This issue of Research and Educational Practice Improvement Notes discusses three recent studies on schooling: (1) "Changing Our Schools; The Realities," by Kenneth Tye; (2) "Innovation Up Close: A Field Study in Twelve School Settings," Volume Four of a study conducted by David P. Crandall and associates; and (3) "Methodological Research on Knowledge Use and School Improvement," a three-volume final report, by William N. Dunn, Burkhart Holzner, and their associates at the University of Pittsburgh. A synopsis of the Tye work, one of 30 technical reports comprising the "Study of Schooling" series, focuses on his findings regarding internal and external linkages and teacher characteristics in school improvement. Field study findings of the Crandall research, which analyzed the implementation of educational innovations at 12 school sites, are then summarized. Finally, approaches and techniques that Dunn et al. have identified as promising to expand present capacities for explaining, predicting, and shaping knowledge use are reviewed. (GC)