Restructuring of educational research has been one of the systemic changes in education in Estonia after the country re-gained independence in 1991. Already in 1992, all educational research capacity was transferred to the universities. This and the concurrent processes of internationalization of education caused the inevitability of re-assessing all aspects of educational research. The restructured and new research groups and networks as well as academic traditions have been in a stage of re-development during more than a decade. The focus of the present research is how the academic field of education science(s) is being re-constructed in the research agendas, methodological approaches and appraisals by academic institutions and bodies in Estonia after 1991. In particular, the main research question is: how the disciplinary field (Hoffstetter & Schneuwly 2002, p. 44) has been re-formed in decisions over what Lindblad calls the academic and the pragmatic dilemma (Lindblad 2006, 92). The specific research questions areo What have been the main disciplinary focuses of educational research since 1991? o Which groups and networks have been influencial when deciding over the agendas, methodology and quality of educational research?o What is the relation of the research agendas to the teaching profession? The research has been undertaken to shed light on a specific case of rejection of the past research organization as part of political transition, which has been concurrent with larger educational restructuring (Lindblad & Popkewitz 2004), and the following re-construction of the disciplinary field. The question of re-structuring educational research in the countries in political transition has not gained due attention by researchers so far.Data sources used in the research include PhD dissertations (research topics and annotations) in the field of education defended in the Estonian universities since 1991; the related evaluation documents; and half-structured interviews with leading researchers and members of the dissertation committees; documents on research organization. Categorization of the research topics on the basis of a disciplinary grid follows the method of deductive category application (Jakku-Sihvonen, R. et al, 2007). Discourse analysis is used in interpreting the interview data and evaluation papers concerning dissertations. Documentary analysis is used for establishing the historical and institutional context.On the basis of preliminary data it is expected that the following tendencies can be noticed in the research agendas and methodological approaches:o Diversification of the disciplinary connections of educational research. o Turning to the academic tradition of the time of the emergence of education science as an academic discipline in 1920-1940 in search of the distinction of the disciplinary field. o New methodological approaches (design-based research) strenghtening the connections of educational research to professional practice. Hofstetter, R., Schneuwly, B. 2002. Einleitung. Entstehung und Entwicklung der Erziehungwissenschaft. Herausforderungen und Aktuelle Fragen. In: R. Hofstetter, B. Schneuwly (Ed.) Erziehungswissenschaft(en) 19.-20. Jahrhundert. Zwischen Profession und Disziplin. Peter Lang, Bern, 2002, p. 33-76.Jakku-Sihvonen, R., Tissari, V., Uusiautti, S., Ots, A., Voolma, H. 2007. Curricula of Teacher Education - Comparative Analysis of Finnish and Estonian Programmes. Manuscript currently under review for publication.Lindblad, S. 2006. A European perspective on international arenas for educational research. In: J. Ozga, T. Seddon, T. Popkewitz. (Eds.). World Yearbook of Education 2006. Education research and policy: steering the knowledge-based economy. Routledge, 2006, p. 91-102. Lindblad, S., Popkewitz, T. 2004. Educational Restructuring: (Re)Thinking The Problematic of Reform. In: S. Lindblad, T. Popkewitz (Eds.) Educational Restructuring. International Perspectives on Traveling Policies. Information Age Publishing, 2004, p. VII-XXXI.Oelkers, J. 2002. Zwischen Profession und Disziplin: Epistemologische und praktische Probleme erziehungwissenschaftlicher Forschung. In: In: R. Hofstetter, B. Schneuwly (Ed.) Erziehungswissenschaft(en) 19.-20. Jahrhundert. Zwischen Profession und Disziplin. Peter Lang, Bern, 2002, p. 283 - 309. Ruus, V.-R. 2006. Õpetaja professionaalsuse ning õpetajahariduse kaasaegsed arengusuundumused. [The Contemporary Development Trends of Teacher Professionalism and Teacher Education.] TLÜ Kirjastus, Tallinn, 2006. (In Estonian) Book on teacher professionalism to be published by Tallinn University.