This paper is about the relationship between research, policy and practice in education. It outlines reasons for the increased interest in research and its impact and describe some of the difficulties in studying this relationship. A conceptualization of the knowledge mobilization process is presented that identifies three overlapping and interacting domains -the production of research, the end use of research, and the intermediary processes that link these two. The paper reviews current research and develops ideas about all three of these aspects, identifying areas of understanding and gaps in current knowledge.A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/56377921

The last decade of education change has been characterized by the rise of evidence-based policy and practice agendas. Internationally, we are witnessing efforts to increase and incorporate research use in public services. This article examines efforts in education to address the research-practice gap through an emerging field we term knowledge mobilization (KM). We explore some of the controversy surrounding the use of 'evidence', outline national and international KM initiatives and consider some of the issues and challenges that arise from the increased interest in evidence and research use in education. We also assess the current state and desirable future directions of efforts to strengthen the role of research and evidence in education.

Interest in strengthening the impact and value of education research has been growing around the world. Here I outline a view of the nature of “impact” and point to instances where research has had a positive impact in education, but always within a larger social and political framework. A three element “model” of research impact is developed and used as the basis to assess current situations and to suggest steps that could be taken to support a fuller contribution to education and learning from research.

The field of knowledge mobilisation (KM) addresses the multiple ways in which stronger connections can be made between research, policy and practice. This paper reviews the current situation around knowledge mobilisation in education. It addresses changing understandings of KM, considers some of the main issues in conducting empirical research in the field, and looks at the state of activity to promote and increase KM, offering commentary and suggestions in each area.

Data on student achievement are increasingly being used to support effective policy and practice, and to move education systems towards more evidence-informed approaches to large-scale improvement. In this paper, we outline strategies used in Ontario, Canada to create, enhance and apply a range of data to support educational improvement. These strategies were intended to integrate the collection of data and its use at the three levels of school, district, and province. The strategy also included improving educator capacity to use data and the development of better analytic tools to understand data in context.