Combining classic articles that have been key markers in recent debates with new and influential material, this book addresses the problems involved in educational research and the issues surrounding its contribution to policymaking and practice. The authors examine the diverse approaches within qualitative research and address some of the key areas which have attracted criticism. They consider what role research should play and examine the case for randomised controlled trials and for action research. Following an introduction, the book contains two parts. Part I, Debates about Evidence-Based Practice, presents: (1) Teaching as a Research-Based Profession: Possibilities and Prospects (David Hargreaves); (2) Educational Research and Teaching: A Response to David Hargreaves' TTA Lecture (Martyn Hammersley); (3) In Defence of Research for Evidence-Based Teaching: A Rejoinder to Martyn Hammersley (David Hargreaves); (4) A Reply to Hargreaves (Martyn Hammersley); (5) Making Evidence-Based Practice Educational (John Elliott); (6) Making Evidence-Based Practice Educational: A Rejoinder to John Elliott (Ann Oakley); (7) Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice: Challenges for Social Science (Ann Oakley); (8) Intellectuals or Technicians? The Urgent Role of Theory in Educational Studies (Stephen J. Ball); and (9) Beyond Reflection: Contingency, Idiosyncrasy and Reflexivity in Initial Teacher Education (Alex Moore). Part II, The Nature of Educational Research, concludes with: (10) On the Kinds of Research in Educational Settings (Michael Bassey); (11) The Paradigm Wars and Their Aftermath: A "Historical" Sketch of Research on Teaching since 1989 (Nathaniel Gage); (12) Action Research (Stephen Kemmis); (13) Increasing the Generalisability of Qualitative Research (Janet W. Schofield); (14) Critical Incidents and Learning about Risks: The Case of Young People and Their Health (Martyn Denscombe); (15) Interrogating the Discourse of Home-School Relations: The Case of Parents' Evenings (Maggie MacLure with Barbara Walker); (16) Labouring to Learn? Industrial Training for Slow Learners (Paul Atkinson, David Shone, and Teresa Rees); (17) An Appraisal of Labouring to Learn (Martyn Hammersley); and (18) The Obviousness of Social and Educational Research Results (Nathaniel Gage).