The landscape of research on educational reform can in many ways be characterized by rural rather than urban approaches (cf. Becher 1989, Becher and Trowler 2001). “Rural” research areas have a relatively low number of people involved in a theme, traditionally a low level of competition and a low frequency of publications if compared with more urban fields where the cognitive space is crowded and the competition is intense. Consequently, mapping the landscape of research in the field of education and reform shows that there are many trails open to travel in rather lonely ways. 

However, there is a call among national and international stakeholders (see for instance OECD 2003) for collaboration among researchers to develop a more sustainable knowledge base for decision making in the field of education (Rasmussen et.al 2007). The principle of use-inspired basic research, as described by Stokes (1997), has influenced OECD’s (2003) strategy for research in the field of education. Research on education is recommended to focus on problem areas in the educational sector, while also contributing to overall development of knowledge and curriculum (Heggen, Karseth, Kyvik 2009). In this context evidence-informed policy is a key-concept which might lead to a scientification of reform (Drori et. al 2003).

One of the main issues addressed in this symposium is the changing relationship between reform and research in the field of curriculum and evaluation, characterised by new forms of justifying politics, policy and educative practices within the public arena. One important aspect relates to the conception of culture, expressed in view of international expert reports (Hopmann, 2007) and even globalising standards and cultures (Rosenmund 2006).

·         How is the new interest in scientific policy changing the overall strategies in structuring the education sector across school types and levels?

·         To what extent and in what sense do governments and public authorities apply scientific knowledge in renewing their legitimacy?

·         How are cultures and practices of teaching considered in view of scientific reform?

Methods:

All papers presented in this symposium are primiarly based on conceptual-constructive approaches, which together cover system-theoretical, and neo-institutional approaches to documentary analysis. The main idea is to compare formal documents produced in the recent processes of reform making (during 1990s and 2000s) with international expert reports and scientific literature in the field of curriculum, didactics and/or evaluation. All contributions discuss ongoing changes in the field of education and reform.

Findings:

The relationship between research and reform and their conceptual re-presentation of cultures of curriculum and teaching, is partly a question of how national policies, research communities and experts interplay within the larger space of a globalizing education sector (Karseth and Sivesind 2010). A related question is how educational research is formed by the new politics of knowledge and education (Young, 2008), and how it continues to deal with highly academic ambitions as part of its overall mandate. The boundary of research and reform is thereby a core theme in this symposium.