Research is often theoretically oriented, highly technical, and driven more by academic fashion or politically driven funding priorities than by the needs of schools. Researchers' main interest in knowledge is scientific. They explore the nature of problems, seemingly unconcerned with the time it takes to reach a conclusion. When discoveries are made, the findings rarely reach practitioners in a manner conducive to implementation. When research findings do reach practitioners, they are often poorly understood or misapplied.
Practitioners complain they are frustrated by research-driven trends in education.
Researchers admit this can be a problem. Practitioners, by nature, depend on being certain of their methods and knowledge. Researchers, by nature, are constantly questioning everything known to be true. This clash between a practitioner's clinical need for immediate solutions and a researcher's time-consuming process creates understandable difficulties. Furthermore, when a new research finding is implemented, the long-term effects on learning are often not known until students have passed through the educational system.