Implementing Randomized Field Trials in Education Report of a Workshop (2004) / Chapter Skim
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4 How Can Randomized Field Trials be Conducted in an Educational Setting?
4 How Can Randomized Field Trials be Conducted in an Educational Setting?
Pages 27-33
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From page 27... ...
plan for future implementation of an intervention if the study shows it is effective. DEVELOPING A PARTNERSHIP By far, the single strongest message that emerged from the dialogue during the workshop is that developing and nurturing a true partnership between the research team and the relevant education communities is critically important to success in carrying out any research in schools, including randomized field trials.
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From page 28... ...
Chinnia described some of the "self-interests" that led to the long-term partnership between the Baltimore City Schools and the American Institutes for Research. She explained that randomized field trials helped to meet several of the school system's goals, including intervening early in elementary school to enhance and maintain student achievement, identifying best practices for instruction and classroom management, and promoting parent involvement in students' progress.
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From page 29... ...
For example, Jones said that, partly because of the lack of diversity in the research community, some minorities do not trust researchers because they feel that "poor and minority groups are the most evaluated and researched populations while they have no input into the process." Lewis expressed similar views, saying, "We are difficult to work with, yes we are, but many of us have been burned, so we have reason to be difficult." As Dickersin put it in her closing remarks, creating "culturally competent" research teams who have experience working with urban schools is critically important to the success of the research. Some workshop speakers argued that creating racially and ethnically diverse research teams can be an important step toward enhancing cultural competence, building trust, and developing partnerships.
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From page 30... ...
Indeed, in debating the merits of randomized field trials in education, many scholars have focused on the trade-off that is necessary between internal validity -- that is, the extent to which it can be concluded that the treatment led to the effect, or difference, between one group and another on a particular outcome -- and external validity -- the extent to which the findings of a particular study hold in other times, places, and populations. For example, critics argue that the strict protocols of the studies, which are required to maximize internal validity (e.g., program options are consistently and comprehensively implemented in both the experimental and control groups)
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From page 31... ...
Researchers employing randomized field trials can also use observational methods to detect factors that might contaminate the results of the study. For example, in the Comer study described by Kelly, many ethnographers were hired to study and characterize program implementation, a major factor in the researchers' ability to identify threats to internal validity.
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From page 32... ...
Donna Durno, Allegheny Intermediate Unit PLANNING FOR IMPLEMENTATION When educators consider the possibility of participating in a randomized field trial, workshop speakers suggested that the pivotal factor is often whether the study is likely to lead to an actual improvement in their own schools. Researchers can help educators reach this objective by designing the study to support future implementation of an intervention if it has been shown as effective and, after the study is completed, by working with the school and funders to provide the effective intervention to all students.
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From page 33... ...
In all three of the studies described at the workshop, research teams provided materials and training to administrators and teachers, at no cost to the schools. Workshop speakers describing these studies suggested that investigators wishing to conduct a successful randomized field trial should consider whether they have adequate funding to provide such services.
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