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…

Although research scholarship offers valuable guidance to those hoping to use improvement science in their teaching and practice, it tends to center the perspectives of researchers and EdD program faculty. Less research has focused on the voices of practitioners who use improvement science in their schools and organizations. We draw on sensemaking…

Scopus, EBSCO, ERIC and British Education Index were interrogated in a systematic review of primary research since 2014 addressing expert practice and outcomes in education and care for young people with special educational needs and disability in the UK. Grey literature and studies of medical settings, preschool children, mainstream education or…

Everyone "says" they want more "evidence-based" practice in schools. However, there is a widespread sense that research too rarely makes its way into schools and classrooms. Why is that? In this article, Frederick Hess describes three factors that make using research to inform school or classroom practice trickier than it looks…

Despite calls for evidence-based decision making, the field has a limited understanding of how educational leaders actually engage research. This study draws on a nationally representative sample of 368 district and school leaders who named pieces of research that were useful to their work. Educational leaders found frameworks and 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…

Efficient use of resources depends upon many factors, but one key variable is the extent to which we design and implement activities which require funding in a way that is informed by relevant evidence. The application of insights about 'what works', derived from robust research, combined with evidence about context and real-time system data have,…

This Meta-Aggregative (MA) Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (QES) identified, investigated, and critically appraised examples of 'quality' Teacher Critical Reflection (TCR) in recent peer-reviewed research. The key question guiding the synthesis of literature was, How is teacher critical reflection evidenced, justified, and communicated in…

Science education researchers agree about the importance of evidence in science practices such as argumentation. Yet, disagreements and ambiguities about what counts as "evidence" in science classrooms pervade the literature. We argue that these ambiguities and disagreements can be viewed as falling along three fault lines: (i) the…

The National Snapshot provides a baseline of how evidence is used by teachers and leaders across Australian schools. Better use of evidence is proven to lift student outcomes, so it's important to understand and advance its use in schools. The National Snapshot helps to do this by bringing together new and existing information to see a more…

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…

Replication studies in education are relatively rare. Of the few which are conducted, many are conceptual rather than direct replications. With so few replication studies, and many of those that are attempted producing null results, the scientific status of the evidence base for educational policy and practice is in question. Replicating Makel and…

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…

This paper seeks to raise awareness among educational researchers and practitioners of some significant weaknesses and internal contradictions of randomised control trials (RCTs). Although critiques throughout the years from education scholars have pointed to the detrimental effects of this experimental approach on education practice and values,…

Purpose: The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) requires districts to deliver "evidence-based interventions" to students impacted by the pandemic. The policy has created a unique opportunity for researchers and practitioners to engage with evidence to learn how recovery interventions work and under what conditions.…