THE TASK OF DRAWING TOGETHER USEFUL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT RESEARCH on problems of education in Latin America is at once an attractive and a disagreeable task. It is attractive because the kind of effort exemplified by this publication seems to imply increased attention to the need for research. It is disagreeable because of the obvious paucity of research, lack of a dynamic role for research in the educational process, disjointed and unrelated effort in the research that does exist, and misunderstanding of the nature of research and its function in a social field. The views expressed here are critical of research—its goals, its conduct, and the mechanisms for integrating it into educational development; but, hopefully, the observations made can be of use to enhance the research potential in this important sphere of activity.