in education in foundations of education. I intend to do a Ph.D. on my second master’s, however, I need to bring both masters together through my Ph.D. research. can I do something like, ” The contribution of Philosophy of education for a quality religion education in Kenya”? kindly, assist and be free to suggest a similar topic that will bring together the two masters. thanks in advance

Hi, I am an Early childhood trainer as well as a researcher, I need more support on this topic: The impact of early childhood education on later academic success.

I’m a student in upper level secondary school and I need your support in this research topics: “Impact of incorporating project -based learning in teaching English language skills in secondary schools”.

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

Four of the biggest problems facing education—and four trends that could make a difference

Eduardo velez bustillo, harry a. patrinos.

In 2022, we published, Lessons for the education sector from the COVID-19 pandemic , which was a follow up to,  Four Education Trends that Countries Everywhere Should Know About , which summarized views of education experts around the world on how to handle the most pressing issues facing the education sector then. We focused on neuroscience, the role of the private sector, education technology, inequality, and pedagogy.

Unfortunately, we think the four biggest problems facing education today in developing countries are the same ones we have identified in the last decades .

1. The learning crisis was made worse by COVID-19 school closures

Low quality instruction is a major constraint and prior to COVID-19, the learning poverty rate in low- and middle-income countries was 57% (6 out of 10 children could not read and understand basic texts by age 10). More dramatic is the case of Sub-Saharan Africa with a rate even higher at 86%. Several analyses show that the impact of the pandemic on student learning was significant, leaving students in low- and middle-income countries way behind in mathematics, reading and other subjects.  Some argue that learning poverty may be close to 70% after the pandemic , with a substantial long-term negative effect in future earnings. This generation could lose around $21 trillion in future salaries, with the vulnerable students affected the most.

2. Countries are not paying enough attention to early childhood care and education (ECCE)

At the pre-school level about two-thirds of countries do not have a proper legal framework to provide free and compulsory pre-primary education. According to UNESCO, only a minority of countries, mostly high-income, were making timely progress towards SDG4 benchmarks on early childhood indicators prior to the onset of COVID-19. And remember that ECCE is not only preparation for primary school. It can be the foundation for emotional wellbeing and learning throughout life; one of the best investments a country can make.

3. There is an inadequate supply of high-quality teachers

Low quality teaching is a huge problem and getting worse in many low- and middle-income countries.  In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the percentage of trained teachers fell from 84% in 2000 to 69% in 2019 . In addition, in many countries teachers are formally trained and as such qualified, but do not have the minimum pedagogical training. Globally, teachers for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects are the biggest shortfalls.

4. Decision-makers are not implementing evidence-based or pro-equity policies that guarantee solid foundations

It is difficult to understand the continued focus on non-evidence-based policies when there is so much that we know now about what works. Two factors contribute to this problem. One is the short tenure that top officials have when leading education systems. Examples of countries where ministers last less than one year on average are plentiful. The second and more worrisome deals with the fact that there is little attention given to empirical evidence when designing education policies.

To help improve on these four fronts, we see four supporting trends:

1. Neuroscience should be integrated into education policies

Policies considering neuroscience can help ensure that students get proper attention early to support brain development in the first 2-3 years of life. It can also help ensure that children learn to read at the proper age so that they will be able to acquire foundational skills to learn during the primary education cycle and from there on. Inputs like micronutrients, early child stimulation for gross and fine motor skills, speech and language and playing with other children before the age of three are cost-effective ways to get proper development. Early grade reading, using the pedagogical suggestion by the Early Grade Reading Assessment model, has improved learning outcomes in many low- and middle-income countries. We now have the tools to incorporate these advances into the teaching and learning system with AI , ChatGPT , MOOCs and online tutoring.

2. Reversing learning losses at home and at school

There is a real need to address the remaining and lingering losses due to school closures because of COVID-19.  Most students living in households with incomes under the poverty line in the developing world, roughly the bottom 80% in low-income countries and the bottom 50% in middle-income countries, do not have the minimum conditions to learn at home . These students do not have access to the internet, and, often, their parents or guardians do not have the necessary schooling level or the time to help them in their learning process. Connectivity for poor households is a priority. But learning continuity also requires the presence of an adult as a facilitator—a parent, guardian, instructor, or community worker assisting the student during the learning process while schools are closed or e-learning is used.

To recover from the negative impact of the pandemic, the school system will need to develop at the student level: (i) active and reflective learning; (ii) analytical and applied skills; (iii) strong self-esteem; (iv) attitudes supportive of cooperation and solidarity; and (v) a good knowledge of the curriculum areas. At the teacher (instructor, facilitator, parent) level, the system should aim to develop a new disposition toward the role of teacher as a guide and facilitator. And finally, the system also needs to increase parental involvement in the education of their children and be active part in the solution of the children’s problems. The Escuela Nueva Learning Circles or the Pratham Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) are models that can be used.

3. Use of evidence to improve teaching and learning

We now know more about what works at scale to address the learning crisis. To help countries improve teaching and learning and make teaching an attractive profession, based on available empirical world-wide evidence , we need to improve its status, compensation policies and career progression structures; ensure pre-service education includes a strong practicum component so teachers are well equipped to transition and perform effectively in the classroom; and provide high-quality in-service professional development to ensure they keep teaching in an effective way. We also have the tools to address learning issues cost-effectively. The returns to schooling are high and increasing post-pandemic. But we also have the cost-benefit tools to make good decisions, and these suggest that structured pedagogy, teaching according to learning levels (with and without technology use) are proven effective and cost-effective .

4. The role of the private sector

When properly regulated the private sector can be an effective education provider, and it can help address the specific needs of countries. Most of the pedagogical models that have received international recognition come from the private sector. For example, the recipients of the Yidan Prize on education development are from the non-state sector experiences (Escuela Nueva, BRAC, edX, Pratham, CAMFED and New Education Initiative). In the context of the Artificial Intelligence movement, most of the tools that will revolutionize teaching and learning come from the private sector (i.e., big data, machine learning, electronic pedagogies like OER-Open Educational Resources, MOOCs, etc.). Around the world education technology start-ups are developing AI tools that may have a good potential to help improve quality of education .

After decades asking the same questions on how to improve the education systems of countries, we, finally, are finding answers that are very promising.  Governments need to be aware of this fact.

To receive weekly articles,  sign-up here  

Consultant, Education Sector, World Bank

Senior Adviser, Education

Join the Conversation

• Share on mail
• comments added

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List

Education research is still the hardest science: a proposal for improving its trustworthiness and usability

Gustavo fischman.

1 Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1611, USA

Audrey Amrein-Beardsley

Stephanie mcbride-schreiner, associated data.

There are no underlying data associated with this article.

Peer Review Summary

In this essay, we argue that colleges of education, particularly those at research-intensive institutions, favor simplistic notions of scholarly impact and that this trend has concerning implications for the field, for researchers, and for the public at large. After describing the challenges and shortcomings of the current models of research assessment in education, we outline an alternative proposal in which trustworthiness and usability of research would complement traditional metrics of scholarly relevance. This proposal encourages a twofold approach to research assessment that involves (1) a more thorough analysis of the limitations and problems generated by the use of simplistic notions of scholarly impact, and (2) a commitment to the implementation of more equitable systems based on a broader range of assessment measures to assess faculty research contributions.

Introduction

Two decades ago, David C. Berliner (2002) warned of the risks involved when research funding policies are based on narrow definitions of what acceptable science is. He argued that:

“Hard-to-do science is what the social scientists do and, in particular, it is what we educational researchers do. In my estimation, we have the hardest-to-do science of them all! We do our science under conditions that physical scientists find intolerable. We face particular problems and must deal with local conditions that limit generalizations and theory building—problems that are different from those faced by the easier-to-do sciences.” (p. 18)

Today, government funding agencies still give preference in education to “easier-to-do sciences” when it comes to research methods. The good news, however, is that they no longer explicitly exclude multiple approaches for conducting research in education. The bad news is that the field of education research itself has adopted a very narrow set of indicators for judging what is acceptable as good research.

As faculty, researchers, scholars, and editors working in higher education, we see an unsettling trend. Measures of impact—social, global, and real-world—are increasingly expected of scholarly research; yet, the assessment of these outcomes remains vague, arbitrary, and one-size-fits-all across disciplines. Further, the scholarly publishing ecosystem, which produces the most revered and measurable indicators of scholarly impact and innovation, has grown more commercialized and profit driven, leading to an ever wider disconnect between the producers of scholarly knowledge ( e.g. , researchers, funding agencies, and the community at large) and the conveyors of that knowledge ( e.g. , academic publishers). We argue that those in higher education in general, but colleges of education in particular, need to discuss and challenge simplistic notions of scholarly impact and move towards a more trustworthy and informed culture and infrastructure of scholarly assessment.

A common understanding of scholarly impact is often related to two indicators: number of articles in flagship journals and number of citations ( Aguinis et al. , 2012 ). For many scholars and organizations ( Anderson et al ., 2021 ; Hicks et al ., 2015 ; Walker, 2017 ), however, such definitions of impact, especially when institutionalized in college standards or university tenure and promotion policies and procedures, are not only inadequate to assess scholarly relevance, but also embody the wrong kind of incentives.

Consider the following scenario. A professor with research expertise in high-interest topics writes an insightful blog with thousands of non-academic followers. When evaluated for promotion, the professor is told by senior faculty not to mention the blog given its lesser academic status, despite the fact that education influencers like Diane Ravitch, Frederick Hess, and Mercedes Schneider have enormous blog audiences with millions of page views each.

Take another example. A professor, who is frequently consulted by research organizations in other countries about implementing good practices in scholarly publications and the organization of academic events is advised that for promotion purposes only collaborations with reputable United States (U.S.)-based organizations will be considered. How can such activities, which clearly build on these professors’ research and expertise, increase the recognition and prestige of the professors and their affiliated institutions, disseminate relevant knowledge without barriers, and offer evidence of significant reach and contribution to the public good, be viewed as so marginal in terms of scholarly impact?

Another often overlooked and misunderstood dimension of the assessment of scholarly impact is the structure and culture of scholarly publishing. For example, a journal might be consulted about its impact to help decide a tenure and promotion case at a university. All members but one on the review panel recommend tenure. The hold-out states that the author did not publish in enough high impact journals. One of the journals in question is an open access (OA) publication recognized as influential by many scientific organizations, with thousands of academic and non-academic readers worldwide and a solid record of citations per article, but due to its nontraditional publishing structure and multilingual nature, it was denied a journal impact factor by the publishing affiliate that assigns such measures. How could such a journal be excluded from recognized (albeit imperfect) indicators of impact and then, because of that peculiarity, be branded as not high impact when article-level and engagement metrics suggest otherwise?

Here we propose that the field of education research moves away from the imperfect and ineffective notion of impact and similar terms like “returns”, “benefits” and “value”, and toward more comprehensive and field-specific scholarly assessment strategies. In the next section, we focus on the challenges and shortcomings of the current models of assessment of research impact in education, and then outline a proposal in which the trustworthiness and usability of research would complement current metrics of scholarly relevance.

Is impact a new fetish of education research?

In the U.S. and globally, colleges of education, primarily at research intensive universities are converging on the idea that evidence of impact is of utmost importance. Impact has become a new fetish ( Wood, 2021 ). This increased fascination with finding better indicators of scholarly impact and influence relies on formulaic uses of metrics-based reward and punishment assessment processes to accomplish three simultaneous and elusive goals: increase research impact, enhance institutional prestige, and demonstrate high levels of scholarly productivity and innovation ( Schneider, 2015 ).

Today it is rare to find colleges of education that are not requesting faculty to provide annual evaluative reports with measurable metrics, such as numbers of articles published in “High Impact Factor Journals,” numbers of citations per article, and other indicators of impact ( e.g. , Google Scholar’s h-indices , Publish or Perish scores, levels of engagement in Kudos, the RG Score from Research Gate). Also pertinent in judging the quality of a faculty member’s work are indicators such as publications in journals with high rejection rates or sponsored by esteemed professional associations ( e.g. , American Educational Research Association [AERA]; publications by university presses ( e.g. , Oxford University Press); and funds, grants, and research awards bestowed by organizations ( e.g. , Institute of Education Sciences [IES]).

This model of holding university professors accountable for their presumed impact, or rather the impact of their scholarly products and dossiers, is not new ( Boyer, 1996 ; Weiss, 1981 ), nor exclusive to colleges of education, however. Many fields are subject to the “metric tide” ( Wilsdon et al., 2015 ) and “ranking mania” ( European University Association, 2013 , p. 6) that increasingly frames the assessment and evaluation policies and procedures of contemporary universities. As Shewchuk and Cooper (2018) concluded, after conducting an analysis of 721 indicators of research impact for social sciences in 32 countries:

“What is clear from the veritable explosion of research impact materials in the past decade and the increasing number of performance-based research funding systems arising globally is that research impact will be a defining factor of research infrastructure, funding and landscapes across the world for the foreseeable future.” (p. 63)

We do not oppose the use of clear indicators and metrics to assess research and defend the principle of scholars’ curiosity as driver of scientific endeavors. We also do not support a nostalgic return to evaluation systems used during idealized eras of universities governed by autonomous communities of scholars. We do, however, believe education researchers need to be more cautious and identify, resist, and replace assessment policies based on poorly constructed and misleading metrics that will not improve education research, nor its usability, relevance, and value.

Can we assess scholarly contributions in education without being simplistic?

What is research impact? There is a distinction between academic impact , understood as the intellectual contribution to one’s field of study within academia, and external socio-economic impact, effects beyond academia ( Penfield et al ., 2014 ). Impact is multifaceted, dynamic, temporal, and not always beneficial. Meanings and judgments of impact differ across disciplines and vary as cultures, policies, and contexts change.

Few would dispute the claim that the impact of education research is both elusive and subjective. As Kaestle (1993) noted in The Awful Reputation of Education Research, the goal to increase the reputation and impact of educational scholarship has deep roots: “[I] f education researchers could reverse their reputation for irrelevance, politicization, and disarray […] they could rely on better support because most people, in the government and the public at large, believe that education is critically important” (pp. 30–31).

Some educational researchers have attempted to collaborate with practitioners to yield more impactful research to address problems in real classrooms, schools, and universities ( Penuel et al. , 2016 ). Yet, as Berliner (2002) underscored in the opening quote, due to the varied and complex nature of education systems, education research is contextual. Types of research also matter. Current impact indictors favor research with more immediate visible results over other types of research with less immediate or tangible impact ( Laing et al ., 2018 ).

Colleges of education, then, face a conundrum. Despite ample consensus regarding the desirability of producing more studies with the explicit purpose of improving education ( Penuel et al ., 2016 ), and more broadly focused research oriented to the public good, no effective and fair system exists that captures the full picture of the relevance and impact of scholarship in a field as diverse as education ( Anderson et al ., 2021 ; Simons, 2008 ).

Consequently, in most cases instead of adopting contextualized and measured models, many colleges of education adopt overly simplified systems of impact assessment based on indirect measures of scholarly relevance such as the Journal Citation Record (JCR) from Scopus, and the Journal Impact Factor (JIF), published Web of Science. These measures have been long been controversial ( Alperin et al. , 2019 ; Simons, 2008 ) yet convey a sense of being purely meritocratic, by using appropriate indicators of impact, relevance, and influence ( Fischman, 2016 ; Zuiker et al ., 2019 ). In other words, the indicators easiest to quantify may or may not promote the most impactful education research. Such metrics are developed using sophisticated algorithms that yield robust statistics to be consumed and trusted, and also ranked, categorized, monetized, regardless of the validity of the inferences derived. This phenomenon, the “simplimetrification of educational research” ( Fischman, 2016 ), has the ironic effect of allowing researchers and their institutions to feel good about themselves, by confusing continuous increases of countable items ( e.g. , the more articles and more citations in more exclusive journals) with substantial scientific and pedagogical contributions.

The academic publishing dimension

This metric tide, in conjunction with the publish or perish imperative, has generated a veritable tsunami with gigantic waves of articles that follow pre-established, tidy paths of exploration that may be accurately measured and rewarded. The publication of educational research, however, is not completely altruistic or disinterested. Academic publishers and editors are keen to prove that the research they publish is influential in order to attract new submissions and subscriptions. To attract funding and prospective students, researchers and administrators are keen to prove that the research they produce is influential. Both the JCR and the JIF—assigned to journals, not individual articles—are attractive, recognizable metrics that conflate journal performance with individual researcher performance, thus serving the aforementioned, multiple interests simultaneously.

As Puehringer et al . (2021) noted, the political economy of academic publishing entails “publishers sell a highly profitable, yet immensely publicly subsidized product” (p. 2). Academic publishing is a vast, lucrative industry, with revenues estimated at USD 26 billion ( Johnson et al ., 2018 ). The rising demand for free and digital access to research over the last 30 years led commercial publishers to adopt hybrid models that balance traditional practices ( e.g. , via subscriptions and paywalls) with new OA schemes that offset publishing costs by charging researcher-authors—often paid out of research accounts provided by institutions or funders—to make published content freely available. Further, academic libraries broker serial deals with commercial publishers to access the same content through subscription bundles, essentially buying back access to the research that the researchers at their institutions produced ( Wenzler, 2017 ). The ironic result is that much potentially impactful research is hidden away behind paywalls because many authors choose not to, or are unable to pay the fees to make their research available to all.

Linked to these financial aspects, scholarly publication formats (print, digital, hybrid) and types (subscription-based, OA, etc. ) are complex. Further, multiple OA publishing options exist, including but not limited to Gold OA, Delayed OA , Green OA , and Platinum or Diamond OA. Adding to this complexity, OA articles have a range of copyright licenses with varying degrees of permissions. A lack of awareness among researchers about the differences between publication types and associated licensing leads to the general misconception that all OA publications are free, which is untrue. All publications have a cost; the difference is who pays (readers, authors, institutions, libraries, funders, publishers, etc. )

Inequities embedded in the scholarly publishing landscape, such as biases for English-language works ( e.g. , more than 33% scientific documents on global conservation are published in languages other than English but are critically ignored; see, e.g. , Amano, 2021 ), also have implications for research assessment that are frequently overlooked ( Kubota, 2020 ). The circularity of these biases, stemming from the Western market-oriented nature of scholarly publishing, are striking. For example, a journal article indexed in Scopus or Web of Science is viewed as an indicator of research quality and international reach ( Sivertsen, 2016 , p. 357). Journals registered in these influential indexes are more likely to publish English-only articles, given the editorial boards and editors also conduct their activities in English ( Vasen & Vilchis, 2017 ). Moreover, a journal article published in U.S.-based Scopus or UK-based Web of Science is more likely to have a JIF, also assigned by Web of Science. In fields like the social sciences, journals with high JIFs tend to have higher APCs, potentially excluding submissions by authors from less affluent countries, who are not native English speakers, or both ( Demeter & Istratii, 2020 , p. 506). Considering all of the above, in some subject areas, the correlation between high APCs and JIF and JCR, combined with the existing economic inequalities among countries, reinforces existing hierarchies of language as maintained by publisher databases.

While no scholarly or business enterprise is perfectly equitable, such biases and circularity—and their reinforcement through academic research assessment processes—are highly concerning. Commercial publishers capitalize on the decentralized, siloed nature of academic institutions and research communities (who are also in competition for research dollars and rankings) and a lack of in-depth knowledge about the scholarly publishing process. Researchers should be wary of giving up more control over who is defining and measuring research quality and impact ( Aspesi & Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition [SPARC], 2019 ). Given that quality, levels of international engagement, and societal relevance certainly should be promoted in research assessment, should coverage by a commercial indexing service be a criterion for research quality or an indicator of global engagement?

Resisting the metric tide in education scholarship: trustworthiness and usability

In our view, this model rewards people based on metrics and measurements that do not differentiate between research articles concluding with the statement “more research is needed” and those that bring value to a scholarly field, help educators improve their practice, or supply compelling evidence to policymakers for important decisions. Rather, education researchers learn new terms and tools about scholarly assessment, instead of expanding curious research, asking better and more relevant questions for the advancement of the field, or producing more usable knowledge. Unfortunately, this fascination with simpler models, combined with a disconnect from the publishing ecosystem, ultimately lead researchers to an uncritical and sometimes naïve acceptance of the accuracy and explanatory power of these indicators.

In recent years, a number of initiatives have emerged to push against this tide of simplimetrification, as groups of researchers have converged to develop guidelines for research evaluation and assessment without using one-dimensional measures. Some prominent examples include the Leiden Manifesto ( http://www.leidenmanifesto.org/ ), the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA; https://sfdora.org/ ), the Panama Declaration of Open Science ( https://web.karisma.org.co/declaraciondepanama/ ), and the Hong Kong Principles ( https://www.wcrif.org/guidance/hong-kong-principles ). Since 2019, the Hong Kong Principles, for example, have promoted research assessment based on five key tenets: responsible research practices, transparent reporting, open science (open research), valuing diverse types of research, and recognizing all contributions to scholarly activity. Collectively, these researcher-led activities represent pushback against an unbalanced system of research assessment in which individual researchers face a “one-sided emphasis on traditional, quantifiable output indicators,” despite the fact that “bibliometric indicators tell a story, but not the whole story” ( Dutch Research Council, 2019 , p. 4).

Such recommendations are, accordingly, gaining traction, and advocates are moving words into action. In 2019, Consejo Latinoamericano en Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO; https://www.clacso.org/ ) organized FOLEC— Foro Latinoamericano sobre Evaluación Científica (Latin American Forum of Scientific Evaluation)—to develop better systems of assessment consistent with Open Science principles. The metric tide is turning in Asia, as shown by the Chinese government’s decision to stop using the JIF and similar indirect metrics as the key indicator of research assessment ( Zhang & Sivertsen, 2020 ). Also noteworthy, the European Research Council decided to disallow mention of indirect journal metrics in research funding applications ( Matthews, 2021 ). The call by Dutch universities and funding agencies for a revamped system of recognition and rewards, based on diverse talent, academic interdependence, emphases on quality over quantity, and the encouragement of open science and high-quality leadership, captures the essence of these initiatives ( Dutch Research Council, 2019 , p. 3).

Should trustworthiness and usability be considered in assessing scholarship in education?

Building on the heavy lifting of those mentioned in the previous section, we propose that a better way to assess education research requires a combined use of existing indicators and metrics with evidence of enhanced trustworthiness and usability—within and beyond disciplinary, professional, or technical communities—to foster and sustain processes of conceptual inquiry and education problem solving. As per the aforementioned Hong Kong Principles, “The primary goal of research is to advance knowledge. For that knowledge to benefit research and society, it must be trustworthy. Trustworthy research is robust, rigorous and transparent at all stages of design, execution and reporting” ( Moher et al ., 2020 , p.1).

Trustworthiness is not a given and not an eternal quality ( Schwandt et al ., 2007 ). Robust findings may be trustworthy in one decade and not another. As the group Science in Transition ( Dijstelbloem et al ., 2013 ) pointed out, researchers must also address the increasing mistrust from the public about scientific expertise and tell the public how science really works. Trust in the results of education research, no matter how rigorous the procedures used, is never simply assumed. Trusting the process and results of any research will always involve moral, cultural, and political considerations ( Little & Green, 2021 ). To increase the trustworthiness of education research, it is necessary, yet not sufficient, to provide wide access to the knowledge produced and engagement with the ideas and data derived from such research.

Access to and engagement with scholarship entail more than depositing knowledge in the library or an OA journal, book, or repository. These matters also rest on other aspects of research, such as language, previous knowledge of the phenomenon studied, ideological preferences, and the like ( Suber, 2016 ). Regarding access , how easy might it be to access the knowledge produced and what might be the barriers to accessing that knowledge? Did the knowledge reach its intended audiences ( e.g. , scholars, professionals, policy makers, or practitioners in the field)? Did the knowledge reach general, non-targeted audiences? Regarding engagement , to what extent do the central ideas, procedures, data, and conclusions enter into our systems of knowledge exchange with our intended audiences? In other words, if the research is not accessible due to various barriers ( e.g. , language, technology, disability, paywalls, and the like) then how can it be considered trustworthy by its intended audiences?

Education research will not be usable unless it is trusted; thus, trustworthiness and usability are inexorably linked. By usability we mean processes that signal potential access and engagement by both specialists as well as practitioners, each group accessing and engaging on their own terms, in their own time, and according to their own needs. This notion of usability also requires access and engagement with five critical components of knowledge generated by research: learnability, efficiency, memorability, integrity, and satisfaction derived via the knowledge produced ( Han et al ., 2001 ).

In our understanding, usability is not a measure of dissemination or implementation, nor a description of processes or products. Here, we want to emphasize that we are not advocating for usefulness as a key indicator of relevance as others have done ( Buckhardt & Shoenfeld, 2003 ). We welcome research that has direct applications in teaching and learning. But defending the principle that practical and immediate implementation is not, and should not be, the goal of all education research. Conceptual studies directed at understanding and developing theories, for example, could prove very relevant and usable. What we propose, instead, is that at the institutional level education research should be promoted, and thus incentivized and assessed considering its usability , not only in the abstract form of the well-known questions of “So what?” and “Who cares?” but also in concrete steps taken to support strategies that help researchers mobilize research results.

The condition that we want to underscore is that trustworthiness and usability are not intrinsic qualities of the knowledge derived from any research endeavor, but characteristics that require intentional strategies that need to be incentivized to be implemented. We agree with others (viz., Berliner, 2002 ; Campbell et al., 2017 ; Hess, 2008 ) who warned about the shortcomings of reducing education research to methodological or technical matters. Improving access and engagement and opening diverse dialogues among researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and the public demand close attention to techniques and methods, but an even closer engagement with what is ethically, politically, and pedagogically desirable. As scholars, these desirable outcomes are linked to greater opportunities for open, interdisciplinary, and intersectional inquiries, welcoming a plurality of epistemic standpoints, and strengthening the commitment to contribute to the public good. Next, we ask what can be done to encourage more comprehensive assessments of education research.

What can be done?

Perhaps the first step is to interrogate and challenge the notion that the simplimetrification of assessing research in education is unavoidable. Understanding its administrative advantages as systems of distributions of rewards and punishments, as well as acknowledging its shortcomings, is the first step toward more trustworthy and usable research in education.

If we reconsider the opening vignettes in light of a new model based on trustworthiness and usability, quite a different story of assessment unfolds. Professors writing a blog with thousands of primarily non-academic followers would be supported and recognized in their efforts to interact with the public and build trust in scholarship through blogging. Professors consulted by numerous international research organizations in other countries would be supported and recognized for their contributions to global engagement and support of multilingualism within scholarly communications, both of which foster trust in research between U.S.-based or non-U.S.-based research communities.

One potential path to an assessment system based on trust and usability is a renewed commitment to the raison d'être of education research: its pedagogical function. As the editors of the British Journal of Educational Research argued, the field needs to combine the search for identifying and posing education problems with inquiries that pose solutions to those same problems:

“Educational research that operates in a problem-posing rather than a problem-solving mode is, in this regard, not just research on or about or for education, but is, in a sense, itself a form of education as it tries to change mindsets and common perceptions, tries to expose hidden assumptions, and tries to engage in ongoing conversations about what is valuable and worthwhile in education and society more generally.” ( Biesta et al ., 2019 , p. 3)

We believe that for this type of education research to be more widespread, colleges of education, accordingly, need to complement the use of indirect indicators of scientific rigor with evidence of efforts to increase trustworthiness and usability. To foster such an approach, we ask those conducting, publishing, and assessing education research to consider doing the following:

• 1) Avoid simplistic models: Following the lead of the Open Science movement, DORA and others, all while considering complementing indirect measures of “impact” in assessment activities with more nuanced indicators of the quality, usability, and trustworthiness of a wide range of research products.
• 2) Avoid one-size-fits-all approaches: The usability of education research cannot be reduced to how practical or applied knowledge is, but to what extent it is potentially accessible to other researchers, stakeholders, and users ( e.g. , practitioners, policymakers, journalists, and the public).
• 3) Engage with field-specific models: Adopt and advocate for expanded indicators within systems of research assessment that are specifically relevant to other scholars in the field, as well as practitioners, policymakers, journalists, and the public.
• 4) Offer institutional support: The trustworthiness and usability of research need to be earned through interactive processes promoted and sustained institutionally. Individual scholars are trained to do good research and spend considerable effort in the analyses and syntheses of data, reviewing manuscripts, presenting at conferences, and the like. Making our results more usable and increasing trustworthiness requires time and effort in the form of producing complementary materials ( e.g. , podcasts, blogs, op-eds, video-commentaries, policy briefs, workshops). Colleges of education would greatly benefit and reduce some of the inequalities derived relatively simplistic models by allocating resources to increase the collective relevance of research production.
• 5) Account for context, language, and time: It is impossible to forecast the trajectory of scholarship, whereby the usability and trustworthiness of education research depends on the context of production, the languages used, as well as the time and timeliness of a publication.
• 6) Promote and reward efforts to remove barriers to research access and use: Recognize that quite a bit of very good scholarship is published in OA journals, as well as raise the awareness of the complexity of this model. Supporting OA publishing for researchers with limited resources, such as students, early career scholars, and scholars working in languages other than English, are also worthy ventures.

A first, though not an easy, move away from this unfair and ineffective system is to recognize alternatives and redirect our debates beyond the important, yet insufficient, question: How influential is the placement of a research contribution ( e.g. , article, book, or chapter) on the assessment of the merit of a scholar? Instead, we must embrace more comprehensive, and field specific systems of incentives and assessment oriented to the production of scholarship that contributes to the public good, encourages collaboration, and promotes interdisciplinary and intersectional research, and endeavors to increase access, trustworthiness, and responsiveness to both practical demands as well as conceptual challenges. As education researchers, our responsibility to avoid easy-to-implement models of scholarship assessment that end up producing more research that matters less.

Data availability

[version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Funding Statement

The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work.

• Aguinis H, Suárez-González I, Lannelongue G, et al.: Scholarly impact revisited. Acad. Manag. Perspect. 2012; 26 ( 2 ):105–132. 10.5465/amp.2011.0088 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Alperin JP, Nieves CM, Schimanski LA, et al.: Meta-research: How significant are the public dimensions of faculty work in review, promotion and tenure documents?. elife. 2019; 8 :e42254. 10.7554/eLife.42254 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Amano T: The English language dominates global conservation science – which leaves 1 in 3 research papers virtually ignored. The Conversation. 2021. Reference Source [ Google Scholar ]
• Anderson G, Gray-Nicolas NM, Payton M: Education faculty as knowledge brokers: Competing for access to New York State print media and policy influence. Education Policy Analysis Archives. 2021; 29 ( 12 ). 10.14507/epaa.29.5648 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Aspesi C, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) : About the Report. Landscape analysis. 2019, March 29. Reference Source
• Berliner D: Educational research: The hardest science of all. Educ. Res. 2002; 31 ( 8 ):18–20. 10.3102/0013189x031008018 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Biesta G, Filippakou O, Wainwright E, et al.: Why educational research should not just solve problems, but should cause them as well. Br. Educ. Res. J. 2019; 45 ( 1 ):1–4. 10.1002/berj.3509 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Boyer EL: From scholarship reconsidered to scholarship assessed. Quest. 1996; 48 ( 2 ):129–139. 10.1080/00336297.1996.10484184 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Burkhardt H, Schoenfeld AH: Improving educational research: Toward a more useful, more influential, and better-funded enterprise. Educ. Res. 2003; 32 ( 9 ):3–14. 10.3102/0013189x032009003 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Campbell C, Pollock K, Briscoe P, et al.: Developing a knowledge network for applied education research to mobilise evidence in and for educational practice. Educ. Res. 2017; 59 ( 2 ):209–227. 10.1080/00131881.2017.1310364 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Demeter M, Istratii R: Scrutinizing what open access journals mean for global inequalities. Publ. Res. Q. 2020; 36 :505–522. 10.1007/s12109-020-09771-9 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dijstelbloem H, Huisman F, Miedema F, et al.:2013. Why science does not work as it should. And what to do about it. [Science in Transition Position Paper]. Reference Source
• Dutch Research Council: Room for everyone's talent. [Position paper]. NWO;2019. Reference Source [ Google Scholar ]
• European University Association (EUA): Global university rankings and their impact: Report II. 2013. Reference Source
• Fischman GE: The simplimetrification of educational research [Blog post]. Education International. 2016. Reference Source [ Google Scholar ]
• Han SH, Yun MH, Kwahk J, et al.: Usability of consumer electronic products. Int. J. Ind. Ergon. 2001; 28 :143–151. 10.1016/S0169-8141(01)00025-7 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hess FM: When research matters: How scholarship influences education policy. Harvard Education Press;2008. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hicks D, Wouters P, Waltman L, et al.: Bibliometrics: The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics. Nature. 2015; 520 :429–431. 10.1038/520429a [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Johnson R, Watkinson A, Mabe M:2018. The STM report. An overview of scientific and scholarly publishing. International Association of Scholarly, Technical and Medical Publishers. Reference Source [ Google Scholar ]
• Kaestle CF: The awful reputation of education research. Educ. Res. 1993; 22 ( 1 ):23–31. 10.3102/0013189X022001023 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kubota R: Confronting epistemological racism, decolonizing scholarly knowledge: Race and gender in applied linguistics. Appl. Linguis. 2020; 41 ( 5 ):712–732. 10.1093/applin/amz033 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Laing K, Mazzoli Smith L, Todd L: The impact agenda and critical social research in education: Hitting the target but missing the spot?. Policy Futures Educ. 2018; 16 ( 2 ):169–184. 10.1177/1478210317742214 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Little D, Green DA: Credibility in educational development: Trustworthiness, expertise, and identification. High. Educ. Res. Dev. 2021:1–16. 10.1080/07294360.2020.1871325 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Matthews D: European Research Council bans journal impact factor from bids. Times Higher Education. 2021. Reference Source [ Google Scholar ]
• Moher D, Bouter L, Kleinert S, et al.: The Hong Kong Principles for assessing researchers: Fostering research integrity. PLoS Biol. 2020; 18 ( 7 ):e3000737. 10.31219/osf.io/m9abx [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Penfield T, Baker MJ, Scoble R, et al.: Assessment, evaluations, and definitions of research impact: A review. Res. Eval. 2014; 23 ( 1 ):21–32. 10.1093/reseval/rvt021 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Penuel WR, Briggs DC, Davidson KL, et al.: Findings from a national survey of research use among school and district leaders. National Center for Research in Policy and Practice;2016. Reference Source [ Google Scholar ]
• Puehringer S, Rath J, Griesebner T: The political economy of academic publishing: On the commodification of a public good. PLoS One. 2021; 16 ( 6 ):e0253226. 10.1371/journal.pone.0253226 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Schneider J: Looking outside education: Expanding our thinking about moving research into practice. Educ. Policy Anal. Arch. 2015; 23 ( 119 ). 10.14507/epaa.v23.1966 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Schwandt TA, Lincoln YS, Guba EG: Judging interpretations: But is it rigorous? Trustworthiness and authenticity in naturalistic evaluation. N. Dir. Eval. 2007; 2007 :11–25. 10.1002/ev.223 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shewchuk S, Cooper A: Research impact, the ‘new academic capital’: An environmental scan of research impact indicators and resources for the humanities and social sciences across 32 countries. J. Soc. Sci. 2018; 14 ( 1 ):55–64. 10.3844/jssp.2018.55.64 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Simons K: The misused impact factor. Science. 2008; 322 ( 5899 ):165. 10.1126/science.1165316 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sivertsen G: Patterns of internationalization and criteria for research assessment in the social sciences and humanities. Scientometrics. 2016; 107 :357–368. 10.1007/s11192-016-1845-1 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Suber P: Knowledge unbound: Selected writings on open access, 2002–2011. The MIT Press;2016;456. [ Google Scholar ]
• Vasen F, Vilchis IL: Sistemas nacionales de clasificación de revistas científicas en América Latina: Tendencias recientes e implicaciones para la evaluación académica en ciencias sociales. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales. 2017; 62 ( 231 ):199–228. 10.1016/S0185-1918(17)30043-0 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Walker VS: La evaluación como mecanismo de regulación del trabajo académico. Estudio de casos en universidades de Argentina y España. Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas. 2017; 25 ( 108 ). 10.14507/epaa.25.2681 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Weiss CH: Measuring the use of evaluation. Ciarlo JA, editor. Utilizing evaluation: Concepts and measurement techniques. SAGE;1981; (pp.17–33). [ Google Scholar ]
• Wenzler J: Scholarly communication and the dilemma of collective actions: Wy academic journals cost too much. C&RL. 2017; 78 ( 2 ):183–200. 10.5860/crl.78.2.183 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wilsdon J, Allen L, Belfiore E, et al.: The metric tide: Report of the independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment and management. Higher Education Funding Council for England;2015. Reference Source [ Google Scholar ]
• Wood F: The cult of the quantifiable: The fetishism of numbers in higher education. Prometheus. 2021; 37 ( 1 ):8–26. [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhang L, Sivertsen G: The new research assessment reform in China and its implementation. Scholarly Assessment Reports. 2020; 2 ( 1 ). 10.29024/sar.15 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zuiker SJ, Piepgrass N, Tefera A, et al.: Advancing knowledge mobilization in colleges of education. Int. J. Educ. Policy Leadersh. 2019; 15 ( 1 ). 10.22230/ijepl.2019v15n1a808 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

Reviewer response for version 1

Daniëlle verstegen.

1 Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

This is an opinion article discussing that the current practice in measuring impact of educational research is inadequate. Although the authors are not the first to make this argument, they present an explicit analysis of why it is inadequate and also harmful. They include some example cases and refer elaborately to the literature.

One argument that I would be inclined to add is that our current practice discourages research into topics or settings that need attention, but are less easy to publish.

There is some overlap between the sections, but not very much.

The authors end with a plea to focus more on trustworthiness and usability. That plea is convincing, but how we can judge trustworthiness and usability remains a bit vague.

The manuscript ends with 6 guidelines for improvement. These are concrete, but  less nuanced than the text before and more clearly targeting Colleges of education (rather than the whole readership). For me, that decreases the trustworthiness and usability of this manuscript.

Is the topic of the opinion article discussed accurately in the context of the current literature?

Are arguments sufficiently supported by evidence from the published literature?

Are all factual statements correct and adequately supported by citations?

Are the conclusions drawn balanced and justified on the basis of the presented arguments?

Reviewer Expertise:

Instructional design, PBL, online/blended learning

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard.

Jefferson Mainardes

1 Department of Education, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil

The article “Education research is still the hardest science: a proposal for improving trustworthiness and usability” discusses a highly relevant issue for the academic field: the emphasis given to metrics for the evaluation of academic performance. The article questions the one-size-fits-all assessment (for all areas) and suggests that academic impact should be analyzed from a wide range of research products, and not just a number of citations.

A relevant aspect of the article is that, in addition to criticizing, it presents six proposals that could be used by faculties of education to complement conventional indicators. This point is highly relevant since the authors present contributions to minimize the existing problem.

Some suggestions for corrections are the following:

• on page 3 it is indicated that the JCR is generated by Scopus and JIF by the Web of Science. The correct information should be that the JCR is generated by Web of Science. It would be useful if other kinds of impact factor could be indicated (e.g. Scimago Journal Ranking – SJR, JIF, and so on).
• The title of the article refers to the idea that research in education is still the hardest science. Some ideas from David C. Berliner (2002) are used. As it is mentioned in the title, readers could expect that this point would be more explored in the article. What are the authors’ arguments in relation to this assertion?  The complexity of educational research issues, educational inequalities in many parts of the world, the different onto-epistemological possibilities of theoretical foundations among other could be explored.

In general, this is a relevant article and should be accepted for indexing and wide dissemination, including the translation to other languages.

Education Policy, Research Ethics

• Privacy Policy

Buy Me a Coffee

Home » Research Problem – Examples, Types and Guide

Research Problem – Examples, Types and Guide

Table of Contents

Research Problem

Definition:

Research problem is a specific and well-defined issue or question that a researcher seeks to investigate through research. It is the starting point of any research project, as it sets the direction, scope, and purpose of the study.

Types of Research Problems

Types of Research Problems are as follows:

Descriptive problems

These problems involve describing or documenting a particular phenomenon, event, or situation. For example, a researcher might investigate the demographics of a particular population, such as their age, gender, income, and education.

Exploratory problems

These problems are designed to explore a particular topic or issue in depth, often with the goal of generating new ideas or hypotheses. For example, a researcher might explore the factors that contribute to job satisfaction among employees in a particular industry.

Explanatory Problems

These problems seek to explain why a particular phenomenon or event occurs, and they typically involve testing hypotheses or theories. For example, a researcher might investigate the relationship between exercise and mental health, with the goal of determining whether exercise has a causal effect on mental health.

Predictive Problems

These problems involve making predictions or forecasts about future events or trends. For example, a researcher might investigate the factors that predict future success in a particular field or industry.

Evaluative Problems

These problems involve assessing the effectiveness of a particular intervention, program, or policy. For example, a researcher might evaluate the impact of a new teaching method on student learning outcomes.

How to Define a Research Problem

Defining a research problem involves identifying a specific question or issue that a researcher seeks to address through a research study. Here are the steps to follow when defining a research problem:

• Identify a broad research topic : Start by identifying a broad topic that you are interested in researching. This could be based on your personal interests, observations, or gaps in the existing literature.
• Conduct a literature review : Once you have identified a broad topic, conduct a thorough literature review to identify the current state of knowledge in the field. This will help you identify gaps or inconsistencies in the existing research that can be addressed through your study.
• Refine the research question: Based on the gaps or inconsistencies identified in the literature review, refine your research question to a specific, clear, and well-defined problem statement. Your research question should be feasible, relevant, and important to the field of study.
• Develop a hypothesis: Based on the research question, develop a hypothesis that states the expected relationship between variables.
• Define the scope and limitations: Clearly define the scope and limitations of your research problem. This will help you focus your study and ensure that your research objectives are achievable.
• Get feedback: Get feedback from your advisor or colleagues to ensure that your research problem is clear, feasible, and relevant to the field of study.

Components of a Research Problem

The components of a research problem typically include the following:

• Topic : The general subject or area of interest that the research will explore.
• Research Question : A clear and specific question that the research seeks to answer or investigate.
• Objective : A statement that describes the purpose of the research, what it aims to achieve, and the expected outcomes.
• Hypothesis : An educated guess or prediction about the relationship between variables, which is tested during the research.
• Variables : The factors or elements that are being studied, measured, or manipulated in the research.
• Methodology : The overall approach and methods that will be used to conduct the research.
• Scope and Limitations : A description of the boundaries and parameters of the research, including what will be included and excluded, and any potential constraints or limitations.
• Significance: A statement that explains the potential value or impact of the research, its contribution to the field of study, and how it will add to the existing knowledge.

Research Problem Examples

Following are some Research Problem Examples:

Research Problem Examples in Psychology are as follows:

• Exploring the impact of social media on adolescent mental health.
• Investigating the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy for treating anxiety disorders.
• Studying the impact of prenatal stress on child development outcomes.
• Analyzing the factors that contribute to addiction and relapse in substance abuse treatment.
• Examining the impact of personality traits on romantic relationships.

Research Problem Examples in Sociology are as follows:

• Investigating the relationship between social support and mental health outcomes in marginalized communities.
• Studying the impact of globalization on labor markets and employment opportunities.
• Analyzing the causes and consequences of gentrification in urban neighborhoods.
• Investigating the impact of family structure on social mobility and economic outcomes.
• Examining the effects of social capital on community development and resilience.

Research Problem Examples in Economics are as follows:

• Studying the effects of trade policies on economic growth and development.
• Analyzing the impact of automation and artificial intelligence on labor markets and employment opportunities.
• Investigating the factors that contribute to economic inequality and poverty.
• Examining the impact of fiscal and monetary policies on inflation and economic stability.
• Studying the relationship between education and economic outcomes, such as income and employment.

Political Science

Research Problem Examples in Political Science are as follows:

• Analyzing the causes and consequences of political polarization and partisan behavior.
• Investigating the impact of social movements on political change and policymaking.
• Studying the role of media and communication in shaping public opinion and political discourse.
• Examining the effectiveness of electoral systems in promoting democratic governance and representation.
• Investigating the impact of international organizations and agreements on global governance and security.

Environmental Science

Research Problem Examples in Environmental Science are as follows:

• Studying the impact of air pollution on human health and well-being.
• Investigating the effects of deforestation on climate change and biodiversity loss.
• Analyzing the impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and food webs.
• Studying the relationship between urban development and ecological resilience.
• Examining the effectiveness of environmental policies and regulations in promoting sustainability and conservation.

Research Problem Examples in Education are as follows:

• Investigating the impact of teacher training and professional development on student learning outcomes.
• Studying the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning in promoting student engagement and achievement.
• Analyzing the factors that contribute to achievement gaps and educational inequality.
• Examining the impact of parental involvement on student motivation and achievement.
• Studying the effectiveness of alternative educational models, such as homeschooling and online learning.

Research Problem Examples in History are as follows:

• Analyzing the social and economic factors that contributed to the rise and fall of ancient civilizations.
• Investigating the impact of colonialism on indigenous societies and cultures.
• Studying the role of religion in shaping political and social movements throughout history.
• Analyzing the impact of the Industrial Revolution on economic and social structures.
• Examining the causes and consequences of global conflicts, such as World War I and II.

Research Problem Examples in Business are as follows:

• Studying the impact of corporate social responsibility on brand reputation and consumer behavior.
• Investigating the effectiveness of leadership development programs in improving organizational performance and employee satisfaction.
• Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful entrepreneurship and small business development.
• Examining the impact of mergers and acquisitions on market competition and consumer welfare.
• Studying the effectiveness of marketing strategies and advertising campaigns in promoting brand awareness and sales.

Research Problem Example for Students

An Example of a Research Problem for Students could be:

“How does social media usage affect the academic performance of high school students?”

This research problem is specific, measurable, and relevant. It is specific because it focuses on a particular area of interest, which is the impact of social media on academic performance. It is measurable because the researcher can collect data on social media usage and academic performance to evaluate the relationship between the two variables. It is relevant because it addresses a current and important issue that affects high school students.

To conduct research on this problem, the researcher could use various methods, such as surveys, interviews, and statistical analysis of academic records. The results of the study could provide insights into the relationship between social media usage and academic performance, which could help educators and parents develop effective strategies for managing social media use among students.

Another example of a research problem for students:

“Does participation in extracurricular activities impact the academic performance of middle school students?”

This research problem is also specific, measurable, and relevant. It is specific because it focuses on a particular type of activity, extracurricular activities, and its impact on academic performance. It is measurable because the researcher can collect data on students’ participation in extracurricular activities and their academic performance to evaluate the relationship between the two variables. It is relevant because extracurricular activities are an essential part of the middle school experience, and their impact on academic performance is a topic of interest to educators and parents.

To conduct research on this problem, the researcher could use surveys, interviews, and academic records analysis. The results of the study could provide insights into the relationship between extracurricular activities and academic performance, which could help educators and parents make informed decisions about the types of activities that are most beneficial for middle school students.

Applications of Research Problem

Applications of Research Problem are as follows:

• Academic research: Research problems are used to guide academic research in various fields, including social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and engineering. Researchers use research problems to identify gaps in knowledge, address theoretical or practical problems, and explore new areas of study.
• Business research : Research problems are used to guide business research, including market research, consumer behavior research, and organizational research. Researchers use research problems to identify business challenges, explore opportunities, and develop strategies for business growth and success.
• Healthcare research : Research problems are used to guide healthcare research, including medical research, clinical research, and health services research. Researchers use research problems to identify healthcare challenges, develop new treatments and interventions, and improve healthcare delivery and outcomes.
• Public policy research : Research problems are used to guide public policy research, including policy analysis, program evaluation, and policy development. Researchers use research problems to identify social issues, assess the effectiveness of existing policies and programs, and develop new policies and programs to address societal challenges.
• Environmental research : Research problems are used to guide environmental research, including environmental science, ecology, and environmental management. Researchers use research problems to identify environmental challenges, assess the impact of human activities on the environment, and develop sustainable solutions to protect the environment.

Purpose of Research Problems

The purpose of research problems is to identify an area of study that requires further investigation and to formulate a clear, concise and specific research question. A research problem defines the specific issue or problem that needs to be addressed and serves as the foundation for the research project.

Identifying a research problem is important because it helps to establish the direction of the research and sets the stage for the research design, methods, and analysis. It also ensures that the research is relevant and contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field.

A well-formulated research problem should:

• Clearly define the specific issue or problem that needs to be investigated
• Be specific and narrow enough to be manageable in terms of time, resources, and scope
• Be relevant to the field of study and contribute to the existing body of knowledge
• Be feasible and realistic in terms of available data, resources, and research methods
• Be interesting and intellectually stimulating for the researcher and potential readers or audiences.

Characteristics of Research Problem

The characteristics of a research problem refer to the specific features that a problem must possess to qualify as a suitable research topic. Some of the key characteristics of a research problem are:

• Clarity : A research problem should be clearly defined and stated in a way that it is easily understood by the researcher and other readers. The problem should be specific, unambiguous, and easy to comprehend.
• Relevance : A research problem should be relevant to the field of study, and it should contribute to the existing body of knowledge. The problem should address a gap in knowledge, a theoretical or practical problem, or a real-world issue that requires further investigation.
• Feasibility : A research problem should be feasible in terms of the availability of data, resources, and research methods. It should be realistic and practical to conduct the study within the available time, budget, and resources.
• Novelty : A research problem should be novel or original in some way. It should represent a new or innovative perspective on an existing problem, or it should explore a new area of study or apply an existing theory to a new context.
• Importance : A research problem should be important or significant in terms of its potential impact on the field or society. It should have the potential to produce new knowledge, advance existing theories, or address a pressing societal issue.
• Manageability : A research problem should be manageable in terms of its scope and complexity. It should be specific enough to be investigated within the available time and resources, and it should be broad enough to provide meaningful results.

Advantages of Research Problem

The advantages of a well-defined research problem are as follows:

• Focus : A research problem provides a clear and focused direction for the research study. It ensures that the study stays on track and does not deviate from the research question.
• Clarity : A research problem provides clarity and specificity to the research question. It ensures that the research is not too broad or too narrow and that the research objectives are clearly defined.
• Relevance : A research problem ensures that the research study is relevant to the field of study and contributes to the existing body of knowledge. It addresses gaps in knowledge, theoretical or practical problems, or real-world issues that require further investigation.
• Feasibility : A research problem ensures that the research study is feasible in terms of the availability of data, resources, and research methods. It ensures that the research is realistic and practical to conduct within the available time, budget, and resources.
• Novelty : A research problem ensures that the research study is original and innovative. It represents a new or unique perspective on an existing problem, explores a new area of study, or applies an existing theory to a new context.
• Importance : A research problem ensures that the research study is important and significant in terms of its potential impact on the field or society. It has the potential to produce new knowledge, advance existing theories, or address a pressing societal issue.
• Rigor : A research problem ensures that the research study is rigorous and follows established research methods and practices. It ensures that the research is conducted in a systematic, objective, and unbiased manner.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

You may also like

Data Collection – Methods Types and Examples

Delimitations in Research – Types, Examples and...

Research Process – Steps, Examples and Tips

Research Design – Types, Methods and Examples

Institutional Review Board – Application Sample...

Evaluating Research – Process, Examples and...

Education's Research Problem

The "Threshold of Certainty" and Other Dilemmas

Overpromising: exuberance for evidence-poor practices, underdelivering: ignoring science that might help, causes of misjudgment in the use of science, of values, science, and education, making it better.

Premium Resource

Adams, M. J. (2009). The challenge of advanced texts. In E. Hiedert (Ed.) Reading more, reading better (pp. 163–189). New York, Guilford.

Backes, B., & Hansen, M. (2018). The impact of Teach for America on non-test academic outcomes. Education Finance and Policy, 13 (2), 168–193.

Center for Research on Education Outcomes. (2015). Urban charter school study report on 41 regions . Stanford, CA: Author.

Clark, M. A., Chiang, H. S., Silva, T., McConnell, S., Sonnenfeld, K., Erbe, A., et al. (2013). The effectiveness of secondary math teachers from Teach for America and the teaching fellows programs (NCEE 2013-4015). Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

Cuevas, J., & Dawson, B. L. (2018). A test of two alternative cognitive processing models: Learning styles and dual coding. Theory and Research in Education, 16 , 40–64.

Dee, T. S., & Wyckoff, J. (2015). Incentives, selection, and teacher performance: Evidence from IMPACT. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 34 (2), 267–297.

Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92 , 1087–1101.

Fleming, N. D., & Mills., C. (1992). Not another inventory, rather a catalyst for reflection. To Improve the Academy, 11 , 137–155.

International Literacy Association. (2019). Meeting the challenges of early literacy phonics Instruction [Literacy Leadership Brief]. Newark, DE: Author.

Kane, T. J., Rockoff, J. E., & Staiger, D. O. (2008). What does certification tell us about teacher effectiveness? Evidence from New York City. Economics of Education Review, 27 (6), 615–631.

Kennedy, B. (Oct. 18, 2016). "Most Americans trust the military and scientists to act in the public's interests." Pew Research Center.

Mayer, R. E. (2004). Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning? American Psychologist, 59 (1), 14.

Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2009). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9 (3), 105–119.

Rousseau, J. J. (1909). Emile: Or, on education . (W. H. Payne, Trans.) New York: Appleton & Co. (Originally published 1762).

Weisberg, D., Sexton, S., Mulhern, J., & Keeling, D. (2009). "The widget effect: Our national failure to acknowledge and act on differences in teacher effectiveness." The New Teacher Project.

Willingham, D. T. (2018) Does tailoring instruction to "learning styles" help students learn? American Educator, 42 (2), 28–36.

Daniel T. Willingham is professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several books, including Why Don’t Students Like School? (Jossey-Bass, 2010) and most recently Outsmart Your Brain (Gallery, 2023).

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

Let us help you put your vision into action., related articles.

Let’s Provide Teachers Sabbaticals

A Temperature Check on Student Needs

And Now for Some Good News

What It Takes to Truly Leave No Child Behind

It’s About Skillsets and Support, Not Sainthood

From our issue.

To process a transaction with a Purchase Order please send to [email protected]

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Starting the research process
• How to Define a Research Problem | Ideas & Examples

How to Define a Research Problem | Ideas & Examples

Published on November 2, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on May 31, 2023.

A research problem is a specific issue or gap in existing knowledge that you aim to address in your research. You may choose to look for practical problems aimed at contributing to change, or theoretical problems aimed at expanding knowledge.

Some research will do both of these things, but usually the research problem focuses on one or the other. The type of research problem you choose depends on your broad topic of interest and the type of research you think will fit best.

This article helps you identify and refine a research problem. When writing your research proposal or introduction , formulate it as a problem statement and/or research questions .

Table of contents

Why is the research problem important, step 1: identify a broad problem area, step 2: learn more about the problem, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research problems.

Having an interesting topic isn’t a strong enough basis for academic research. Without a well-defined research problem, you are likely to end up with an unfocused and unmanageable project.

You might end up repeating what other people have already said, trying to say too much, or doing research without a clear purpose and justification. You need a clear problem in order to do research that contributes new and relevant insights.

Whether you’re planning your thesis , starting a research paper , or writing a research proposal , the research problem is the first step towards knowing exactly what you’ll do and why.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

As you read about your topic, look for under-explored aspects or areas of concern, conflict, or controversy. Your goal is to find a gap that your research project can fill.

Practical research problems

If you are doing practical research, you can identify a problem by reading reports, following up on previous research, or talking to people who work in the relevant field or organization. You might look for:

• Issues with performance or efficiency
• Processes that could be improved
• Areas of concern among practitioners
• Difficulties faced by specific groups of people

Examples of practical research problems

Voter turnout in New England has been decreasing, in contrast to the rest of the country.

The HR department of a local chain of restaurants has a high staff turnover rate.

A non-profit organization faces a funding gap that means some of its programs will have to be cut.

Theoretical research problems

If you are doing theoretical research, you can identify a research problem by reading existing research, theory, and debates on your topic to find a gap in what is currently known about it. You might look for:

• A phenomenon or context that has not been closely studied
• A contradiction between two or more perspectives
• A situation or relationship that is not well understood
• A troubling question that has yet to be resolved

Examples of theoretical research problems

The effects of long-term Vitamin D deficiency on cardiovascular health are not well understood.

The relationship between gender, race, and income inequality has yet to be closely studied in the context of the millennial gig economy.

Historians of Scottish nationalism disagree about the role of the British Empire in the development of Scotland’s national identity.

Next, you have to find out what is already known about the problem, and pinpoint the exact aspect that your research will address.

Context and background

• Who does the problem affect?
• Is it a newly-discovered problem, or a well-established one?
• What research has already been done?
• What, if any, solutions have been proposed?
• What are the current debates about the problem? What is missing from these debates?

Specificity and relevance

• What particular place, time, and/or group of people will you focus on?
• What aspects will you not be able to tackle?
• What will the consequences be if the problem is not resolved?

Example of a specific research problem

A local non-profit organization focused on alleviating food insecurity has always fundraised from its existing support base. It lacks understanding of how best to target potential new donors. To be able to continue its work, the organization requires research into more effective fundraising strategies.

Once you have narrowed down your research problem, the next step is to formulate a problem statement , as well as your research questions or hypotheses .

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

All research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them.

In general, they should be:

• Focused and researchable
• Answerable using credible sources
• Complex and arguable
• Feasible and specific
• Relevant and original

Your research objectives indicate how you’ll try to address your research problem and should be specific:

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. & George, T. (2023, May 31). How to Define a Research Problem | Ideas & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-problem/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write a problem statement | guide & examples, writing strong research questions | criteria & examples, how to write a strong hypothesis | steps & examples, unlimited academic ai-proofreading.

✔ Document error-free in 5minutes ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

The alarming state of the American student in 2022

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, robin lake and robin lake director, center on reinventing public education - arizona state university @rbnlake travis pillow travis pillow innovation fellow, center on reinventing public education - arizona state university @travispillow.

November 1, 2022

The pandemic was a wrecking ball for U.S. public education, bringing months of school closures, frantic moves to remote instruction, and trauma and isolation.

Kids may be back at school after three disrupted years, but a return to classrooms has not brought a return to normal. Recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed historic declines in American students’ knowledge and skills and widening gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students.

But even these sobering results do not tell us the whole story.

After nearly three years of tracking pandemic response by U.S. school systems and synthesizing knowledge about the impacts on students, we sought to establish a baseline understanding of the contours of the crisis: What happened and why, and where do we go from here?

This first annual “ State of the American Student ” report synthesizes nearly three years of research on the academic, mental health, and other impacts of the pandemic and school closures.

It outlines the contours of the crisis American students have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and begins to chart a path to recovery and reinvention for all students—which includes building a new and better approach to public education that ensures an educational crisis of this magnitude cannot happen again.

The state of American students as we emerge from the pandemic is still coming into focus, but here’s what we’ve learned (and haven’t yet learned) about where COVID-19 left us:

1. Students lost critical opportunities to learn and thrive.

• The typical American student lost several months’ worth of learning in language arts and more in mathematics.

• Students suffered crushing increases in anxiety and depression. More than one in 360 U.S. children lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19.

• Students poorly served before the pandemic were profoundly left behind during it, including many with disabilities whose parents reported they were cut off from essential school and life services.

This deeply traumatic period threatens to reverberate for decades. The academic, social, and mental-health needs are real, they are measurable, and they must be addressed quickly to avoid long-term consequences to individual students, the future workforce, and society.

2. The average effects from COVID mask dire inequities and widely varied impact.

Some students are catching up, but time is running out for others. Every student experienced the pandemic differently, and there is tremendous variation from student to student, with certain populations—namely, Black, Hispanic, and low-income students, as well as other vulnerable populations—suffering the most severe impacts.

The effects were more severe where campuses stayed closed longer. American students are experiencing a K-shaped recovery, in which gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students, already growing before the pandemic, are widening into chasms. In the latest NAEP results released in September , national average scores fell five times as much in reading, and four times as much in math, for the lowest-scoring 10 percent of nine-year-olds as they had for the highest-scoring 10 percent.

At the pace of recovery we are seeing today, too many students of all races and income levels will graduate in the coming years without the skills and knowledge needed for college and careers.

3. What we know at this point is incomplete. The situation could be significantly worse than the early data suggest.

The data and stories we have to date are enough to warrant immediate action, but there are serious holes in our understanding of how the pandemic has affected various groups of students, especially those who are typically most likely to fall through the cracks in the American education system.

We know little about students with complex needs, such as those with disabilities and English learners. We still know too little about the learning impacts in non-tested subjects, such as science, civics, and foreign languages. And while psychologists , educators , and the federal government are sounding alarms about a youth mental health crisis, systematic measures of student wellbeing remain hard to come by.

We must acknowledge that what we know at this point is incomplete, since the pandemic closures and following recovery have been so unprecedented in recent times. It’s possible that as we continue to dig into the evidence on the pandemic’s impacts, some student groups or subjects may have not been so adversely affected. Alternatively, the situation could be significantly worse than the early data suggest. Some students are already bouncing back quickly. But for others, the impact could grow worse over time.

In subjects like math, where learning is cumulative, pandemic-related gaps in students’ learning that emerged during the pandemic could affect their ability to grasp future material. In some states, test scores fell dramatically for high schoolers nearing graduation. Shifts in these students’ academic trajectories could affect their college plans—and the rest of their lives. And elevated rates of chronic absenteeism suggest some students who disconnected from school during the pandemic have struggled to reconnect since.

4. The harms students experienced can be traced to a rigid and inequitable system that put adults, not students, first.

• Despite often heroic efforts by caring adults, students and families were cut off from essential support, offered radically diminished learning opportunities, and left to their own devices to support learning.

• Too often, partisan politics, not student needs , drove decision-making.

• Students with complexities and differences too often faced systems immobilized by fear and a commitment to sameness rather than prioritization and problem-solving.

So, what can we do to address the situation we’re in?

Diverse needs demand diverse solutions that are informed by pandemic experiences

Freed from the routines of rigid systems, some parents, communities, and educators found new ways to tailor learning experiences around students’ needs. They discovered learning can happen any time and anywhere. They discovered enriching activities outside class and troves of untapped adult talent.

Some of these breakthroughs happened in public schools—like virtual IEP meetings that leveled power dynamics between administrators and parents advocating for their children’s special education services. Others happened in learning pods or other new environments where families and community groups devised new ways to meet students’ needs. These were exceptions to an otherwise miserable rule, and they can inform the work ahead.

We must act quickly but we must also act differently. Important next steps include:

• Districts and states should immediately use their federal dollars to address the emergent needs of the COVID-19 generation of students via proven interventions, such as well-designed tutoring, extended learning time, credit recovery, additional mental health support, college and career guidance, and mentoring. The challenges ahead are too daunting for schools to shoulder alone. Partnerships and funding for families and community-driven solutions will be critical.

• By the end of the 2022–2023 academic year, states and districts must commit to an honest accounting of rebuilding efforts by defining, adopting, and reporting on their progress toward 5- and 10-year goals for long-term student recovery. States should invest in rigorous studies that document, analyze, and improve their approaches.

• Education leaders and researchers must adopt a national research and development agenda for school reinvention over the next five years. This effort must be anchored in the reality that the needs of students are so varied, so profound, and so multifaceted that a one-size-fits-all approach to education can’t possibly meet them all. Across the country, community organizations who previously operated summer or afterschool programs stepped up to support students during the school day. As they focus on recovery, school system leaders should look to these helpers not as peripheral players in education, but as critical contributors who can provide teaching , tutoring, or joyful learning environments for students and often have trusting relationships with their families.

• Recovery and rebuilding should ensure the system is more resilient and prepared for future crises. That means more thoughtful integration of online learning and stronger partnerships with organizations that support learning outside school walls. Every school system in America should have a plan to keep students safe and learning even when they can’t physically come to school, be equipped to deliver high-quality, individualized pathways for students, and build on practices that show promise.

Our “State of the American Student” report is the first in a series of annual reports the Center on Reinventing Public Education intends to produce through fall of 2027. We hope every state and community will produce similar, annual accounts and begin to define ambitious goals for recovery. The implications of these deeply traumatic years will reverberate for decades unless we find a path not only to normalcy but also to restitution for this generation and future generations of American students.

The road to recovery can lead somewhere new. In five years, we hope to report that out of the ashes of the pandemic, American public education emerged transformed: more flexible and resilient, more individualized and equitable, and—most of all— more joyful.

Related Content

Joao Pedro Azevedo, Amer Hasan, Koen Geven, Diana Goldemberg, Syedah Aroob Iqbal

July 30, 2020

Matthew A. Kraft, Michael Goldstein

May 21, 2020

Dan Silver, Anna Saavedra, Morgan Polikoff

August 16, 2022

Early Childhood Education K-12 Education

Governance Studies

Brown Center on Education Policy

Ariell Bertrand, Melissa Arnold Lyon, Rebecca Jacobsen

April 18, 2024

Modupe (Mo) Olateju, Grace Cannon

April 15, 2024

Phillip Levine

April 12, 2024

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

So Much Research, So Little Time for Teachers to Put It Into Practice

• Share article

This post continues a multipart series highlighting research that could potentially be helpful for teachers to know ...

‘Racial Noticing’

Erica Silva leads professional development with schools and districts across the country to advance racial equity. She is also an adjunct assistant professor and former elementary/middle school teacher and instructional coach. Follow her work @doctorasilva on X/IG:

As we strive to build anti-racist classrooms, the work of Shah & Coles (2020) conceptualizes the idea of “racial noticing” with preservice teachers in elementary classrooms. Racial noticing is “the process of attending to, interpreting, and formulating responses to racial phenomena in learning settings” (p. 586). Their framework on racial noticing provides clear examples of how educators can 1) attend to, 2) interpret, and 3) respond to racial phenomena in their classrooms, thus, empowering them to understand and attend to the racialized experiences of students.

The transformational work of Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz presents a racial literacy-development model that highlights the importance of developing the racial literacy of educators. In order for educators to become racially literate, they must engage in the Six Components to Racial Literacy Development which include: critical love, critical humility, critical reflection, historical literacy, archaeology of self, and interruption. By engaging in this deeply reflective work focused on the excavation of one’s beliefs, biases, and experiences, educators can be better equipped to interrupt racism and effectively work toward building socially just classrooms rooted in equity.

Rita Kohli and Daniel Solórzano highlight how students in K-12 schools experience racial microaggressions that could be connected to the mispronouncing of their names in schools. Their 2012 qualitative study looks at how students with non-Western names experience “othering” in school by having their name changed by someone at school or how they change their name to assimilate and/or avoid embarrassment due to the mispronunciation of their name.

Kohli and Solórzano argue that students who experience the mispronunciation of their name in school is a form of a racial microaggression and diminishes their cultural heritage and identity. If we want a student to authentically show up as their whole self in school, we must begin to honor their given name—without changing, altering, or shortening it so that their name is easier for us, as teachers, to pronounce.

Supporting Multilingual Learners

Min Oh is an Institute of Education Sciences postdoctoral fellow at the University of Virginia. Oh’s research focuses on understanding language and literacy development of multilingual learners in the United States:

Asset-based approaches for supporting U.S. multilingual learners have continued to receive attention in the field of education. It is crucial to underscore that bilingualism—which is often misconstrued as a risk factor for academic achievement—is in fact not a risk factor for multilingual learners’ education outcomes.

To the contrary, there has been increased recognition that multilingual learners’ linguistic and cultural knowledge are assets that can—and should be—incorporated into their learning. At the same time, educators and researchers have called out the disconnect that exists between the positive discourse surrounding multilingual learners’ rich linguistic knowledge and the reality of exactly how educators might foster an asset-based classroom culture to build on multilingual learners’ strengths.

An important area of research to highlight is the significance of teachers’ expectations for multilingual learners and their beliefs and knowledge about bilingual development. Teachers play a significant role in students’ learning. This is especially true when it comes to the education of U.S. multilingual learners who are not only building English-language proficiency but also acquiring academic content using their developing English-language skills.

Teachers’ Expectations and Beliefs About Multilingual Learners’ Learning Matter

Multilingual learners’ ability to engage with academically challenging content should not be overlooked. This echoes concerns about “dumbing down” of content or minimizing academically challenging coursework instead of offering multilingual learners both high challenge and support for successful learning.

However well-intended, less rigorous curriculum does a long-term disservice to multilingual learners. In fact, multilingual learners often face a cycle of watered-down instruction—commonly known as the “rigor gap” —which has been linked to teachers’ beliefs about effective practices for teaching multilingual learners.

In a study exploring teacher beliefs about English learners (ELs; i.e., a formal school-assigned label to multilingual learners identified to need additional English-language instruction), my colleague and I found that teachers’ well-intended leniency towards ELs (e.g., patience in instruction and assessment, acknowledgement of effort over achievement) was negatively linked to ELs’ reading achievement.

That was surprising because teachers’ patience in helping ELs learn English at a comfortable pace has been recognized as an important disposition in teaching language learners. Patient, understanding teachers are undoubtedly important for all learners, particularly for ELs who are acquiring a new language and academic content in their developing language.

So, why might this be? This finding led us to discussions about educators’ “laissez-faire approach” proposed by Theresa Roberts, Ph.D. (2014). She explains that this approach stems from popularization of the “silent period”—a period early in second-language development when children tend to remain “silent” with native speakers of the second language (e.g., English). She argues that the widespread acceptance of the silent period as a natural, beneficial phenomenon has the potential to leave multilingual learners exposed to mostly informal language in classrooms. Along this line of reasoning, low expectations of language production based on the belief that ELs are actively—albeit silently—processing English could potentially minimize ELs’ exposure to meaningful input and production of language. Importantly, these perspectives deviate from empirical evidence that underscore the value of meaningful language input and output during second-language development.

In other words, well-intended lenient expectations should be carefully balanced with opportunities for ELs (and broadly, multilingual learners) to engage with complex classroom content to build language and literacy skills.

The field has continued to emphasize the need for well-prepared teachers who understand the second-language development process, so that they can serve as effective advocates for multilingual learners. Of course, a concerted effort to not only support multilingual learners but also the teachers of multilingual learners also matter. It is imperative for schools and policymakers to examine the conditions and external factors (e.g., availability of resources, language policy) that might influence teachers’ beliefs and how they are translated into practice. These efforts are a valuable step toward reinforcing research-grounded, asset-based beliefs about multilingual learners and building on their strengths with intention.

‘The Wisdom of Communities’

Marilyn Chu, Western Washington University professor emeritus, developed ECE (Early Childhood Education) higher education professional development courses and programs for entering and experienced teachers in Washington state. Her work, locally and internationally, has focused on family engagement for systems change, mentoring, and coaching among working and preservice teachers and the prevention of child maltreatment in the early years:

Teachers who are working to enact evidence-based strategies “with fidelity” often experience the frustration of making these practices relevant and effective in their specific context. While there are many complex reasons for this common dilemma, one aspect of this challenge may be the way teachers are encouraged to participate in related professional development (PD) and how they are involved in understanding what evidence is needed to implement new teaching and learning approaches.

Questions to consider include: Did the PD process keep the heart (feeling) and the mind (thinking) together, where regular collaboration, reflection, knowledge, and skill building were integrated to solve dilemmas of everyday practice? Was teacher learning designed to be ongoing, reflective, and goal-oriented and involve mentoring or coaching from peers?

Were structural supports for teachers to “ think together” in professional learning communities or in co-inquiry groups offered as opportunities to reframe a problem of practice into questions to collectively investigate? When relevant approaches, based in research, were identified, was the wisdom of local families and communities included as a part of the decisionmaking process for considering what works?

What if all of these efforts still resulted in some teacher and student learning needs unmet and not considered? What else might be missing to make a school a more equitable space?

Implementation science offers both immediate and longer areas for consideration when practices don’t achieve expected outcomes. Did teacher leaders and school administrators consider, before implementation, the readiness, feasibility, and motivation for implementing change? Was an iterative process of adapting methods, programs, and practices to a context designed into creating the best fit for any innovation?

Considering when past “innovations” fell flat should inform new efforts. Wondering together with teachers, families, and members of local communities, “ What might work here?” is usually the best first step . Considering how to make a school community feel more equitable by engaging groups of families and community members over time to develop more trusting relationships and access to school power structures may help identify central problems and offer more relevant pathways for solutions.

The wisdom of communities, which should especially include those persons and groups often excluded from decisionmaking, is part of the essential evidence base for making change. This evidence includes learning the communities’ history, cultures, values, lived experiences, and current daily lives to have any chance of bridging research and the real world. How might this huge process begin? Do teachers ever ask families, “ What are your hopes and dreams for your children?” Do teachers listen, observe, collect data, reflect, plan, act, and revise over and over again, with families’ knowledge and perspectives as central to their work?

This opens the longer discussion of who the communities in any school want to be teaching their children. Who can be recruited, over time, who already understand, or who have the disposition to humbly learn and respect their specific school and community context? How can many sources of evidence be used to create a school where everyone is learning?

See references here .

Thanks to Erica, Min, and Marilyn for contributing their thoughts!

Today’s post answered this question:

What are one to three research findings that you think teachers should know about but that you also think that many of them do not?

Part One in this series featured responses from Ron Berger, Wendi Pillars, and Marina Rodriguez.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email . And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 12 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list here .

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Sign Up for EdWeek Update

Edweek top school jobs.

Sign Up & Sign In

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

About half of Americans say public K-12 education is going in the wrong direction

About half of U.S. adults (51%) say the country’s public K-12 education system is generally going in the wrong direction. A far smaller share (16%) say it’s going in the right direction, and about a third (32%) are not sure, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in November 2023.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand how Americans view the K-12 public education system. We surveyed 5,029 U.S. adults from Nov. 9 to Nov. 16, 2023.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos for Pew Research Center on the Ipsos KnowledgePanel Omnibus. The KnowledgePanel is a probability-based web panel recruited primarily through national, random sampling of residential addresses. The survey is weighted by gender, age, race, ethnicity, education, income and other categories.

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

A majority of those who say it’s headed in the wrong direction say a major reason is that schools are not spending enough time on core academic subjects.

These findings come amid debates about what is taught in schools , as well as concerns about school budget cuts and students falling behind academically.

Related: Race and LGBTQ Issues in K-12 Schools

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say the public K-12 education system is going in the wrong direction. About two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (65%) say this, compared with 40% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. In turn, 23% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans say it’s headed in the right direction.

Among Republicans, conservatives are the most likely to say public education is headed in the wrong direction: 75% say this, compared with 52% of moderate or liberal Republicans. There are no significant differences among Democrats by ideology.

Similar shares of K-12 parents and adults who don’t have a child in K-12 schools say the system is going in the wrong direction.

A separate Center survey of public K-12 teachers found that 82% think the overall state of public K-12 education has gotten worse in the past five years. And many teachers are pessimistic about the future.

Related: What’s It Like To Be A Teacher in America Today?

Why do Americans think public K-12 education is going in the wrong direction?

We asked adults who say the public education system is going in the wrong direction why that might be. About half or more say the following are major reasons:

• Schools not spending enough time on core academic subjects, like reading, math, science and social studies (69%)
• Teachers bringing their personal political and social views into the classroom (54%)
• Schools not having the funding and resources they need (52%)

About a quarter (26%) say a major reason is that parents have too much influence in decisions about what schools are teaching.

How views vary by party

Americans in each party point to different reasons why public education is headed in the wrong direction.

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say major reasons are:

• A lack of focus on core academic subjects (79% vs. 55%)
• Teachers bringing their personal views into the classroom (76% vs. 23%)

In turn, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to point to:

• Insufficient school funding and resources (78% vs. 33%)
• Parents having too much say in what schools are teaching (46% vs. 13%)

Views also vary within each party by ideology.

Among Republicans, conservatives are particularly likely to cite a lack of focus on core academic subjects and teachers bringing their personal views into the classroom.

Among Democrats, liberals are especially likely to cite schools lacking resources and parents having too much say in the curriculum.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

• Partisanship & Issues
• Political Issues

About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers say their school went into a gun-related lockdown in the last school year

What public k-12 teachers want americans to know about teaching, what’s it like to be a teacher in america today, race and lgbtq issues in k-12 schools, from businesses and banks to colleges and churches: americans’ views of u.s. institutions, most popular.

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Age & Generations
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Economy & Work
• Family & Relationships
• Gender & LGBTQ
• Immigration & Migration
• International Affairs
• Internet & Technology
• Methodological Research
• News Habits & Media
• Non-U.S. Governments
• Other Topics
• Politics & Policy
• Race & Ethnicity
• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookie Settings

Reprints, Permissions & Use Policy

Design-based Research Method in PBL/PjBL: A case in Nursing Education

Article sidebar, main article content.

Design-based Research (DBR) focuses on real-world problems, emphasizes studying an educational intervention in its supposed context, uses a cyclical process of design, implementation, evaluation, and improvement, utilizes mixed research methods, stresses reciprocal relationships between theories and practice, and involves a close collaborative relationship between researchers and practitioners. Three iterative DBR research cycles were conducted on a project-based learning (PjBL) implementation in three population health nursing clinical PjBL blocks at a Midwest university. Data were collected at the end of each cycle through surveys, focus group interviews with students, faculty, and clinical agency contacts, as well as student work and performance. The data were analyzed, and revisions and improvements were planned for subsequent blocks and future use in the course.

Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

1. Publication and Promotion : In consideration of the Publisher’s agreement to publish the Work, Author hereby grants and assigns to Publisher the non-exclusive right to print, publish, reproduce, or distribute the Work throughout the world in all means of expression by any method now known or hereafter developed, including electronic format, and to market or sell the Work orany part of it as Publisher sees fit. Author further grants Publisher the right to use Author’s name in association with the Work inpublished form and in advertising and promotional materials

2. C opyright : Copyright of the Work remains in Author’s name.

3. Prior Publication and Attribution : Author agrees not to publish the Work in print form prior to publication of the Work by the Publisher. Author agrees to cite, by author, title, and publisher, the original Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning publication when publishing the Work elsewhere

4. Author Representations : The Author represents and warrants that the Work:

(a) is the Author’s original Work and that Author has full power to enter into this Agreement;

(b) does not infringe the copyright or property of another;

(c) contains no material which is obscene, libelous, defamatory or previously published, in whole or in part.

Author shall indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss of expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.

5. Licensing and Reuse : Reuse of the published Work will be governed by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/4.0/). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the Work non-commercially; although new works must acknowledge the original Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning publication and be non-commercial, they do not have to be licensed on the same terms.

Joni Tweeten, a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:26:"University of North Dakota";}

Joni Tweeten is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Nursing Department at the University of North Dakota and is working on her Education, Health, and Behavioral Studies PhD with a specialization in Instructional Design and Technology.

Woei Hung, University of North Dakota

Woei Hung is currently a professor and graduate director of the Instructional Design and Technology Program in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of North Dakota. His research areas include problem-based learning (PBL), complex problem solving, systems thinking and modeling, concept mapping and formation, and microlearning. He has published numerous journal articles and book chapters in the areas of PBL problem and curriculum design. He is currently an executive board member and the treasurer of the PAN PBL Association of Problem-Based Learning and Active Learning Methodologies.

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2021, April 6). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2022). Public health nursing scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). American Nurses Publishing.

American Public Health Association (APHA), Public Health Nursing Section. (2013). The definition and practice of public health nursing: A statement of the public health nursing section. https://www.apha.org/~/media/files/pdf/membergroups/phn/nursingdefinition.ashx .

Anderson, T., & Shattuck, J. (2012). Design-based research: A decade of progress in education research? Educational Researcher, 41(1), 16–25. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X11428813

Arif, Y. & Putri, Z. M. (2022). Project based learning method: Improving critical thinking and problem-solving skills for nursing students. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 650, 48-52. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Educational Development and Quality Assurance (ICED-QA 2021). http://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220303.010

Bannan-Ritland, B., & Baek, J. Y. (2008). Investigating the act of design in design research: The road taken. In Handbook of design research methods in education (pp. 209–319). Routledge.

Barab, S., & Squire, K. (2004). Introduction: Design-based research: Putting a stake in the ground. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 1–14.

Bassi, S. (2011, May/June). Undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions of service-learning through a school-based community project. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32(3), 162-167. http://doi.org/10.5480/1536-5026-32.3.162

Brown, A. L. (1992). Design experiments: Theoretical and methodological challenges in creating complex interventions in classroom settings. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2(2), 141–178.

Buck Institute for Education (BIE). (n.d.). What is PBL? PBL Works. https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl

Collins, A. (1992). Toward a design science of education. In E. Scanlon & T. O’Shea (Eds.), New directions in educational technology. Spinger-Verlag.

Collins, A., Joseph, D., & Bielaczyc, K. (2004). Design research: Theoretical and methodological issues. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 15–42.

Daley, C. S. & Sciegaj, M. (2021). Incorporating a project-based learning approach in an advanced undergraduate course on long-term care administration: A spark that ignites the flame. Journal of Health Administration Education, 38(2), 517-532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101586

Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2009). The systematic design of instruction (7th ed.). Pearson.

Gravemeijer, K., & Cobb, P. (2006). Outline of a method for design research in mathematics education. In Educational Design Research (pp. 17–51). Routledge.

Hanklang, S. & Sivasan, S. (2019). Effectiveness of the project-based learning program on Thai nursing student competency for elderly care in the community. Journal of Health Research, 35, 132-146. http://doi.org/10.1108/JHR-07-2019-0160

Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23–48.

Hung, W. (2006). The 3C3R Model: A conceptual framework for designing problems in PBL. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1006

Jonassen, D. H. (2000). Toward a design theory of problem solving. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(4), 63–85.

Jonassen, D. H., Cernusca, D., & Ionas, G. (2007). Constructivism and instructional design: The emergence of the learning sciences and design research. In trends and issues in instructional design and technology. (pp. 45–52). Peasron.

Jonassen, D., & Hung, W. (2008). All problems are not equal: Implications for problem-based learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1080

Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., & Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: A review of the literature. Improving Schools, 19(3), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480216659733

Koo, H-Y., Gu, Y-E., & Lee, B-R. (2022, April 26). Development of a project-based learning program on high-risk newborn care for nursing students and its effects: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 5249. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095249

McKenney, S., & Reeves, T. C. (2019). Conducting educational design research (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Moallem, M., Hung, W., & Dabbagh, N. (2019). The Wily Handbook of problem-based learning. Wiley-Blackwell.

Neville, A. J. (2009). Problem-based learning and medical education forty years on. A review of its effects on knowledge and clinical performance. Medical Principles and Practice: International Journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre, 18(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1159/000163038

Pascon, D. M., Vaz, D. R., Peres, H. H. C., & Leonello, V. M. (2022, August). Project-based learning in remote teaching for undergraduate nursing students. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, (56), e20220058. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-220X-REEUSP-2022-0058en

Quad Council Coalition Competency Review Task Force (Quad Council). (2018). Community/public health nursing [C/PHN] competencies. http://www.quadcouncilphn.org/documents-3/2018-qcc-competencies/

Reeves, T. C., Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2005). Design research: A socially responsible approach to instructional technology research in higher education. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 16(2), 96–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02961476

Reinking, D., & Bradley, B. A. (2008). Formative and design experiments: Approaches to language and literarcy research. Teachers College Press.

Sandoval, W. (2014). Conjecture Mapping: An approach to systematic educational design research. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 23(1), 18–36.

Shavelson, R. J., Phillips, D. C., Towne, L., & Feuer, M. J. (2003). On the science of education design studies. Educational Researcher, 32(1), 25–28.

Sung, T-W., Wu, T-T. (2018, March). Learning with e-books and project-based strategy in a community health nursing course. Computers, Informatics, and Nursing, 36(3), 140-146. http://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000398

Sweller, J., Clark, R. E., & Kirschner, P. A. (2011). Teaching general problem solving does not lead to mathematical skillsor knowledge. Newsletter of the European Mathematical Society, 41–42.

Tanner, C. A. (2006, June). Thinking like a nurse: A research-based model of clinical judgment in nursing. Journal of Nursing Education, 45(6), 204-211. http://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20060601-04

The Design-Based Research Collective. (2003). Design-based research: An emerging paradigm for educational inquiry. Educational Researcher, 32(1), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X032001005

Wahyuningsih, B. D., Sudarsih, S., & Zainudin, M. (2020). The differences of project based learning and cooperative learning models to influence of critical thinking ability in student medical and surgical subject 3rd semester of DIII nursing study program. International Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Science, 4(2), 105-111. http://doi.org/10.29082/IJNMS/2020/Vol4/

Wang, F., & Hannafin, M. J. (2005). Design-Based Research and Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 5–23.

Wozniak, H. (2015). Conjecture mapping to optimize the educational design research process. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 31(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.2505

Zeydani, A., Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., Abdi, F., Hosseini, M., Zohari-Anboohi, S., & Skerrett, V. (2021, November 18). Effect of community-based education on undergraduate nursing students’ skills: A systematic review. BMC Nursing, 20(11), 1472-6955. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00755-4

Honoring Walter J. Daly: 'Trailblazing' dean led rapid growth at IU School of Medicine from 1983-95

Laura Gates Apr 16, 2024

Walter J. Daly with a view of the IUPUI and IU School of Medicine campus in 1995.

Indiana University School of Medicine’s seventh dean, Walter J. Daly, MD , prioritized innovation, expanded clinical education and elevated the medical school’s visibility throughout the state as the school’s leader from 1983 until his retirement in 1995. He died on April 6, 2024, in Sarasota, Florida, at age 94, leaving a legacy of advancements for Indiana’s statewide medical school.

Developing a research-rich environment to enhance medical education was central to Daly’s leadership.

“As the current dean, I am honored to hold the title of Walter J. Daly Professor,” said IU School of Medicine Dean Jay Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA . “Dr. Daly was a very wise and admired dean.”

On the IU Indianapolis campus, the Daly Student Center and Medical Research Facility  is named in his honor. During his time as dean, Daly oversaw the opening of the Medical Research and Library building in 1989 with its iconic glass pyramids and towers, heralded as “windows to the future.”

Today, as construction advances on IU School of Medicine’s new Medical Education and Research Building, the anticipation is reminiscent of what Daly and others on the Indianapolis campus felt in the late 1980s. The research space added in 1989 was designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, quicken discoveries in cancer and other diseases, and grow knowledge in emerging fields like medical genetics. That early emphasis laid the groundwork for a Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics which today ranks No. 5 in the nation for NIH funding.

Daly took over as dean in July 1983, following Steven Beering ’s departure to lead Purdue University. He had been on faculty since 1962, attaining full professorship in 1968, and was chair of the Department of Medicine from 1970-1983 before assuming the dual role of medical school dean and director of the IU Medical Center.

During that time, clinical operations expanded with a major addition to Riley Hospital for Children and a new outpatient wing at University Hospital. Daly was instrumental in negotiations leading to the 1997 operational merger of Riley and University hospitals with Methodist Hospital to form Clarian Health Partners, a nonprofit health care system which is now Indiana University Health. He also negotiated a contract with Wishard Hospital (now Eskenazi Health) enabling medical students to complete clinical rotations there, adding diversity to their training.

“Daly can be seen as a consensus builder, delegator, and problem solver,” writes IU Professor Emeritus of History William Schneider, PhD , in “ The Indiana University School of Medicine: A History .”

Avid supporter of medical research

During his time as dean, Daly sought to grow the school’s research portfolio and established the first associate dean for research at IU School of Medicine. Daly hired a consultant with NIH grant funding experience to identify gaps in research and then recruited heavily in those areas, including neurology and molecular biology.

Physician scientist Harvey Feigenbaum, MD , known as the “father of echocardiography,” worked with Daly to help establish the Regenstrief Foundation, formed in 1969 through a gift from businessman Sam Regenstrief, a relative of Feigenbaum’s. The foundation sought to improve health care delivery and outcomes through interdisciplinary research.

“It was not the usual type of research,” said Feigenbaum. “Dr. Daly’s biggest contribution to the foundation was to convince the IRS we were doing legitimate medical research.”

The Regenstrief Institute would go on to develop the nation’s first critical care recovery program, one of the nation’s first electronic medical records, and one of the largest statewide health information exchanges — all aimed at making health care more accessible, efficient and equitable.

Other emerging research programs supported by Daly included the Krannert Institute of Cardiology , led by Charles Fisch, MD, a pioneer in electrophysiology who led the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine for nearly 30 years.

“Walter was familiar with the Washington scene and was very astute at securing funding from federal agencies,” Feigenbaum said.

Discovering the power of philanthropy

In the area of medical education, Daly inherited a newly expanded system — established in 1971 by the Indiana legislature — which added eight regional campuses at partner institutions throughout the state to the IU School of Medicine. This major expansion required new facilities, faculty, administrators — and funding.

“As a grant-oriented man of science, he ultimately realized the benefit of reaping the full potential of philanthropy,” Elkas said. She was in her 20s when she began working at the school and went on to work for three subsequent IU School of Medicine deans before becoming president and CEO of Riley Children’s Foundation. “Dr. Daly was brilliant, a trailblazer, quiet but had a great sense of humor. He was a giant of a gentleman.”

At the beginning of Daly’s term, the medical school received less than $100,000 a year in charitable donations. Ten years later, in 1993, philanthropic gifts had increased to $6 million, Schneider noted.

With the help of Elkas and a gift development officer from the Indiana University Foundation, Daly launched the School of Medicine’s first capital campaign with the ambitious goal of raising $130 million. The campaign’s success provided nearly half of the $34 million needed to build the Medical Research and Library Building and ultimately raised $210 million before it ended in 1996, Elkas said.

“Dr. Daly was recognized for leading this successful campaign,” she said. “We ended up having many alumni and grateful patients participate. It really changed the optics of gift development at IU School of Medicine.”

Training up problem-solvers

In a video highlighting the Medical Research and Library Building’s advanced technology, extensive collection of medical literature and collaborative research spaces, Daly talked of challenges and opportunities in medical education — still applicable today.

As a professor, Daly sought to develop problem-solving skills in his students, rather than focus on memorization of facts. In his oral history interview, Daly recalled a time he was asked to give a lecture to the beginning pharmacology class.

“What I did, in preparation, was go to the hospital and pull out 50 charts and simply make a list of the medications which the patients were taking, then try to remember how many of those I'd even heard about when I was a medical student, and it was maybe 10%,” he said.

The point he illustrated is that medical knowledge evolves quickly. “But the problem-solving, as it relates to a patient … hadn't changed an awful lot. You had different techniques, but otherwise, that's what the practical educational process is about.”

During his tenure, Daly forged new partnerships with hospitals and clinics across Indiana to expand residency opportunities. The goal was to keep young physicians in areas with critical shortages, particularly in rural regions of the state.

Daly also supported efforts to increase diversity among medical students, helping launch the Master of Science in Medical Science  pipeline program in 1995.

For his many distinguished contributions to the university, Daly was awarded an Indiana University Bicentennial Medal in 2020, as well as an honorary Doctor of Science in 1998. He also received the IU School of Medicine Otis R. Bowen Medal in 1996.

More about Walter J. Daly, MD

Dr. Daly received all of his higher education at Indiana University, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1951 and his medical degree in 1955. He retired in 1995 as Dean Emeritus and the James O. Ritchey Professor Emeritus of Medicine.

In retirement, Daly published and presented historical research as a member of the John Shaw Billings History of Medicine Society . He enjoyed writing about medieval medicine and the medical history of Indiana.

Daly was preceded in death by his wife, Joan Daly , a prominent Indianapolis realtor and school board member in Pike Township in the 1970s. They were married for 66 years and raised two daughters. 

Read Walter J. Daly’s obituary  at the Indy Star. Memorial donations may be made to the IU School of Medicine through the philanthropic giving program Daly initiated, which continues to support teaching and innovation at IU School of Medicine today.

Laura Gates

Subscribe to this blog.

We've added you to our mailing list!

Sorry, there was a problem

Suggested for you