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Improving Educational Equity in Urban Contexts
by Carlo RaffoAn enduring educational concern that has plagued researchers and policy makers in a number of affluent countries is the endemic nature of educational inequalities. These inequalities highlight distinct differences in the educational skills, knowledge, capabilities and credentials between learners’ demographic characteristics. They also point to issues of educational disadvantage that emanate from a combination of factors including family life, communities, the geographies of space and place, gender and ethnicity. This book examines some of the causes and responses to educational inequalities, and focuses upon poor urban contexts where educational disadvantage is at its most concentrated, and where educational policy and practice has, over time, proliferated. It questions how wider inequities experienced by young people in urban contexts generate educational inequalities and disadvantage, detailing explicitly what an equitable approach to education might look like. Included in the book is an innovative educational equity framework and toolkit with illustrative policy and practice case studies, bringing together unique scholarship and analysis to examine future educational policy in a holistic, comprehensive and equitable way. It will be valuable reading for postgraduate students, researchers and policy makers with an interest in education and educational equity.
Improving Educational Gender Equality in Religious Societies: Human Rights And Modernization Pre-arab Spring
by Sumaia A. Al-KohlaniIn this book, Al-Kohlani examines fifty-five Muslim and non-Muslim countries from 1960 to 2010 in response to “religious theory” that associates certain religions with gender inequality and “modernization theory” which downplays the role of religion on gender inequity and associates gender inequality with socioeconomic factors. The author explores both schools of thought and posits that, on average, Muslim countries have lower educational equality in comparison to non-Muslim countries with less religious constitution. An interdisciplinary study drawn from the fields of world politics, public policy in education, and political religion, this book responds not only to debates within academia, but also to larger debates in society about the role of religion in the state, the specific challenges of the relationship of Islam and the public policies, and the relationship between constitution and gender equality.
Improving Global Environmental Governance: Best Practices for Architecture and Agency (Routledge Research in Global Environmental Governance)
by Steinar Andresen Peter M. Haas Norichika KanieThe experience of environmental governance is approached in Improving Global Environmental Governance from the unique perspective of actor configuration and embedded networks of actors, which are areas of emerging importance. The chapters look at existing Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the broader constellation of partially networked institutions to better understand the involvement of individual actors and how to deepen the networks that include them to generate more effective governance. The book covers a wide range of issued pertaining to environmental governance including trans-boundary air pollution, marine pollution, biodiversity and ozone depletion. It also examines partnerships as a hybrid case of emerging modes of environmental governance. These partnerships are a recent form of actor configuration that warrant attention for dealing with global environmental threats in order to better understand the full potential of actor configurations in the absence of state involvement. In order to test applicability to on-going but stalled processes, the book applies the approach to one of the most difficult issues we face: climate change. By addressing key questions in this important area, the book provides new perspectives in the nexus between agency and architecture in environmental governance in the twenty-first century.
Improving Global Health
by Barry B. Hughes Jose Roberto Solorzano Randall Kuhn Cecilia Mosca Peterson Dale S. RothmanImproving Global Health is the third in a series of volumes-Patterns of Potential Human Progress-that uses the International Futures (IFs) simulation model to explore prospects for human development: how development appears to be unfolding globally and locally, how we would like it to evolve, and how better to assure that we move it in desired directions. Earlier volumes addressed the reduction of global poverty and the advance of global education. Volume 3 sets out to tell a story of possible futures for the health of peoples across the world. Questions the volume addresses include: -What health outcomes might we expect given current patterns of human development? -What opportunities exist for intervention and the achievement of alternate health futures? -How might improved health futures affect broader economic, social, and political prospects of countries, regions, and the world?
Improving Healthcare Through Advocacy: A Guide for the Health and Helping Professions
by Bruce S. JanssonPraise for Improving Healthcare Through Advocacy A Guide for the Health and Helping Professions "Bruce Jansson's thoughtful and innovative book will appeal to students in social work, nursing, and public health as well as those working in the health field of practice. The case examples are extraordinary, and Jansson provides the ideas, context, and theoretical base for readers to acquire the skills of advocacy in healthcare. This is by far the best advocacy book I have seen. " -Gary Rosenberg, PhD Director, Division of Social Work and Behavioral Science Mount Sinai School of Medicine "Improving Healthcare Through Advocacy is a terrific description of opportunities for advocacy intervention and provides the skill sets necessary for effective advocacy. A needed book. " -Laura Weil, LCSW Director, Health Advocacy Program Sarah Lawrence College "Improving Healthcare Through Advocacy is an invaluable resource for practitioners working in the healthcare field as well as for students. It very thoroughly covers healthcare advocacy issues, contains real-world case examples, and provides a clear, step-by-step framework for practicing advocacy. " -Kimberly Campbell, ACSW, LCSW Lecturer, Department of Social Work Ball State University An important resource for all who strive for the best in healthcare treatment for their patients, themselves, and the nation Bestselling author and award-winning researcher Bruce S. Jansson uses an intervention framework to illustrate how everyone in the healthcare system can advocate effectively, not just for better healthcare delivery to individual clients but for the necessary policy change that will deliver long- term solutions to our nation's healthcare crisis as well. Improving Healthcare Through Advocacy provides professionals with: Tools to move from traditional services to case advocacy and policy advocacy tasks Over 100 case studies from the perspective of patients, healthcare providers, and others who relate the experiences they have encountered in the healthcare system and share the wisdom they have learned Practical tips on how to provide effective advocacy and bring about positive and long-term change in this complex environment
Improving Homeland Security Decisions
by Milind Tambe Ali E. Abbas Von Winterfeldt DetlofWhat are the risks of terrorism and what are their consequences and economic impacts? Are we safer from terrorism today than before 9/11? Does the government spend our homeland security funds well? These questions motivated a twelve-year research program of the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at the University of Southern California, funded by the Department of Homeland Security. This book showcases some of the most important results of this research and offers key insights on how to address the most important security problems of our time. Written for homeland security researchers and practitioners, this book covers a wide range of methodologies and real-world examples of how to reduce terrorism risks, increase the efficient use of homeland security resources, and thereby make better decisions overall.
Improving Impact Assessment: Increasing The Relevance And Utilization Of Scientific And Technical Information
by Stuart L HartAs Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) become increasingly important in the policymaking process, it is vital that they be as complete and accurate as possible. The authors of this volume consider ways in which the development and evaluation of scientific and technical information for EIS can be improved. Addressing key legal, social, political,
Improving Inclusive Education through Universal Design for Learning (Inclusive Learning and Educational Equity #5)
by Alvyra Galkienė Ona MonkevičienėThis open access international scientific study provides an analysis of how the educational strategy of Universal Design for Learning can stimulate the process of inclusive education in different educational-cultural contexts and different areas of the educational system. The findings of the research deepen the conception of inclusive education and present an analysis of factors that are significant for developing the educational system as well as providing evidence-based recommendations for educational practice.The research for this work was done in four European countries with various historical-cultural contexts: Lithuania and Poland underwent a transformation of the educational systems at the turning point in their political system, shifting from a strictly centralized Soviet policy to a liberal and democratic education system; Austria has experienced changes in social stratification and a need for cultural harmonisation arising from active national migration processes, whereas Finland has been gradually developing a socio-democratic model of national welfare. The analysis of the educational processes in the four countries has been performed using a qualitative action research method. The researchers, in cooperation with the teachers from the selected schools in their country, have implemented the strategy of Universal Design for Learning and assessed its transformation indicators in terms of the quality of inclusive education components.
Improving Intelligence Analysis: Bridging the Gap between Scholarship and Practice (Studies in Intelligence)
by Stephen MarrinThis book on intelligence analysis written by intelligence expert Dr. Stephen Marrin argues that scholarship can play a valuable role in improving intelligence analysis. Improving intelligence analysis requires bridging the gap between scholarship and practice. Compared to the more established academic disciplines of political science and international relations, intelligence studies scholarship is generally quite relevant to practice. Yet a substantial gap exists nonetheless. Even though there are many intelligence analysts, very few of them are aware of the various writings on intelligence analysis which could help them improve their own processes and products. If the gap between scholarship and practice were to be bridged, practitioners would be able to access and exploit the literature in order to acquire new ways to think about, frame, conceptualize, and improve the analytic process and the resulting product. This volume contributes to the broader discussion regarding mechanisms and methods for improving intelligence analysis processes and products. It synthesizes these articles into a coherent whole, linking them together through common themes, and emphasizes the broader vision of intelligence analysis in the introduction and conclusion chapters. The book will be of great interest to students of intelligence studies, strategic studies, US national security, US foreign policy, security studies and political science in general,as well as professional intelligence analysts and managers.
Improving Interagency Collaboration, Innovation and Learning in Criminal Justice Systems: Supporting Offender Rehabilitation
by Sarah Hean Berit Johnsen Anu Kajamaa Laure KloetzerThis Open Access edited collection seeks to improve collaboration between criminal justice and welfare services in order to help prepare offenders for life after serving a prison sentence. It examines the potential tensions between criminal justice agencies and other organisations which are involved in the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders, most notably those engaged in mental health care or third sector organisations. It then suggests a variety of different methods and approaches to help to overcome such tensions and promote inter-agency collaboration and co-working, drawing on emerging research and models, with a focus on the practice in European and Scandinavian countries. For academics and practitioners working in prisons and the penal system, this collection will be invaluable.
Improving International Capacity Development
by Jim ArmstrongNothing is more important to a new, fragile or developing nation than developing the capacity of its government to support national well-being. Every society is complex; every government is complex. Yet, well-intentioned international development aid, born in an era of infrastructure projects, continues to apply simplistic technical solutions to these wickedly complex development problems. It's an outside-in approach that rarely succeeds, even by the development industry's own admission. But out there, amongst the billions of dollars of failed interventions, there are bright spots of success places where capacity is harnessed, not just for today, but for tomorrow, too. What is working so well? Drawing on research, practical experience, and stories of success, Jim Armstrong explores these emerging approaches.
Improving International Irrigation Management With Farmer Participation: Getting The Process Right
by Norman UphoffTraditionally, indigenous irrigation in many countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America has been managed quite well by water users, who design, build, operate, and maintain often sophisticated, but usually small-scale, systems. More recently, in connection with large-scale development programs and government-managed schemes, the planned introduct
Improving Learning in College: Rethinking Literacies Across the Curriculum (Improving Learning)
by David Barton Richard Edwards Kate Miller Roz Ivanic Marilyn Martin-Jones June Smith Zoe Fowler Buddug Hughes Greg Mannion Candice SatchwellWhat's the problem with literacy at college? How might everyday literacy be harnessed for educational ends? Based on the first major study of literacy practices in colleges in the UK, this book explores the reading and writing associated with learning subjects across the college curriculum. It investigates literacy practices in which students engage outside of college, and teaching and learning strategies through which these can help support the curriculum. With insightful analyses of innovative practices, it considers ways of changing teaching practices to enable students to draw upon their full potential. Recent research work has challenged the myth of individual student deficit, arguing cogently that people have ‘funds of knowledge’ from diverse and vibrant cultural roots, and that these have been misguidedly disqualified by the education system. It has claimed that different ‘ways with words’ can provide valuable resources for learning. However, the empirical exploration of this claim has lagged far behind the theoretical debate. Improving Learning in College resolves this by showing the integrity and richness of the literacy practices of a significant population, not previously the focus of such research: those who take vocational and academic college courses in colleges. It addresses an issue which has not until now been developed within this research tradition: that of how these practices can not only be valued and validated, but mobilised and harnessed to enhance learning in educational settings. This book will interest all teachers, teacher-educators and researchers concerned with post-compulsory education and vocational education in compulsory schooling.
Improving Learning through Consulting Pupils (Improving Learning)
by Jean Rudduck Donald McIntyrePupil consultation can lead to a transformation of teacher-pupil relationships, to significant improvements in teachers' practices, and to pupils having a new sense of themselves as members of a community of learners. In England, pupil involvement is at the heart of current government education policy and is a key dimension of both citizenship education and personalised learning. Drawing on research carried out as part of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme, Improving Learning through Consulting Pupils discusses the potential of consultation as a strategy for signalling a more partnership-oriented relationship in teaching and learning. It also examines the challenges of introducing and sustaining consultative practices. Topics covered include: the centrality of consultation about teaching and learning in relation to broader school level concerns; teaching approaches that pupils believe help them to learn and those that obstruct their learning; teachers' responses to pupil consultation - what they learn from it, the changes they can make to their practice and the difficulties they can face; the things that can get in the way of pupils trusting in consultation as something that can make a positive difference. While consultation is flourishing in many primary schools, the focus here is on secondary schools where the difficulties of introducing and sustaining consultation are often more daunting but where the benefits of doing so can be substantial. This innovative book will be of interest to all those concerned with improving classroom learning.
Improving Local Government Performance through Benchmarking
by David N. AmmonsImproving Local Government Performance through Benchmarking sets the record straight on benchmarking and its value for performance improvement in local government.Benchmarking is a widely adopted public management reform of recent decades; yet, it is often misunderstood by city and county governments; viewed too narrowly; or underappreciated by managers, elected officials, and students of local government for its potential as a tool. This book helps students of public administration and practitioners in local government—municipal and county government executives, department heads, program managers, and management analysts—to better understand the two major types of benchmarking in use by local governments in the US and beyond (metrics benchmarking and best practice benchmarking) and the promise and limitations of each type as tools of performance improvement. It lays out strategic decisions in the design and management of benchmarking projects and highlights common errors to avoid— preparing managers and analysts for greater benchmarking success.Written in an easy-to-read style, this book will provide practical assistance to local government officials and students of public administration who aspire to become practitioners in the future.
Improving Mathematics and Science Education
by Brian M. Stecher Laura S. Hamilton Vi-Nhuan Le J. R. Lockwood Abby RobynPresents the findings of a multiyear study of the effectiveness of reform-oriented science and mathematics teaching (instructional practices for engaging students actively in their own learning and enhancing the development of complex cognitive skills)-specifically, whether such practices are associated with higher student achievement and whether that association is sensitive to the aspects of achievement that are measured. (CD-ROM enclosed.)
Improving Measures of Science, Technology, and Innovation
by National Research Council Kaye Husbands Fealing Committee on National Statistics Robert E. Litan Policy and Global Affairs Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education Andrew W. Wyckoff Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy Panel on Developing Science, Technology, and Innovation Indicators for the FutureThe National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), at the U.S. National Foundation, is 1 of 14 major statistical agencies in the federal government, of which at least 5 collect relevant information on science, technology, and innovation activities in the United States and abroad. The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 expanded and codified NCSES's role as a U.S. federal statistical agency. Important aspects of the agency's mandate include collection, acquisition, analysis, and reporting and dissemination of data on research and development trends, on U.S. competitiveness in science, technology, and research and development, and on the condition and progress of U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Improving Measures of Science, Technology and Innovation: Interim Report examines the status of the NCSES's science, technology, and innovation (STI) indicators. This report assesses and provides recommendations regarding the need for revised, refocused, and newly developed indicators designed to better reflect fundamental and rapid changes that are reshaping global science, technology and innovation systems. The book also determines the international scope of STI indicators and the need for developing new indicators that measure developments in innovative activities in the United States and abroad, and Offers foresight on the types of data, metrics and indicators that will be particularly influential in evidentiary policy decision-making for years to come. In carrying out its charge, the authoring panel undertook a broad and comprehensive review of STI indicators from different countries, including Japan, China, India and several countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Improving Measures of Science, Technology, and Innovation makes recommendations for near-term action by NCSES along two dimensions: (1) development of new policy-relevant indicators that are based on NCSES survey data or on data collections at other statistical agencies; and (2) exploration of new data extraction and management tools for generating statistics, using automated methods of harvesting unstructured or scientometric data and data derived from administrative records.
Improving Metrics for the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program
by National Research Council Committee on Improving Metrics for the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program Division on Earth and Life StudiesThe Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program was created in 1991 as a set of support activities assisting the Former Soviet Union states in securing and eliminating strategic nuclear weapons and the materials used to create them. The Program evolved as needs and opportunities changed: Efforts to address biological and chemical threats were added, as was a program aimed at preventing cross-border smuggling of weapons of mass destruction. CTR has traveled through uncharted territory since its inception, and both the United States and its partners have taken bold steps resulting in progress unimagined in initial years. Over the years, much of the debate about CTR on Capitol Hill has concerned the effective use of funds, when the partners would take full responsibility for the efforts, and how progress, impact, and effectiveness should be measured. Directed by Congress, the Secretary of Defense completed a report describing DoD's metrics for the CTR Program (here called the DoD Metrics Report) in September 2010 and, as required in the same law, contracted with the National Academy of Sciences to review the metrics DoD developed and identify possible additional or alternative metrics, if necessary. Improving Metrics for the DoD Cooperative Threat Reduction Program provides that review and advice. Improving Metrics for the DoD Cooperative Threat Reduction Program identifies shortcomings in the DoD Metrics Report and provides recommendations to enhance DoD's development and use of metrics for the CTR Program. The committee wrote this report with two main audiences in mind: Those who are mostly concerned with the overall assessment and advice, and those readers directly involved in the CTR Program, who need the details of the DoD report assessment and of how to implement the approach that the committee recommends.
Improving Municipal Management for Cities to Succeed
by Independent Evaluation Group, World BankCities now house half the world's population and produce 70 percent of its GDP. Managing them well helps development. Strengthening municipal management of planning, finance, and service provision has been at the core of World Bank support through municipal development projects (MDPs). This book reviews how, worldwide, nearly 3,000 municipalities have benefitted from 190 World Bank-supported MDPs over the past decade, three quarters of which achieved satisfactory outcomes. The finance dimension of MDPs-computerized accounting, revenue generation, and municipal credit-produced some of the best results, but weaker outcomes came from attempts to stimulate private finance of municipal services. City planning, used by municipalities worldwide, was not a strong priority for MDPs. But building municipal information systems, for example in Chile, were successful. Monitoring and evaluation rarely worked well, except when municipalities themselves were convinced of its usefulness, such as in Russia, Tunisia, and Colombia. Results in managing service provision were mixed. The poverty focus of MDPs was strikingly weak across the portfolio. Cost-benefit analysis rarely prioritized municipal investments. But MDPs helped municipalities strengthen their procurement function. MDPs helped municipalities manage services more effectively. Better results still can come from a stronger poverty focus, more attention to planning and prioritizating investments, and more effective operation and maintenance of such investments.
Improving National Education Systems After COVID-19: Moving Forward After PIRLS 2021 and PISA 2022 (Evaluating Education: Normative Systems and Institutional Practices)
by Harry Anthony Patrinos Nuno CratoThis open access book compares and analyses the results in twelve countries of the two latest international student assessments: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2021 (PIRLS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 (PISA) and tries to disentangle the effects of the pandemic from the long term trends in education. It is one of the first, or maybe the first, published volumes to provide a global assessment of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning as measured by independent international comparative surveys. The 12 countries discussed in this volume represent a wide variety of educational systems – including Chile, Ecuador, England, Estonia, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the United States. It compiles diverse scenarios including countries that are high performers; countries that perform at the OECD mean; and countries that are struggling to attain the OECD average. Each country has its history that reflects efforts to cope with pandemic school closures and to improve educational achievement. A major topic discussed in this edited volume is related to understanding the diverse circumstances for the variations in results within different countries: Why did learning loss in specific locations? How much learning was lost? Why is a country continuously declining? Why is another country constantly improving? Why is there higher or less levels of inequality? How is a country regularly improving with an outdated curriculum? Which policies have worked, and which ones have not? What can we do now? This book is a valuable contribution to answer these concerns based on a diverse sample of countries and research questions.
Improving Opportunities to Engage in Learning: A Study of the Access to Higher Education Diploma (Routledge Research in Higher Education)
by Hugh Busher Nalita JamesImproving Opportunities to Engage in Learning investigates the experiences of mature adult learners returning to formal education. The book challenges the policy discourses in which Access to Higher Education survives by suggesting that continuing education is more about determination by students to alter their identities and career opportunities than meeting narrow performative criteria of financial targets. Chapters explore students’ struggles with institutional and social structures in the current political and socio-economic climate, before identifying how the transformation of their learner identities is facilitated in the courses by collaborative cultures and supportive tutors. The book addresses a research gap in knowledge about students’ and tutors’ experiences of Access to Higher Education courses, presenting a broad perspective on the importance and difficulties of such courses through listening to the voices of students and tutors undertaking a variety of Access to HE pathways. The authors argue that despite success on their courses benefiting the national economy as well as students individually, the social and financial costs of continuing education is almost entirely shifted onto students’ shoulders by policymakers. Despite the costs, students can still see Access to HE as a chance to improve their lives, reflecting the neoliberal discourse of personal responsibility and risk embedded in broader national social and policy discourses. Improving Opportunities to Engage in Learning will be of great interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of further and higher education, widening participation, social justice and sociology of education, and education policy and politics.
Improving Outcomes for Children and Families
by Edited by Anthony N. Maluccio Cinzia Canali Tiziano Vecchiato Anita Lightburn Jane Aldgate Wendy RoseSignificant amounts of money and resources are spent on child and family services, so successful evaluation of whether or not they are achieving the best outcomes is therefore essential. This edited collection offers an international perspective on the challenges of designing and undertaking outcome-based evaluation of child and family services. With contributions from leading international experts, it introduces the key ideas and issues currently being debated in the evaluation of these services; discusses relevant approaches to designing and using evaluation methods; and provides examples of evaluation from the real world of policy and practice. Issues covered include setting appropriate indicators for service effectiveness, cross-cultural evaluation of service interventions, service user involvement in evaluation, and evaluations of family and community-based services. This invaluable book will be essential reading for policy makers, planners, commissioners and managers across child and family welfare services, as well as researchers and other academics in the field.
Improving Public Opinion Surveys
by John H. Aldrich Kathleen M. McgrawThe American National Election Studies (ANES) is the premier social science survey program devoted to voting and elections. Conducted during the presidential election years and midterm Congressional elections, the survey is based on interviews with voters and delves into why they make certain choices. In this edited volume, John Aldrich and Kathleen McGraw bring together a group of leading social scientists that developed and tested new measures that might be added to the ANES, with the ultimate goal of extending scholarly understanding of the causes and consequences of electoral outcomes. The contributors--leading experts from several disciplines in the fields of polling, public opinion, survey methodology, and elections and voting behavior--illuminate some of the most important questions and results from the ANES 2006 pilot study. They look at such varied topics as self-monitoring in the expression of political attitudes, personal values and political orientations, alternate measures of political trust, perceptions of similarity and disagreement in partisan groups, measuring ambivalence about government, gender preferences in politics, and the political issues of abortion, crime, and taxes. Testing new ideas in the study of politics and the political psychology of voting choices and turnout, this collection is an invaluable resource for all students and scholars working to understand the American electorate.
Improving Quality in Education: Dynamic Approaches to School Improvement
by Leonidas Kyriakides Bert P.M. CreemersThis book explores an approach to school improvement that merges the traditions of educational effectiveness research and school improvement efforts. It displays how the dynamic model, which is theoretical and empirically validated, can be used in both traditions. Each chapter integrates evidence from international and national studies, showing how the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness research can be used for improvement purposes. In a clear and practicable manner it outlines: Foundations of the improvement approach Research projects investigating the impact of the dynamic approach Guidelines and practical solutions to translating the approach into action Further developments for school improvement Exploring the crucial factors in the establishment of this environment, the authors outline a dynamic framework that helps schools collect data, through self-evaluation mechanisms, taking decisions about priorities for improvement, and developing appropriate policies and action plans. This approach emphasises educational targets and provides means to achieve them that are flexible enough to fit in with the circumstances of the individual school. The book draws upon research across the world, conducted especially in the United States, Europe, and Australasia, expertly showcasing how the dynamic approach can be used in a wide variety of educational settings A key book for all professionals working in education; academics, researchers, policy-makers, school advisors and practitioners will find it invaluable. Not only it is a must for graduate students, university libraries, and individual academics but also for school management teams, school support agencies and officials in educational policy.
Improving Research through User Engagement (Improving Learning)
by Anne Edwards Mark Rickinson Judy SebbaThere are increasing calls for social science researchers to work more closely with research users. References to engaging users in and with research are now common in research funding requirements, national research strategies and large-scale research programmes. User engagement has therefore become part of the rhetoric of educational and social science research. But what is user engagement, how can it be achieved and what challenges and opportunities does it present for researchers and research users? The authors of this new book present an authoritative overview of recent theoretical debates, practical developments and empirical evidence on the role of user engagement in contemporary educational and social science research. The book focuses on the relationship between user engagement and research design, and emphasises how user engagement needs to be understood as an interplay between the different kinds of knowledge and expertise held by researchers and users. Drawing on evidence from studies involving different kinds of research users, there is detailed discussion of the dynamics and complexities of working with practitioners, service users and policy-makers. The authors make clear that user engagement has definite implications for the way in which research is designed, managed and commissioned, and the way in which researchers and research users are trained, supported and encouraged to interact. Written for the many professionals involved in funding, doing and using research within education and other social sciences, this book provides: conceptual guidance on different approaches and interpretations of user engagement examples and evidence of effective strategies for engaging practitioners, service users and policy-makers capacity building ideas and implications for researchers and research users specific suggestions as to how the conceptualization, management, scaling up and evidence base of user engagement could be improved. At the core of this forward-thinking text is a robust analysis of an important facet of modern social science research. The authors’ evidence-based, evaluative approach provides a useful, detailed analysis of an area of social science research methodology which is increasingly valued and emphasised by research councils and mediators.