Worldwide, there has been considerable progress in the quality of research evidence generated for use in education, but not the equivalent growth in knowledge of how best to get this evidence into actual use. Yet with far-reaching implications, all of education is damaged when persuasive but poor-quality evidence has widespread influence, or good research lies unused. Focused on the work of the Durham University Evidence Centre for Education, Getting Evidence into Education addresses this problem, examining what can be done to improve the take-up of suitable research evidence and inform the public service of education.
Containing a variety of case studies, from evidence-based policies for early childhood education in Brazil, to the use of evidence on contextualized admissions to Scottish universities, the volume explores a variety of different ways to approach the problem, addressing the questions:
What is the existing evidence on different approaches to getting research evidence into use?
What are the factors which influence the uptake of high-quality research evidence by policy or practice?
Which are the most effective pathways for evidence-into-use in particular contexts?
Considering both the practical and ethical implications, the book builds towards key recommendations for the research community, practitioner bodies and policy-makers and advisors, directing them on how to communicate better with each other for the benefit of everyone.
Section 1: Introduction to need for better evidence. Chapter 1: Why we need better use of good evidence in education. Chapter 2: The importance of providing evidence in education from rigorous evaluations. Chapter 3: The global evidence and architecture in health and education: a comparative scorecard. Chapter 4: What we know already about the best ways to get evidence into use in education. Section 2: Experiences of different routes to evidence use. Chapter 5: Hearts and minds: The Research Schools Network: from evidence to engagement. Chapter 6: The development and worldwide impact of the Teaching and Learning Toolkit. Chapter 7: Why is it difficult to get evidence into use? Chapter 8: Generating research evidence in teaching practice: Can teachers lead randomised control trials in education? Section 3: Engagement with impact in different phases of education. Chapter 9: First two years at school: Evidence-based policy for early childhood education in Brazil. Chapter 10: Resarch into practice: The case of classroom formative assessment. Chapter 11: Engagement and impact in addressing and overcoming educational disadvantage. Chapter 12: The use of evidence from research on contextualised admissions to widen access to Scottish universities. Section 4: The role of leadership in evidence uptake. Chapter 13: Is distributed leadership an effective approach for mobilising research-informed innovation across professional learning networks? Exploring a case from England. Chapter 14: The opportunities and challenges of leaders using evidence in education. Section 5: Suggestions for next steps in evidence use. Chapter 15: Towards a better understanding of quality of evidence use. Chapter 16: Where next for improving the use of good evidence.
