A Choice, Not A Duty
David Berliner has argued that some educational psychologists need to engage publicly in policy debates. I agree, and I commend him not only for being willing to do so, but for doing so in ways that reflect the ideals of professionalism outlined in his article. He has delivered truly expert testimony to governmental representatives, based initially on syntheses of policy-relevant research conducted by others, and more recently on studies of his own that were carefully designed to provide fair tests of the assumptions or claims made by advocates of policies that he suspected were counterproductive. But his article focuses almost exclusively on the positive side of the case for professionals' involvement in public policy debates. I want to express some concerns and qualifications about this idea.
