[Federal Register: February 18, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 32)]
[Notices]
[Page 7218-7219]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), National
Institute on Educational Governance, Finance, Policy-Making, and
Management
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority for fiscal year 1997.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes a priority for a National Research and
Development Center. The Secretary takes this action to support research
on policymaking and policies to support excellence in teaching.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 20, 1997.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning this proposed priority should be
addressed to Ron Anson, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey
Avenue, NW., room 608F, Washington, DC 20208-5510. Comments can be
faxed to Mr. Anson at (202) 219-2159 or e-mailed through the internet
to: ron__anson@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Anson, telephone: (202) 219-2214.
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Educational Research and
Improvement, authorized under Title IX of Public Law 103-227 (20 U.S.C.
section 6001 et seq.), supports educational research and development
activities. The National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance,
Policy-Making, and Management is one of five research institutes that
carry out coordinated and comprehensive programs of research,
development, evaluation, and dissemination activities designed to
provide research-based leadership for the improvement of education.
The National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance, Policy-
Making, and Management supports a range of research, development, and
dissemination activities focused on core issues in education.
Activities are carried out by national research and development
centers, field-initiated studies, and a variety of directed research,
development, and dissemination activities.
The Secretary believes that increasing the capacity of the nation's
education system to improve the quality of education depends on
knowledge generated by an enduring program of education research and
development. Knowledge gained from education research and development
can help guide the national investment in education and support local
and State improvement efforts. Because they carry out sustained, long-
term research and development, centers are a primary mechanism for
pursuing new knowledge about education. Center awards are made to
institutions of higher education, institutions of higher education in
consort with public agencies or non-profit organizations, and
interstate agencies established by compact that operate subsidiary
bodies to conduct postsecondary education research and development.
The Secretary invites comments on the priority described in this
notice. Prior to this announcement and in conjunction with planning for
Educational Research and Development Center competitions in 1996, OERI
engaged in a series of meetings, regional hearings, and Federal
Register notices that solicited advice from parents, teachers,
administrators, policymakers, business people, researchers, and others
to identify the most needed research and development activities.
Following these activities and subsequent research priorities planning
meetings in which OERI engaged, OERI prepared this notice of proposed
priority. The subject matter of this proposed priority has been
reviewed by OERI's National Research Policy and Priorities Board, whose
mandate includes the development of a Research Priorities Plan.
The Secretary will announce the final priority in a notice in the
Federal Register. The final priority will be determined by responses to
this notice and other considerations of the Department. This notice
does not preclude the Secretary from proposing or funding additional
priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note: This notice of proposed priority does not solicit
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition
will be published in the Federal Register concurrent with or
following publication of the notice of final priority.
Proposed Priority: Policy and Teaching Excellence
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Secretary will give an absolute
preference to applications that meet the following specific priority
area. The Secretary intends to fund only one application that meets the
priority listed below. Funding this priority will depend on the
availability of funds, the nature of the final priority, and the
quality of applications received. The Secretary proposes to support a
national center to conduct research and development in the priority
area of improving policymaking and policy structures to achieve
excellence in teaching.
A: This center must:
(1) Conduct a coherent, sustained program of research and
development to address problems and issues of national significance in
the specific priority area, using a well-conceptualized and
theoretically sound framework;
(2) Contribute to the development and advancement of theory in the
specific priority area;
(3) Conduct scientifically rigorous studies capable of generating
findings that contribute substantially to understanding the field;
(4) Conduct work of sufficient size, scope, and duration to produce
definitive guidance for improvement efforts and future research;
(5) Address issues of both equity and excellence in education for
all students in the specific priority area; and
(6) Document, report, and disseminate information about its
research findings and other accomplishments in ways that will
facilitate effective use of that information by decisionmakers and
others as appropriate.
B: In carrying out its program of work, the center must also:
(1) Conduct research and development on the full range of policy
issues relevant to teaching excellence and other associated policy
issues;
(2) Conduct a program of research and development that will aid
policymakers throughout the Nation at all levels of government and at
all levels of the
[[Page 7219]]
educational system improve policies and policy decisions, as well as
policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation processes, in order
to achieve the goal of teaching excellence and ensure continuous
efforts related to that goal;
(3) Examine the effects that different policies for fostering or
sustaining teaching excellence, or both, have on continuous school
improvement, teacher performance, and student learning;
(4) Examine the interactions of various policies affecting teacher
performance and teaching excellence and the costs and benefits of
different policies;
(5) Examine the role of policy coordination and alignment in the
creation of an overall policy structure that supports excellence in
teaching; and
(6) If appropriate, investigate education policies in other nations
as they relate to and can inform education policies in the United
States.
Post-Award Requirements
The Secretary proposes the following post-award requirements
consistent with the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination
and Improvement Act of 1994, cited earlier in this Notice (20 U.S.C.
section 6001 et seq.). A grantee receiving a center award must:
(a) Collaborate with OERI and appropriate clients in identifying
significant new issues and provide OERI with information about center
projects and products and other appropriate research information so
that OERI can monitor center progress and maintain its inventory of
funded research projects. This information must be provided through
media that include an electronic network;
(b) Reserve five percent of each budget period's funds to support
activities that fall within the center's priority area, are designed
and mutually agreed to by the center and OERI, and enhance OERI's
ability to carry out its mission. These activities may include
developing research agendas, conducting research projects collaborating
with other federally-supported entities, and engaging in research
agenda setting and dissemination activities; and
(c) Provide yearly summaries of findings usable by education
decisionmakers and practitioners and others as appropriate and, at the
end of the award period, synthesize the findings and advances in
knowledge that resulted from the center's program of work and describe
the potential impact on the improvement of American education,
including any observable impact to date.
Invitation To Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit comments and
recommendations regarding this proposed priority. Comments will be
available for public inspection, during and after the comment period,
in Room 608A, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, between the
hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday of each week
except Federal holidays.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (84.308B) Educational
Research and Development Centers Program)
Program Authority: Pub.L. 103-227, Title IX (20 U.S.C. 6031).
Dated: February 11, 1997.
Marshall Smith,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 97-3906 Filed 2-14-97; 8:45 am]
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