INTRODUCTION N FISCAL YEAR 1961 the Cooperative Research Program entered its fifth year of operation. This program of the Office of Education was established in 1954 under Public Law 531, 83d Congress, which authorized the U.S. Commissioner of Education ". . . to enter into contracts or jointly financed cooperative arrangements with universities and colleges and State educational agencies for the conduct of research, surveys, and demonstrations in the field of education." Under this authority, the Cooperative Research Program has given extensive financial support to basic and applied research projects related to education at all levels. In fiscal year 1961, the Program broadened its activities to include support of two new activities: (a) field demonstrations and (b) research development projects. Field demonstrations are defined as the demonstration and evaluation of basic research findings in a natural educational setting. Such a definition implies that demonstrations (a) will be derived from the results of previous research, (b) will develop and/or illustrate new educational programs or procedures, and (c) will include an empirical evaluation of the effectiveness and feasibility of such programs or procedures. During fiscal year 1961, due to limitation of funds, demonstration proposals were invited only in the areas of mathematics and education of the mentally retarded and of the talented. In this first year of operation, six demonstration projects were funded by the Cooperative Research Program. Although funds are still limited for this activity, investigators interested in support for demonstration projects may now submit proposals in any area related to education. Instructions for such applications may be obtained by writing to the Cooperative Research Program. Three related but distinct types of research development activities have also been undertaken by the Program in fiscal year 1961. One is the individual research development project for the ordering and synthesizing of research. In this activity an investigator with a small staff is expected to develop a critical review of the research literature in a given area of education, to examine the strengths and weaknesses 1 of approaches to research in the area, and to suggest possible new approaches to the problems involved. A second type of research development activity is the research conference. The purpose of such conferences is to bring together persons engaged in research on the same or closely related problem areas in order to permit them to share knowledge and techniques and to stimulate thinking about new approaches to the problem. The research seminar is the third type of developmental activity established in fiscal year 1961. Research seminars are designed to allow researchers to spend 2 to 4 weeks in a mutual examination of a designated area of education. During the seminar, the participants discuss major research completed and in progress in the area under consideration to determine which research problems should be given high priority and to generate actual research approaches to existing problems. During fiscal year 1961 three individual research development activities were supported, two dealing with creativity and one with educational administration. A conference involving guidance and a seminar concerning mental retardation were approved and negotiated into contracts. Additional research development activities will be invited by the Program as funds become available. As an extramural research branch of the Office of Education, the Cooperative Research Program receives proposals for basic and applied research projects, research development activities, and field demonstrations from colleges, universities, and State education agencies. After careful staff review, each proposal is assigned to one of six areas of research interest: (1) Administration and Personnel; (2) Characteristics of Learners and Test Construction; (3) Curriculum and Instruction; (4) Guidance and Learning Theory; (5) Sociology of Education; and (6) Special Education. The grouping of the project descriptions in this publication corresponds to these six areas of research interest. After further review by the research coordinator responsible for the area to which the proposal has been assigned, each proposal is sent out for review by Office of Education specialists concerned with the subject matter with which the proposal deals. A study concerning language development programs utilizing a sample of high school students, for example, would be sent to a specialist in the Language Development Section for review. The specialist's comments are attached to the copies of the proposal. The proposals are then ready for review by the Research Advisory Committee of the Cooperative Research Program. Public Law 531 specifies that the Commissioner of Education must obtain the advice and recommendations of educational research specialists competent to evaluate the proposals as to the soundness of the research design, the possibilities of securing productive results, the adequacy of resources to conduct the proposed project, and the relationship of the project to educational research already completed or in progress. A Research Advisory Committee was therefore established for the Cooperative Research Program to advise the commissioner on those proposals which are most worthy of support. Membership on the committee is by invitation of the Commissioner of Education; each of the nine members serves a 3-year term. Members are selected from among outstanding educators, educational research specialists, and behavioral and social scientists who have demonstrated competence and knowledge in research related to education. The members of the committee are: 1 1 ERIC F. GARDNER, chairman, professor of education, Syracuse University WARREN G. FINDLEY, professor of educational psychology, University of Georgia JULIAN C. STANLEY, Jr., professor of education, University of Wisconsin DOROTHY A. WOOD, chairman, department of psychology, University of North Carolina The Committee reviews and evaluates each proposal in terms of four general criteria: (a) the significance of the problem to education; (b) the adequacy of the research design; (c) the personnel and facilities available at the institution to conduct the research; and (d) the economic efficiency of the project, or whether the probable results seem to justify the cost. The proposals rated highest on these criteria are recommended to the Commissioner for approval. Once the Commissioner has approved the projects, staff members of the Cooperative Research Program negotiate contracts with the appropriate university, college, or State department of education. By the end of fiscal year 1961 the Cooperative Research Program had received 1,483 applications from colleges, universities, and State education agencies and had supported 423 projects of various types since 1956. During fiscal year 1961, 354 applications for basic and applied research projects and 39 applications for demonstration projects were received. Of these, 90 research projects and 7 demonstration projects 1 Donald Durrell, James Jarrett, Julian Stanley, and Dorothy Wood joined the committee in fiscal year 1962. They replaced John Fischer, Harry Levin, Henry Otto, and Dewey Stuit. Proposals reviewed and approved for support by Cooperative Research Program, fiscal years 1957-61 were approved by the Commissioner. The above table, which presents the number of proposals reviewed by the Research Advisory Committee and the number and the percentage approved in each fiscal year, indicates that the number of proposals submitted has shown a gradual increase each year and the rate of approval has remained approximately the same from year to year. To date, the Program has supported projects in 127 universities and colleges and in 17 State departments of education in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. These projects deal with a wide range of problems at all levels of education and are conducted by individuals in various disciplines. In addition to educational researchers, specialists from psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, history, statistics, English, mathematics, philosophy, and other fields have participated in Cooperative Research projects. As the Program has grown in size and scope, the Congress has recognized its continuing importance by raising annual appropriations. Including the $5 million appropriated for fiscal year 1962, the total appropriations for all types of research under the Cooperative Research Program have been approximately $17.6 million. The following list shows appropriations for cooperative research from 1957 to 1962. Including the funds required to complete the approved projects in subsequent years, the Federal investment in research under the Cooperative Research Program exceeds $23 million. The average Federal Government contribution to each project has been approximately $50,000, although the cost of individual projects ranges from less than $1,000 to more than $1 million. Colleges, universities, and State education departments have contributed over $12 million to these projects. Dissemination of the results of the projects is accomplished in several ways. Summaries of final reports are available upon request from the Cooperative Research Program after the completion of the final report. Final reports are distributed throughout the Nation by the Library of Congress Documents Expediting Project to the university and public libraries which subscribe to this service. Other libraries may obtain a copy of the report on interlibrary loan from a repository library. Microfilms of final reports are available after completion of the project from the Library of Congress at approximately $2.25. Specific cost information may be obtained from the Cooperative Research Program. In addition to final reports, summaries, and microfilms, the Office of Education publishes monographs of selected Cooperative Research projects. Single copies of the monographs are available without charge while the supply lasts from the Publications Distribution Unit, U.S. Office of Education, Washington 25, D.C., and multiple copies are sold by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. |