3 The structures needed for reform

and the role

of educational research
G. Vaideanu

Establishment and operation of the structures

needed for curriculum reform
When an educational reform fails to yield the desired outcomes, the causes
of failure are usually sought in connection with the agents directly and
continuously involved in bringing the reform about: the educational
authorities, educational research workers and teachers. It is sometimes
established that certain priorities and relationships between the component
parts of the curriculum have been ignored,1 or that the implications of a
reform of objectives and content for school examinations and other selec-
tion procedures or for educational structures have been minimized. In
reform of objectives and content for school examinations and other selec-
tion procedures or for educational structures have been minimized. In
all these cases it is also frequently found that the respective roles of the
above three agents are inadequately defined, and that there has been a
failure to develop the structures or machinery needed for systematic
consultation.
Other investigations into the causes of the difficulties encountered
in implementing a reform go further and seek to identify all the agents
who could or should have played an active role and all the sources of a
reform of the objectives and content of education. This question has
already been considered above in Chapter 2, 'The Sources of a Content
Reform Geared to Lifelong Education': since education for development
is a matter of universal concern numerous agents are involved in any
curriculum reform and they are not always easily identified. Furthermore,
their respective roles in preparing, trying out or testing and disseminating

I. 'In curriculum planning selection of objectives comes before selection of content ...
Content is important, certainly, but to derive purposes from a given body of knowl-
edge, no matter how well organized, is to put the cart before the horse. In other
words, the question "What outcomes are desired" necessarily precedes the question
"What are we going to teach?" '. Kenneth Richmond, The School Curriculum, p. 36,
London, Methuen, 1972.
 The structures needed for reform 45
and the role of educational research

curriculum reform are even more difficult to determine. The failure of

even quite realistic and intelligent reform projects is sometimes due to a
lack of structures needed for reform. What, then, are the structures needed
for curriculum reform and how should they operate? In other words,
what sort of machinery has to be created at national and institutional
level for preparing, trying out or testing and disseminating such far-
reaching socio-educational changes?
We shall begin by recalling some of the principles which have been
implicitly or explicitly set out in the previous chapters.
An educational or curricular reform is frequently the necessary outcome
of a comprehensive social reform project, as social changes call for
changes in the educational system. In other situations, educational
reform contributes to social change or, after its implementation, has
important implications for other sectors of society and social struc-
tures. Educational reform is more and more widely becoming a means
of improving the education given to young people and adults to
enable them to meet the requirements of life in the modern world:
the protection of the environment and solidarity, the new international
economic order and responsibility, human rights and tolerance, etc.
A reform is a direct and essential contribution to social development:
the objectives and content of a reformed curriculum should faithfully
translate the overall objectives of society. A good flow of information,
consultation and a receptive attitude on the part of the educational
authorities are the prerequisites for a democratic and effective cur-
riculum reform.
Objectives and content are the most important aspects of the curriculum
from the point of view of harmonious self-fulfilment of the individual
and his preparation for social and political responsibilities. The
question of the aspirations and needs of young people, and enlisting
their co-operation in the preparation of a proposed educational reform,
is a complex and thorny problem which indirectly concerns all levels
of society. The structures needed for a reform extend beyond the
framework of the educational system.
A reform only becomes a social and educational reality if it succeeds in
changing educational practice in other words teacher/pupil/parent
relationships, the atmosphere at school and the educational style.
This change of mentality and relationships presupposes systematic
consultation and collaboration between the agents involved in the
reform, and the implementation of an appropriate strategy.
Curriculum reform is a continuous activity, whether on the part of the
research workers who are called upon to undertake the preparatory
work or of the teachers who are responsible for adapting the content.
Overall curriculum changes occur at varying intervals, according to
 G. Vaideanu

the needs and resources of each country. On the other hand, the
planning of these complex reforms is or should be a continuing activ-
ity. 'Continuous educational reform' is a principle or expression that
is starting to appear in educational literature and it should in no
way be confused with instability or hurried change. Teachers and
pupils alike could be easily confused by hurried change in connection
with the values and criteria aimed at guiding young people and adults
and preparing them for a more realistic approach to life and the prob-
lems of the modern world. Another point, which applies particularly
to countries with a centralized system of educational administration, is
that continuous curriculum change, by which is meant changes in
syllabuses and textbooks, educational literature for teachers, teaching
material, etc., would involve insuperable financial problems. This is
why in some countries, such as the German Democratic Republic,
the national authorities have taken steps to give educational content
considerable stability for a certain period-six to ten years for example-
so that reforms can be planned and tried out.
A curriculum reform conceived in accordance with the principle of com-
prehensive lifelong education, defining the educational process as a
totality and drawing inspiration from the democratic idea that there
is a universal right to education, is, in the last analysis, the kind that
will best meet the requirements of science and modern society.
An initial way of classifying the structures needed for far-reaching edu-
cational change is suggested by the nature and components of a coherent
and effective reform: (a) planning structures, at the policy-making level
and the research level; (b) decision-making structures, at the political
and administrative levels; (c) implementation structures, at the adminis-
trative or operational level.
Another approach-that followed below-is to group these structures
according to the various levels: international level, national level, the edu-
cational system, the institution. The identification of these structures and
the determination of their importance and specific role call for distinctions
to be made between: (a) the agents directly and continuously involved in
a reform of educational objectives and content: (i) educational authorities,
(ii) research workers, (iii) teachers and (iv) pupils, the last two groups
also being responsible for education as a pedagogic process; (b) the agents
indirectly and/or periodically involved in a curriculum reform: (i) those
responsible for other sectors of society and users, (ii) local communities,
(iii) the universities and other institutions of higher learning, (iv) scientific,
cultural and sports associations, (v) radio, television and the press, (vi) par-
ents, (vii) youth organizations, (viii) teachers' unions, etc.
In the light of these two categories of agents, we can distinguish
between the structures to be created within the educational system, which
 The structures needed for reform 47
and the role of educational research

should operate on a permanent basis, and structures to be created or used

in society at large, according to their resources and the usual stages into
which an educational reform can be divided. We should note, lastly, that
not all these structures need to be created in each country. Where valid
experience has been acquired it should be used, but it is experience itself
which has frequently demonstrated both the importance of structures, and
of flexible comprehensive machinery linking them together, and the various
ways in which the lack of suitable structures impedes general application of a
reform. It is better to prevent a failure than explain it after it has occurred.

Structures to be created or used

in society at large
The fact that education is an essential factor in development and in paving
the way for a future society, and that reform of the educational system
is or becomes a matter of universal concern, has already led, at the level
of the international community or of national communities, to the creation
of a number of structures and institutions with the task of promoting
and/or implementing reforms. The very nature of the problems to be
solved is making these structures increasingly necessary in all countries.

International structures

In recent decades in particular, the international community has established

structures, institutions and organizations in view of the importance atta-
ched to problems of general concern and the needs formulated by the
various countries. Protection of the environment and promotion of peace
in the world or a new economic order are issues concerning all countries
and directly or indirectly call for the employment of educational resources.
The international organizations and institutions established after the First
World War and, more so, after the Second World War represent an attempt
to solve some of these problems. 'The International Bureau for Education
(IBE) was founded in Geneva in 1925 and became in 1929 the first inter-
governmental institution in the field of education' (Canadian National
Commission for Unesco, 1977, p. 7). The IBE now forms part of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
It periodically organizes conferences of ministers of education. It is mainly
concerned with documentation and the promotion of education innova-
tion, and provides a framework for the gathering and exchange of
information.
Unesco itself was founded in 1946 and serves as a framework for the
orientation of educational reform according to the requirements of the
 G. Vaideanu

modern world. Unesco undertakes a vast array of educational activities,

but basically it concentrates on educational reform and innovation, in the
light of the problems of the modern world, the needs of each national
community and the aspirations of young people and adults, and it is in
these areas that it envisages the main outcome of its work. Certain aspects
of Unesco's work clearly reflect the concerns voiced in this study. Unesco
has become the primary structure for co-operation in the field of education
between various intergovernmental organizations whose main function is
economic or social but which have understood the role of education in
attaining the objectives of the various sectors of society. Thus the United
Nations Development Programme UNDP), the World Bank, Unicef, the
World Health Organization, the International Labour Organisation
(ILO), etc. have all found that the various Unesco programmes provide
the most suitable structure for assisting developing countries to introduce
innovations in their educational systems or for implementing their own edu-
cational programmes. Unesco has launched a new and effective form of
educational activity-the reform project-the planning and implementation
of which pre-suppose a merger of theoryorresearchandaction ordecision-
making, and therefore entail systematic and appropriate co-operation between
research workers or educators and decision-makers or users. This prompt
and direct use of the philosophy of education or educational theory in
planning and applying school reforms has had and will continue to have
important repercussions on educational thinking and research and on the
style or nature of work in educational psychology. This question will be
considered in the final section of the present chapter.
Recent decades have seen the establishment of hundreds of non-
governmental organizations which reflect concern in regard to the com-
plexity of educational problems and the need felt by educational specialists
to pool their experiences and their efforts. The varied programmes of
these organizations and the standing of their members have made them
useful structures in the sphere of national and international socio-edu-
cational activity. Several of these organizations are concerned primarily
with curriculum planning and/or curriculum evaluation. They include
bodies such as the International Association for the Evaluation of Edu-
cational Achievement (IEA), the World Council for Curriculum and Instruc-
tion (WCCI), the African Curriculum Organization (ACO), etc. The
range of their international activities and publications suggests that reform
and continuous innovation in the field of education have become priority
questions for the international community, and also that reform of the
objectives and content of education should be carried out in the light of
three sets of requirements or criteria: (a) the demands and problems of
the modern world; (b) the specific requirements of each national commu-
nity; (c) the aspirations of young people and adults.
 The structures needed for refarm 49
and the role of educational research

National structures

At the national level, many countries have set up ad hoc or permanent

structures aimed at promoting the consultations and collaboration that
are essential for planning and implementing a curriculum reform. However,
this is a recent development and many problems have still to be ironed
out. It should also be borne in mind that the creation of suitable structures
is merely a prerequisite for planning a reform and not a solution in itself.
Certain countries have national commissions, under the chairmanship
of the head of State or the prime minister, aimed at bringing together all
the agents of educational reform. In some developing countries particularly
(for example, in Benin), such commissions attempt to involve all levels
of the population by organizing a flow of information and suggestions
between the grass roots and the decision-makers.
Similar tasks are sometimes entrusted to parliamentary committees or
committees working under parliamentary supervision. In nearly all countries,
the press, radio and television play a growing role in disseminating infor-
mation, encouraging discussion and ider.dfying errors and gaps in the
educational system.
In other countries, the structures neededforplanningandimplementing
. a reform are set up under the auspices of the ministry of education or
-what is highly desirable-an educational research institution of national
standing whose scientific or supervisory board is composed of representa-
tives of all sectors of society. In this connection, we should note the role
played by the National Institute for Educational Research (Japan), the
National Board of Education (Sweden), the Academy of Pedagogical
Sciences of the USSR, the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the German
Democratic Republic, and other similar institutions.
Countries with a decentralized system of educational administration
have similar problems but the levels at which the structures are or should
be established are different, whether it be the cantons (Switzerland), the
Lander (Federal Republic of Germany) or local educational authorities
comprising representatives of the different sectors of the community.
The range of existing or desirable structures varies from country to
country and these structures are proving to be more and more indispens-
able for the kind of socio-educational change which will sooner or later
have direct or indirect implications for all levels and sectors of society,
particularly the system of values invigorating and governing national life.
But the results achieved by these structures depend on their social and
political status and the way in which they function. First, the structures
have to be broad, flexible and democratic so that all the agents involved
will have the opportunity to express themselves and contribute to the
planning and implementation of a relevant reform. Second, the status of
so G. Vaideanu

these national structures should enable the agents involved in educational

reform to play their part fully and participate in the decision-making
processes. So far, however, at both national and international level, these
structures have been used (or are used) mainly for identifying rather than
for solving problems. Besides, it frequently happens that the planning of a
reform may be ample, informed and relevant, but that the next stage-the
decision-making process-is hurriedly implemented by a limited group
unable to make full use of the data and recommendations received from
the agents consulted during the planning stage. The problem faced in most
countries is how to set up permanent, comprehensive, flexible machinery
linking the different structures together and enabling them to function
throughout all the phases of the reform, as well as providing a link, with
structures established at international level.

Structures to be created within

the educational system
The structures to be created and set in motion within the educational sys-
tem should cater for two categories of tasks and/or activities necessitated
by a curriculum reform: (a) to ensure systematic communication between
education and educational institutions on the one hand, and the life of
the local, national and international community on the other; and (b) to
ensure the coherence and quality of the numerous activities in the field
of educational psychology and other social and cultural fields necessitated
by the planning, testing or evaluation and general application of a cur-
riculum reform.
There is a certain degree of overlap between this section and the
previous sections of the chapter. We shall avoid repetition by confining
ourselves here to a schematic presentation of the desirable structures.

Communication between school and the community

Needs Desirable structures
To keep parents informed about, and Parents' committees at the school,
to involve them in, the planning and regional and national level; parent
implementation of an educational re- involvement in educational manage-
form. ment, etc.
To keep young people informed about, Involvement of young people in educa-
and to involve them in, the planning tional management at the level of
and general application of a curriculum educational institutions and the educa-
reform. tional system; systematic collaboration
between youth organizations and the
school authorities, etc.
 The structures needed for reform 51
and the role of educational research

Collaboration with representatives of Interdepartmental committes; invol-

the economy involved in an educa- vement of representatives of the eco-
tional reform. nomy in the management of educational
institutions, etc.
Collaboration with cultural bodies in- Cultural associations and joint com-
volved in a curriculum reform. mittees (education/culture); involvement
of cultural bodies in school life and
management, etc.

Educational institutions and supply establishments needed for the planning

and implementation of a curriculum reform
Developing countries in particular have had to introduce curriculum
reforms before setting up suitable structures, in view of the need to estab-
lish an immediate link between socio-political and cultural objectives and
the content of education. In certain situations, this type of reform is a
necessary response to an urgent social requirement; but more and more
educational authorities, in order to ensure the success of their reforms, are
tending to set up the kind of structures which have been found to be essen-
tial aspects of educational reform. The structures to be created and set in
motion in the framework of permanent, comprehensive, flexible machinery
could be as follows:
Educational research centres serving as a structure for curriculum design
and scientific activity. These centres should be capable of identifying the
aspirations and needs of society, acting on a brief passed to them by the
executive so as to design, test and improve a reform project, and subse-
quently taking part in implementing the complete range of decisions reached
by the political authorities. The need for a general science of education
for educational progress and reform was recognized more than three centu-
ries ago by the famous educationist, Comenius (1592-1670). 'Not only was
Comenius', writes J. Piaget (Unesco, 1957, p. 12), 'the first to conceive a
full-scale science of education but ... he made it the very core of a "panso-
phy" which, in his thinking, was to constitute a general philosophic system.'
In this context, Comenius put foward a surprisingly modern solution,
namely the establishment of international institutions such as the Council
of Light, the Tribunal of Peace, etc., as indispensable structures for global
social reform.
Post-secondary and post-graduate institutions and associations engaged
in the initial and in-service training of teachers. The training of educators
must be geared to the level and content of the curriculum, and is both a
prerequisite and an outcome of curriculum reform. Furthermore, in-service
teacher training should be generally introduced on a permanent basis.
Educational institutes and teacher-training colleges, universities, demonstra-
52 G. Vaideanu

tion schools and educational libraries are useful structures in supplying

information to educators and ensuring that they play their part in inno-
vation in the system in which they work.
Education publishers producing textbooks, geographical and historical
maps, etc., in line with the principles guiding the curriculum reform.
Educational supply establishments producing teaching materials and
school equipment in line with the methodological requirements of the
curriculum reform. In some countries, the production of teaching materials
is one of the ways in which school pupils are given the opportunity to do
productive work. In certain cases (Romania, German Democratic Republic,
etc.), this kind of activity is carried on under contractual arrangements
between secondary schools specializing in the production of specific teach-
ing materials and their various clients. It is essential to have good text-
books and teaching materials if the pupils are to learn efficiently, and this
is yet another example of the importance of linking up these various
activities-curriculum research, teacher training, parent information, text-
book design, etc.-and of having machinery capable of ensuring that the
structures set up within the educational system function effectively. The
same applies to other questions such as the introduction of television into
school timetables: there should be complete harmony between the approach
and methodology of the broadcasts and the educational objectives guiding
teaching activities.
The political authorities are ultimately responsible for setting up this
sort of machinery. It is needed so as to provide an overall framework in
which the different structures can function, but it is in no way intended
to be a cast-iron piece of bureaucracy. In fact, a firmly entrenched bureau-
cracy can prove a considerable obstacle to social reform or innovation in
a social subsystem: by its very nature, it is adverse to any kind of movement,
initiative or forward-looking views.

Educational research
Research is an essential aspect of planning and implementing a reform.
In recent decades, most countries have established national educational
research institutes or curriculum development centres. Furthermore, edu-
cational thinking and research are increasingly tending to be guided by
the requirements of educational policy-making and the needs of educa-
tional practice. A number of examples will give a clear picture of the
growing interest on the part of educational authorities in research on the
objectives and content of education. In this context, curriculum develop-
ment centres or educational research institutes specializing in curriculum
reform have been founded in Sri Lanka (1957), Madagascar (1963), Kenya
 The structures needed for reform 53
and the role of educational research

(1964), Indonesia (1966), Afghanistan (1966), Chad (1968) and in the

United Republic of Cameroon (1973). At the same time, established educa-
tional research institutions have been tending to focus more and more on
curriculum problems.1 This upsurge of interest in educational research
answers a genuine and specific need: unfortunately, it has not automatically
resulted in any visible improvement in the objectives and content of educa-
tion. Must we conclude that educational research is of little or no value in
connection with the planning and implementation of radical curriculum
change? Or is the type of research done still ill-suited to such a complex
socio-educational task?

The need for educational research

Changing the curriculum involves bringing influence to bear upon a sys-

tem of values, the aspirations of young people and adults, the orientation
and efficiency of learning, the relationship between tradition and future
prospects. In short, it involves influencing the future of society. It is a
complex field and decision-making in education is no easy process; the
decision-makers have to be presented with alternatives formulated on the
basis of multidisciplinary research and the findings of the education sciences.
A certain common-sense approach is always needed in these matters, but
effective solutions are increasingly difficult to devise and validate. Moreover,
the decision-makers themselves are often unable to anticipate and evalu-
ate the economic, socio-political and cultural implications of far-reaching
change in such a sensitive area. The problems associated with curriculum
reform call for a sophisticated methodology, an interrelated assembly of
approaches and methods, an overall conception capable of steering action
in the right direction.
At the same time, educational research has and can have a significant
impact on the quality of the teaching/learning process and can contribute
directly to the implementation of a reform. Research was traditionally cut
off from the schools and from educational policy, and concerned mainly
with the originality and the publicity success attending its findings. How-
ever, things are changing and educational research is starting to be con-
sidered as the 'guiding light of decision-makers and educators', as an
institution or structure which is essential to the planning, testing and imple-
mentation of a reform. This change of role calls into question the general
approach and status of this institution. Fundamental research, according

1. See, for example: Universite de Liege, Laboratoire de Pedagogic Experimentale,

Rapport de Recherche et de Developpement, Liege, Universite de Liege, 1976; lnstitut
National de Documentation et de Recherche Pedagogique, Programme de Recherche,
r975-r976, Paris, Ministry of Education, 1975.
54 G. Vaideanu

to S. Marklund (1976a, p. 405), must be supplemented by what is termed

applied research; to steer research in the desired direction is a question of
planning and co-ordinating research activities in accordance with a given
educational policy, i. e. in essence, simply of determining the order of
priority of the different topics. The choice of methods and the results,
Marklund continues, are the affair of the research worker, even ifhe usually
plans his work with the help of the education authorities and teaching
staff. A new relationship is emerging between research and policy-making,
and between research and educational practice. This trend reflects a need
clearly felt by research workers, decision-makers and educators alike.

Towards a new status for educational research

While it is true that all countries have consolidated their educational

research structures or set up curriculum development institutes or centres,
only rarely has a clearly defined, useful and relevant relationship grown up
between educational research and educational policy-making and, conse-
quently, between educational research and educational practice. Develop-
ments have certainly occurred, yet there is still a general need to bring
about a change of mentality and many problems have to be overcome.
A. Yates, who recently took part in two European meetings on educational
research (in 1967 and 1976), has written in The Role of Research in Edu-
cational Change:

To be able to report that educational research is flourishing and that rapid change
is prevalent would seem to indicate a healthy state of affairs. It suggests a rationally
ordered system within which research leads to relevant change and, in its turn,
change serves to stimulate further research. There is, unfortunately, little evidence
to support such a favorable diagnosis. Instead of a healthy, productive co-operation
between researchers and practitioners, their relationship would seem to be charac-
terized by misunderstanding and a certain amount of mutual recrimination. . . .
Those who are closely concerned with the organization and direction of educational
research are perturbed by the apparent disharmony that at present characterizes
the relationship between researchers and practitioners. They recognize that these
indications of misunderstanding and distrust represent a threat to the status and
prospects of educational research. Although educational research is at present a
manifestly thriving activity enjoying a higher level of financial support than at
any previous time in its history, it must be admitted that a good deal of the aid
that it is now receiving is based as much on faith in its potentialities as on
recognition of its past accomplishments. In most countries educational research
now occupies a position comparable to that of a relatively new industry which,
because it show3 promise, has attracted a satisfactory level of investment, but
which is required to show adequate returns if this level is to be maintained.
Educational research must, so to speak, deliver the goods if it is to continue in
 The structures needed for reform 55
and the role of educational research

favour and convince its consumers that its products are both reasonably priced
and serviceable (Yates, 1967, p. 12).

Scission between educational research and decision-making is the outcome

of deficiencies in two areas. Deficiencies in the educational system mean
that the various structures set up lack the kind of machinery needed to
interrelate them. There are also deficiences in the different training sys-
tems: decision-makers often have a poor grounding in philosophy and
pedagogy, while research workers frequently have little or no experience
of policy-making and administration. But mutual discontent and disparage-
ment are not the only aspects of this relationship to be criticized and
replaced by a form of collaboration geared to the specific role of each
structure or institution. Occasionally decision-makers commission research
'out of the blue' at the planning stage of decision-making, without any
regard for how the component parts of the curriculum are interrelated;
in so doing, they tend to widen the rift between research workers and
educators. At other times research bodies, subdivided into small units
and/or preoccupied by narrow or abstract themes, are unprepared to take
on the vast task of designing a curriculum reform; this unpreparedness
is frequently accompanied by a bookish mentality or certain preconceived
ideas about the role of the specialist, the importance of reform, etc. Another
problem is that research bodies rarely have the kind of resources which
would enable them to explain the nature of their work and enter into broad
and systematic communication with educators, pupils and parents.
These misunderstandings and antagonisms, which vary with the
cultural background of those responsible for education, will only be over-
come if both decision-makers and research workers accept a certain amount
of change. Educational authorities must recognize that an educational
reform needs a theoretical basis and a sound method, hence a relevant
philosophy and methodology1 and in this sense they have to be familiar
with and make use of research resources. E. Planchard (1967, p. 151),
in reference to the relationship between decision-makers and research
workers, observes:

It will only be possible to change this state of affairs when those who are officially
responsible for deciding the future of education take the trouble to inform them-
selves on educational problems, study what is done elsewhere, and cease to be
indifferent or disparaging towards things which they consider strange simply
because they are alien.

1. See, for example, Arnould Clausse, Philosophie et Methodologie d'un Enseignement

Renove, Liege, Editions Georges Thone, 1972.
56 G. Vaideanu

Research workers, for their part, have to gear their work steadfastly to
concrete educational needs, open their minds to the requirements of
educational policy-making, and seek a clearer idea of the importance and
limitations of their role. And these necessary changes in the areas of
decision-making and research should be faithfully reflected in the status
accorded to research.

Establishment of a permanent link between research and the planning and

general application of a curriculum reform

The ways in which research bodies are to be effectively involved in cur-

riculum reform will obviously vary from country to country. Practically
all countries have carried out experiments and, while there have been
failures, notable successes have also been achieved. Certain arrangements
will have to be altered, but other aspects should be consolidated and
developed. E. Planchard (1967) believes that a number of interesting
approaches have already been introduced. He writes:

It is beyond all question that North America today leads in the field of educational
research ... We can learn from the Americans' realistic approach .... In Europe,
England has been most successful in grasping the benefit which teaching and
education can derive from experimentation ... This attitude has been undoubtedly
favoured by the considerable degree of independence enjoyed by educational
institutions in the United Kingdom.

A few centuries ago, an educationist could gather in a single monograph

the kind of information which would be useful to decision-makers and
generations of educators. Educational problems have become more complex.
Education has assumed a far greater role in relation to social advance,
and it is now much more difficult to make and implement decisions in
the field of education. Past experience in educational research may cer-
tainly provide a line of argument but it is not an answer. As we have
stressed elsewhere:

. . . if we recall the role played by philosophy and pedagogy in the periods of

self-assertion and progress of certain nations, and if we interpret correctly the
cultural and humanistic implications and the socio-economic implications peculiar
to education, we can state that education science is called upon today to play an
extremely important role in national life (Vaideanu, 1969, p. 11).

But there is a world of difference between nominal and factual roles,

between real research resources and the resources actually used, and
between the results we look for from research and those in fact achieved.
 The structures needed for reform 57
and the role of educational research

In many countries educational authorities commission research pro-

jects on a discontinuous basis, as the fancy takes them, without system-
atically communicating with the research bodies and without any machinery
for cataloguing, analysing and applying the findings. In turn, research
bodies criticize educators and send them their publications, without
actually associating them in their studies and experimental work; further-
more, educational research bodies do not do enough to establish commu-
nication with other sectors of society (industry, agriculture, culture, etc.)
or with the other sciences, to which however the development of education
and educational efficiency are becoming increasingly matters of concern.
The following simple diagrams (Figs. I and 2) give an idea of present

Unilateral relationships-----
Discontinuous -- - - - - -
relationships

Educational
thinking and
research

FIG. 1. Research-a neglected or isolated agent.

58 G. Vaideanu

Decision-makers
and
users
(ministries)

Requests

Feedback

Directives

Co-ordination:
1. Cataloguing
of research
Analysis
Application
and feedback

Proposals

Guidelines
Research Feedback
projects

Experimentation
Other sectors of Demonstration
society (industry,
agriculture, culture, etc.) \
Edu

FIG. 2. The role of research in educational reform. Education ( t a ~ o c i a l activity

 The structures needed for reform 59
and the role of educational research

deficiencies and the kind of relationship which should be established

between the various agents directly involved in an educational or cur-
ricular reform.
The model presented in Figures I and 2 may be considered as one
of a number of possible solutions. The essential aspect of this model is
the co-ordination machinery, which brings together users, research workers
and educators, to organize research, implement educational reform and,
in this context, catalogue, analyse and apply the findings and recommen-
dations of the research bodies. This model is aimed at filling the gap
which exists between the role and methodology of research on the one
hand, and the management of scientific activity on the other.

Research bodies were not slow to take encouragement from their achievements
and soon had to be reckoned with as a decisive factor in social advance. This
gave rise to a discrepancy between the way science is created and the way it is
organized, managed and applied. In the absence of modern structures, principles
and methods which have been validated in practice, the relatively new field of
scientific research management has remained subject to norms and regulations
which sometimes run counter to modern scientific methodology, the research
worker's psychology and the notions offlexibility, efficiency and feedback (Vaideanu,
1970),l

The very demands made by research workers for a new status entail a
commitment on their part to play their role to the full and an implicit
commitment to a change of mentality and style. Research workers have
to accept that an educational reform is primarily a political matter and
that choosing which of their recommendations should be adopted is ulti-
mately the responsibility of the politicians. Research bodies are essential
to the planning and implementation of a reform and as such they should
adapt to the requirements of society, displaying flexibility and ingenuity.
They should be more courageous, more realistic and more effective. They
have the right and the duty to engage in theoretical work and to keep
ahead of the educational practitioners and decision-makers; moreover, they
cannot advance and test their hypotheses without enjoying complete free-
dom as to the methods they use. But they should also concern themselves
increasingly with the quality of their solutions, the way in which their
findings and recommendations are used, and the progress made in edu-
cation seen both as a social system and from the standpoint of educa-
tional psychology.

1. See also S. Dediger, 'La Politique de la Recherche. Du Roman~ la Realice, Etudes

Philosophiques (Paris), No.
2, 1966.