Role of educational research in policy making

November 25, 2017 Educator's Corner Opinion

It has always been the mandate of the Department of Education to advance in our educational system. Educational policies are running far ahead of educational research, whether the initiative is from the school or from our Department, these ideas are being advanced or done with the little knowledge about how far they might work.
Though these are not bad at all, we can go with it because trying new things opens the possibility of learning from failures as well as from successes. But if policies fail, we can do evaluation and monitoring to assess programs. However, due to the number of issues arising from these evaluations, our Department, especially the Planning and Research Division, put in place a culture of research to support the evaluation of policies. That if policies are supported by research, the effectiveness of a policy in achieving a desired educational impact will be determined and will help in the delivery of quality education, which is the very objective of our department.
In the past, when we say research, we certainly think of it as a tough work, maybe because of its technicalities, so it was overlooked. Today, at a glance with the development of research culture in our Schools Division Office spearheaded by the Planning and Research Division with the great support and contribution of our city government, it motivated teachers and educators to do research.
With the common goal of focusing on ways to improve educational systems and the objective that research-based policies can improve our educational system, our department has identified additional mechanism through educational research in policy-making; it is best undertaken as part of a wider systematic study that includes utilization of scholastic research by educators and teaching practitioners to improve teaching and learning.
Finally, in our department, to have a quality education and to facilitate lifelong learning, research has to be in place especially in policy making, particularly with the birth of K-12 curriculum. It commands thorough decision making. Our department, which makes and gives policies implemented through hierarchal system and sometimes given through department orders and memoranda, should consider that for policies to have a great effect, they should be grounded on solid research.

By: HELEN C. ACOP, Pinget Elementary School