The Rising Price of Objectivity (Hardback) | Released: 15 Nov 2016

In The Rising Price of Objectivity, Michael J. Feuer describes what he sees as a "perfect storm" gathering in the sea of education research. He notes the convergence of three important trends: first, the rise in strategic education philanthropy; second, the decline in federal funding, in part due to ideologically contested priorities; and third, the growing influence of nonacademic think tanks operating outside the constraints of university-based research. Together, he cautions, the combination of these forces threatens scientific research generally, and in particular, jeopardizes the effort to generate independent, credible evidence that is needed to inform and guide our efforts to improve education.

Feuer proposes a series of measures for countering the drift toward ideology over inquiry and ensuring that private foundations, the so-called advice industry, and the federal government protect the reliability and credibility of education research for the advancement of the public good.

The author's thoughtful, fair-minded, and engaging analysis offers a unique perspective on the distinctively American approach to funding new knowledge in education.

About the Author: Michael J. Feuer is a native of New York City. He attended public schools in Jamaica and then went to Queens College, where he majored in English, dabbled in radio, and edited the student newspaper. After living and studying in Israel (during the period that included the 1973 Yom Kippur War) and teaching English in Paris, he returned to Philadelphia for his MA and PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. His career has included five years on the faculty of Drexel University, seven years at the congressional Office of Technology Assessment and seventeen years at the National Academy of Sciences; he is now completing his sixth year as dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the George Washington University. Feuer was elected to the National Academy of Education in 2003 and to its presidency in 2013. He has published in economics, policy, education, and philosophy journals and books, and has had reviews, essays, and poems in various newspapers and magazines. His first book, Moderating the Debate, was published by Harvard Education Press in 2006. Feuer lives in Washington with his wife, Regine, a physician specializing in addiction. Their two grown children live and work in the DC area.