This article provides clear and practical guidelines for researchers seeking to use national secondary datasets to conduct evidence-based research. Drawing from our own experiences, we discuss a six-step research process model (Bryan et al., 2010, 2017) to help researchers navigate the use of these datasets. We present examples from the school…

A recent issue of the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy included an article reporting on a systematic narrative review of the research literature that indicated that there was insufficient evidence to conclude whether genre theory and systemic functional linguistics either 'worked' or 'did not work'. The criteria used to evaluate these…

In Ireland, as elsewhere, there has been growing recognition around the importance of using research evidence to inform educational policy and practice at both a national government and individual school level. Despite such importance, there is currently a dearth of empirical, peer-reviewed studies regarding the use of research evidence in the…

Continuous improvement methods, widely used in fields such as medicine, can help educators identify and try out adjustments in practice, known as "change ideas," which contribute to better outcomes and more equitable systems for students. Since 2018, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in 24 organizations across the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how experienced elementary educators in Central Montana described their use of new knowledge from research evidence to inform their teaching practice. Data sources included 15 semi-structured interviews and two focus groups. The Cognitive Affective Model of Conceptual Change was…

The Evidence to Action project (2019-2021), led by MDRC and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and supported by Arnold Ventures, initiated a body of work designed to disentangle the barriers that exist between research and state-level higher education policy and partnered with state higher education agencies to…

This national snapshot presents findings on the current use of evidence by teachers and leaders in Australian schools. The authors examine attitudes towards and use of various types of evidence, and challenges and enablers in using evidence. In examining the use of evidence, they distinguish between: (1) research evidence: academic research, such…

Written by two leading experts in education research and policy, "Common-Sense Evidence" is a concise, accessible guide that helps education leaders find and interpret data and research, and then put that knowledge into action. In the book, Nora Gordon and Carrie Conaway empower educators to address the federal Every Student Succeeds Act…

Cultures of performative accountability in education have been on the rise globally since the 1980s. Accordingly, teachers have increasingly been encouraged to understand their work in relation to particular forms of 'evidence'. All evidence, however, is not regarded as equal, and sources of evidence privileged within cultures of performative…

A trend towards evidence-based practice has developed in policy and practice in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia in recent years, evolving to become a powerful hegemonic force. This paper considers this latest impetus to teach according to the mandates of a narrow evidence base as a symptom of the post-truth condition, one that…

Purpose: Currently, in the education data use literature, there is a lack of research and examples that consider the early steps of filtering, organizing and visualizing data to inform decision-making. The purpose of this study is to describe how school leaders and researchers visualized and jointly made sense of data from a common learning…

There are longstanding calls for inclusive education for all regardless of student need or teacher capacity to meet those needs. Unfortunately, there are little empirical data to support full inclusion for all students and even less information on the role of data-based decision making in inclusive education specifically, even though there is…

This literature review outlines the evidence that underpins the development of a set of evidence-informed elaborations, or specific practices, that support student engagement and wellbeing across the 9 domains of the National School Improvement Tool (NSIT). These observable, measurable practices to support student engagement and wellbeing have…

Background: Data-based decision-making in education often focuses on the use of summative assessment data in order to bring about improvements in student achievement. However, many other sources of evidence are available across a wide range of indicators. There is potential for school leaders, teachers and students to use these diverse sources…

This chapter provides a discussion on how the Singapore education system uses evidence from educational research conducted both locally and internationally, to shape policies and initiatives that can effectuate the "common good". In addition to research outcomes, the Singapore Ministry of Education also takes into consideration the…