Educational Design Research

Abstract

Educational design research is the systematic study of designing, developing and evaluating educational programs, processes and products. It can be an invaluable process, yielding considerable insight into how to optimize educational interventions and better understand teaching and learning. However, the fact that such investigations are typically carried out in naturalistic settings - with all the color and complexity that accompanies real classrooms and schools - presents researchers with significant methodological challenges, and scientific rigor can be difficult to maintain. This book addresses a clear and growing need to better understand and address the challenges faced by educational design researchers. "Educational Design Research" has been written to appeal to the rapidly growing international audience of educational researchers who situate their studies in practice. The publication contains four main parts, plus supplementary materials available on a companion website. First, a mixture of substantive information is presented for those interested in learning about the essence of design research. The second part of the book features examples of design research, and in the third, researchers share their views on quality assurance. Finally, policy implications are offered and discussed, with particular attention paid to understanding and evaluating design research work. The chapters of this volume are revised, updated and expanded versions of presentations and dialogue shared at a seminar sponsored by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The intentions were to clarify exactly what design research entails, to articulate quality standards and reach anunderstanding of how to judge research proposals and products. Leading scholars form Europe and North America were invited to share their views on design research and advance understanding of how academic standards should be guarded when using this approach. Altogether, this book provides an informative and instructive platform for considering the domain of design research in education. Anyone with an interest in educational research will find it essential reading.