Using research evidence to improve practice

Educational Research, 2017

The term 'evidence-informed practice' (EIP) attracts much attention, with many arguing that evidence-informed schools and colleges are an essential feature of effective education systems (see, for example, Mincu 2014; and Greany 2015). This focus on EIP is not new (see Weiss 1979; and Hargreaves 1996). A variety of programmes has been developed, over the decades, to improve the quality of evidence, its comprehensibility, and its impact on teaching and learning (

2017

Table 1 Research characteristics (adapted from Dagenais et al. 2014) Research Characteristics Characteristics of communication Practitioners' characteristics School characteristics Accessible and timely Facilities Skills and competencies Enjoys external support Objective and true Access to research and data Prior participation in research Wants evidence for decision making Easy to Quality Attitudes towards Encourages and 9 Research Characteristics Characteristics of communication Practitioners' characteristics School characteristics understand and implement research supports initiative Connected to school/classroom context Collegial discussions Willingness to innovate Has prior experience with initiatives Relevant Collaboration with researchers Self-efficacy and commitment Staff capacity and support to use research Sustained collaboration via networks and partnerships Experience Encourages internal collaboration Media Prior coursework in research methods Prioritises appropriate professional development activities Content area taught Needs innovation Training on how to make use of research Is committed to organisational learning Involvement in research Allocates time and resources, including available technology Source: Dagenais et al. (2014, p. 297-299) 2.2 Research characteristics Dagenais et al's (2014) characteristics represent practitioners' perceptions of the relevance of the evidence to their practice and these drive practitioners' decisions about research use. These characteristics also relate directly to the supply side issues identified by Nelson and O'Beirne (2014). However, the extent to which people's perceptions affect action can be considerable. Dagenais et al. (2008) found that, among various factors, practitioners' opinions about research emerged as the strongest predictor of their use of research-based information. Other features identified as important include clarity, timeliness, relevance, usability, amenability of research to action/transfer, applicability and sophistication in terms of how well the research-based information aligns with classroom needs and local contexts (Dagenais et al. 2014, p 299-300). 10. Do you have any other comments on research related EBT in your school?

Worldviews on Evidence‐Based …, 2004

Objective: To dispel some of the conceptual confusion in the field of evidence-based practice that has resulted from the overlapping use of the terms research, evidence, and knowledge.

2018

This rapid evidence synthesis informed a Commonwealth review to achieve educational excellence in Australian Schools, chaired by the Gonski School review panel.

Review of Education, 2020

Teacher Development, 2018

Drawing on data from the co-construction of an online research-informed guide for the teaching of English as an additional language (EAL), analysis highlights the complexities inherent in translating research into practice for different stakeholders. Discussion argues for the recognition of communal constructivism as a pedagogy of learning that can build understanding between researchers and practitioners for how practice might become research-informed.

AWHONN Lifelines, 2006

We invited her to write a practice article based on that study for AWHONN Lifelines. A term used a great deal by nurses today is "evidence-based practice." The beginning step in evidence-based practice is to read original research reports and determine if the results have implications for your practice . Research with a sound theoretical foundation and stringent study design may produce results that can serve as good evidence for practice modifi cations. However, research reports sometimes describe confl icting fi ndings, and research in a well-controlled environment may not be reproducible in the practice setting because of ethical or cost concerns. argued recently that in addition to evidence-based practice, we need to think about practice-based evidence and to "make research responsive to the

In this chapter, we explore prominent issues related to identifying and implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) in education. We first describe the general context for evidence-based reforms in education. To clarify the meaning of EBPs, we then briefly define terms frequently used in education for recommended practice. We discuss three broad issues with which educators must wrestle if evidence-based education is to fulfill its significant potential: the conceptual and philosophical foundations of evidence- based education, technical issues related to determining EBPs in education, and pragmatic issues surrounding the implementation of EBPs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Review of education, 2020

Over decades, there have been calls by concerned stakeholders to improve the quality of education research, and some progress has been made towards creating a more secure evidence base in some areas. More programmes and approaches that have a reasonable evidence base are also now being used in schools (but not in policy, and not necessarily because they have a reasonable evidence base). However, there has been no equivalent improvement in secure knowledge about how best to get that evidence into use, or even what difference it makes when such evidence is used. This paper looks at what little is already known about the different ways to get research evidence into use in education. It does so by summarising the results of a large-scale review of the literature. A total of 323 most relevant studies were found across all areas of public policy, and judged for quality and contribution. Very few (33) were of the appropriate design and quality needed to make robust causal claims about evidence-intouse, and even fewer of these concerned education. This means that despite over 20 years of modest improvement in research on what works in education policy and practice, the evidence on how best to deploy such evidence is still very weak. We consider studies in terms of several issues, including whether they look at changes in user knowledge and behaviour or student outcomes, and how evidence is best modified before use. Providing access to raw research evidence or even slightly simplified evidence is not generally an effective way of getting it used, even if that evidence is presented to users by knowledge-brokers, in short courses or similar. What is more likely to work for both policy and practice, is engineering high quality evidence into a more usable format and presenting it actively or iteratively via a respected and trusted conduit, or through population measures such as legislation. Having the users actually do the research is another promising approach. Expecting each individual study they fund to have impact is not the way forward as this may encourage widespread use of ineffective or even harmful interventions. Publicly-funded users, including policymakers, should be required to use evidence-led programmes from such libraries, where they exist and are appropriate and relevant to their aims. Research funders should support these approaches, and help to build up libraries of successfully tested programmes. Researchers need to be scrupulous, looking at their new evidence in the context of what is already known and not looking to have 'impact' from single-studies. More and better research is needed on the best routes for evidence-into-use. However, the improvements required of all parties are as much ethical in nature as they are technical or scientific. This paper discusses three problems with the agenda of this evidence-based movement, the quality of existing evidence to be used, and issues in summarising this evidence accurately. This is followed by a summary of a new review of the evidence on how best to get evidence into use. It discusses the methods used, the quality of the studies found, the barriers to evidence use, and how best to get evidence into use. The findings of this new review are summarised, and their implications discussed. Why we urgently need better understanding of evidence-into-use Unfortunately, the apparent desire by all parties for research evidence to have a greater role, via reallife 'impact', has generated at least three problems. First, it is not at all clear that the research that has the greatest real-life impact is actually of the highest quality. For example, the REF impact case studies (see above) must be based on research judged by the relevant panel of reviewers to be of at least 2* quality. This rating is from a scale of 0 (not really research of any value at all) to 4* (world-leading). In REF2014 around 30% of all work was judged to be 4* (world-leading), and 76% overall was judged to be 3* (internationally excellent) or better. It is therefore astonishing that work considered to be among the lowest 24% in quality should be celebrated as having had any impact in real-life. In no way does this match the expressed ambition of having robust evidence-informed policy and practice. Similarly, studies have been given ESRC awards (prizes) for the quality of their impact simply because their results are in widespread use, even where the evidence does not warrant such impact, or in some cases where the impact actually contradicts the findings of the research itself. It is as though merely claiming to make a difference is considered 'impact' of the kind that is needed, whether it is evidence-led in reality or not.

2017

The field of education is awash with research. What is important for teachers however is accessing the right research, in the right way, at the right time. This paper presents an innovative way forward for teachers who want to develop evidence-informed practice and for those who want to be engage further with research. We start with explaining the concept of translational research, which is a systematic approach to the practical application of research knowledge. We have followed this approach in the development of the MESHGuides project, which provides research summaries for teachers. The research evidence is presented in a visual format so that it is accessible and can inform teacher's professional judgements and practices. This approach is informed by initiatives adopted in the field of medicine. Furthermore, we are developing the MESHConnect initiative that aims to create and engage communities of teachers both in and with research. This initiative aims to develop teachers by engaging them in the broader community of researchers in education, so that they are able to develop a critical perspective on research to inform their own professional practices.