Last year at the annual conference of the ECER I presented my theoretical framework and the research design of my doctoral thesis. My research deals with the interrelation of educational research knowledge produced by educational research knowledge producing organizations and his reception in political as well as public problem-definition and decision-making processes. This paper presents first empirical findings.

This paper is embedded in the broader context of western civilization as knowledge societies and of and their need for consulting expertise in all parts of society, especially questioning the applicability and usefulness of educational knowledge. Furthermore, they lead to discussions about the changing epistemological structures in relation to their recipients (cf. Gibbons et al, 1994; Etzkowitz et.al.1998). Also, the place of knowledge production has altered (Geuna et. al, 2009). Universities are traditionally seen as places for knowledge production; hence, it can be observed, that other public and commercial research organizations are also highly recognized as experts by public, policy and the discipline itself (cf. Weingart, 2008). This shift can change the status of universities and their knowledge can be perceived as less useful. Furthermore it seems that other experts and hybrid constellations are preferred in problem-definition and decision-making processes and are supplied with an increasing financial supplement (cf. Lawn et. al, 2006; cf. Tuunainen, 2005). This leads to the situations that in public and policy educational researchers are rather uninvolved on the definition of educational problems compared to scholars of other disciplines (cf. Gogolin et. al.,2007;  Agalianos, 2006).

Therefore the question arises which indicators have an influence on the choice of experts for educational issues by politics and public and the discipline itself. Or inverse: whose knowledge counts in which context.

These processes are not limited to national or disciplinary restriction. It can be observed that international organizations like the OECD produce special knowledge which exerts high influence on political decisions (cf. Normand, 2010; Grek, 2010). It seems, that an increasing demand on a particularly type of experts producing particular type of knowledge might reveal cultural changes of political and public demands and value attributions.

The research objective of this paper is to present the research design and first empirical findings. The design is embedded in selected educational topics to analyze the relation of the three levels of production, dissemination and reception of educational research knowledge. These topics are chosen by the discourses in policy, media and the discipline itself. This approach enables to identify the role of experts and expertise in the political and public space according to the following three levels of the research design:

1)      the academic background of research knowledge producers in educational research knowledge-producing organizations,

2)      the influence of knowledge forms and their presentation,

3)      the demands and value attributions of public and policy on educational research and their conceptualization of ‘useful’ knowledge.

At this years conference I will exemplify these three levels and their interrelation in presenting my first empirical findings on one special educational issue.

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