This article seeks to provide a new paradigm for questioning how quality and excellence in teaching practices are understood and evaluated. By combining ideas from complexity theory and Michel Foucault's conception of polymorphous correlations, I argue that a shift away from the forms of thought that engender reductionist evaluations can become a…

This article critically assesses contemporary empirical educational research, directing attention toward overlooked facets of pedagogical practice. Here, Agnes Pfrang and Daniel Castner raise questions about predominant psychological approaches to empirical educational research, instead advocating for a holistic viewpoint that encompasses the…

In the context of heightened policy expectations for research use, there is a need to better understand how schools enact these expectations. However, normative models for research use do not fit with longstanding empirical evidence about research use. This a) means that schools are likely to implement evidence use expectations in diverse ways…

Analyzing education through the lens of implementation science illustrates its potential for addressing fundamental challenges in education (Century & Cassata, 2016). Learning emerges from rapidly-changing experiences and high-intensity social interactions, which requires instruction to continually adapt. These adaptations vary in content and…

After decades of frustration that education research is irrelevant to practice and that educators do not use research to inform their work, there is reason to believe that the relationship between research and practice is improving. Elizabeth Farley-Ripple describes the how the conversation about research and practice is becoming broader, how…

Engineering is a practical discipline, dedicated to the solution of problems through the sound application of principles derived from the natural sciences and mathematics. Engineering pedagogy has therefore to balance the need for learners to gain a deep understanding of the theoretical basis of the problem domain whilst grasping its practical…

This report presents the results of an Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)-funded, independent evaluation designed to investigate the extent to which, and in what ways, Research Schools (RSs) in Opportunity Areas (OAs) had supported schools to enact evidence-based practices in their classrooms. The evidence centred upon the lived experiences of…

Drawing on descriptions of research-into-practice initiatives, this article presents a new framework to aid understanding of how research findings influence educational practice at scale. The framework focuses upon five areas: trustworthiness of the findings and generalisability; implications and instructions for practice; support for…

Across the OECD, enormous effort and investment has been made to reinforce the quality, production and use of education research in policy and practice. Despite this, using research in education remains a challenge for many countries and systems. The OECD launched the Strengthening the Impact of Education Research project to respond to this…

Current research aiming to understand the gaps between research and practice in K-12 education often overlooks the importance of grasping the indirect relationships that develop between research and practice communities via the various people and organizations positioned to serve as knowledge brokers. The purpose of this study is to understand…

This paper examines the context of evidence-informed practice (EIP) by inquiring into how educational practice is defined and organised, and how predominant understandings of educational practice are concomitant with preferences for particular forms of evidence. This leads to discussion of how certain educational research traditions speak (or are…

Many organizations now have evaluation policies. Because formal evaluation policies intend to frame evaluation practice, it is important to understand the aims of policies and their influence on practice. Evaluation theory is also intended to guide practice; therefore, the extent to which policies are informed by theory is also important to…

This study examines newly qualified teachers' (NQTs) understandings of research-based teacher education practices by looking at two cases in Finland and Norway. The NQTs were interviewed after they had finished their master's degrees and before they started their careers. The results of the individual semistructured interviews and a thematic…

Current research aiming to understand the gaps between research and practice in K-12 education often overlooks the importance of grasping the indirect relationships that develop between research and practice communities via the various people and organizations positioned to serve as knowledge brokers. The purpose of this study is to understand…

Although researchers have developed evidence-based practices and identified other effective practices that show promise for improving outcomes for students with disabilities, these practices are all too frequently not used in inclusive classrooms. Some have posited that this research-to-practice gap may result because teachers lack confidence in…