Background: The emergence of causal research in education was almost strictly quantitative twenty years ago, however, that landscape has changed considerably. The number of intervention studies fielded and completed annually has increased substantially, and the quality of the evaluations is much more robust, including paying much greater attention…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identifies existing research on educational interventions, assesses the quality of the research, and summarizes and disseminates the evidence from studies that meet WWC standards. The WWC aims to provide enough information so educators can use the research to make informed decisions in their settings. This…

This paper discusses, compares, and contrasts 4 different models for bringing evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) into practice and into practical reasoning. I look at what questions the models can and cannot answer, what role they accord to RCT evidence, and what their possible attraction for practitioners might be. The models are…

Background/Context: When a researcher tests an educational program, product, or policy in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and detects a significant effect on an outcome, the intervention is usually classified as something that "works." When the expected effects are not found, however, there is seldom an orderly and transparent…

Background and purpose: Studies of education and learning that were described as experiments have been carried out in the USA by educational psychologists since about 1900. In this paper, we discuss the history of randomised trials in education in the USA in terms of five historical periods. In each period, the use of randomised trials was…

Background and purpose: Studies of education and learning that were described as experiments have been carried out in the USA by educational psychologists since about 1900. In this paper, we discuss the history of randomised trials in education in the USA in terms of five historical periods. In each period, the use of randomised trials was…

Background: The use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in education has increased significantly over the last 15 years. However, their use has also been subject to sustained and rather trenchant criticism from significant sections of the education research community. Key criticisms have included the claims that: it is not possible to undertake…

Since its inception in the 1980s, the meta-ethnography approach for synthesising qualitative study accounts has been used extensively in health and social care research and to a lesser extent in educational research. The aim of this article is to reflect on the evolution of the method in both fields. It starts by describing the meta-ethnography…

The central purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the many ways in which special educators can generate and think about causal inference to inform policy and practice. Consideration of causality across different lenses can be carried out by engaging in multiple method and mixed methods ways of thinking about inference. This article…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which was established under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002. It is an important part of IES's strategy to use rigorous and relevant research, evaluation, and statistics to improve the nation's education system.…

The United States considers educating all students to a threshold of adequate outcomes to be a central goal of educational justice. The No Child Left Behind Act introduced evidence-based policy and accountability protocols to ensure that all students receive an education that enables them to meet adequacy standards. Unfortunately, evidence-based…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) systematic review process is the basis of many of its products, enabling the WWC to use consistent, objective, and transparent standards and procedures in its reviews, while also ensuring comprehensive coverage of the relevant literature. The WWC systematic review process consists of five steps: (1) Developing…

Meeting the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) attrition standard (or one of the attrition standards based on the WWC standard) is now an important consideration for researchers conducting studies that could potentially be reviewed by the WWC (or other evidence reviews). Understanding the basis of this standard is valuable for anyone seeking to meet…

In this article, we argue that big data can offer new opportunities and roles for educational researchers. In the traditional model of evidence-gathering and interpretation in education, researchers are independent observers, who pre-emptively create instruments of measurement, and insert these into the educational process in specialized times and…