What can evidence-use in practice learn from evidence-use in policy?

Abstract

Background: This paper approaches evidence-informed practice from the perspective of evidence-informed policy-making. Using the findings of a recent study of evidence-use by educational policy-makers to raise questions about evidence-use by educational practitioners, it seeks to explore what such a study might tell us about how to understand and improve evidence-use by educational practitioners. Purpose: The paper aims, therefore, to identify potential connections, shared insights and common issues between evidence-use in policy and evidence-use in practice. It does this by focusing on two specific areas: the nature of the evidence (i.e. what evidence is used) and the nature of the use (i.e. how evidence is used). The paper outlines what was found about each of these aspects of evidence-use in policy, and then considers what questions and issues these findings might raise for evidence-use in educational practice. Sample: The empirical study on which this paper is based was an in-depth study of the use of evidence within educational policy development in Australia. It focused on the development of three specific education policies within one Australian state education department and involved interviews with 25 policy-makers who were actively involved in the development of these policies. Design and methods: The policy-based study involved the following data collection processes: (i) in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 policy-makers who were involved in the development of the selected policies; (ii) documentary analysis of policy documents, background research reports and other relevant papers relating to the selected policies; (iii) unstructured observation (where possible) of meetings and events connected with the development of the selected policies; and (iv) feedback from 40 wider policy staff who took part in a verification workshop to discuss the project's emerging findings. Findings: Drawing on the findings from the original policy study, two areas of potential connection to evidence-use in practice are explored. First, in relation to 'varieties of evidence and uses' , the negotiation of diverse evidence types and the potential for using evidence in multiple and varied ways appear to be features of evidence-use that are common to educational policy-makers as well as educational practitioners. Secondly, in relation to 'narrowness of evidence sources' , there is potential for both policy-makers and practitioners to use a

Data-based decision-making for school improvement: Research insights and gaps

“…At the system level, policy-makers are required to make sense of different types of data to develop policy. At this level, sense-making of standardised assessment data often plays an important role (Rickinson et al 2017). Concerns at this level that need to be addressed include the repeated use of similar sources, a focus on well-known sources, the use of sources that are familiar and comfortable, and the use of data that are easy to locate (Rickinson et al 2017).…”

“…At this level, sense-making of standardised assessment data often plays an important role (Rickinson et al 2017). Concerns at this level that need to be addressed include the repeated use of similar sources, a focus on well-known sources, the use of sources that are familiar and comfortable, and the use of data that are easy to locate (Rickinson et al 2017). Elsewhere, at the level of the school, principals (preferably together with teachers) need to make sense of the data collected.…”

“…Some studies have been conducted in this area for policy-makers (see, e.g. Campbell, Pollock, Briscoe, Carr-Harris, & Tuters, 2017;Rickinson et al 2017), and for students (see, e.g. Jimerson and Reames 2015;Kennedy and Datnow 2011).…”

Reviews of research on the attitude–behavior relationship and their implications for future environmental education research

“…These meta-analyses, along with other sources of evidence and critique, have led some in EE to question the value and use of any K-A-B model, including its implications for theory, research, policy and practice in EE (see a range of positions on this, in Hungerford and Volk 1990;Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002;Marcinkowski 2004). The studies also serve to highlight the importance of continuing to negotiate the value and status of any positing of an A-B relationship since then, whether that be in the context of advocating broader theoretical models in general, or in relation to the varieties, qualities and quality uses of evidence (Rickinson et al 2017) for specific educational frameworks, engagements or experiences in EE. But before we consider aspects of that, we must consider wider perspectives on this relationship.…”

“…In conclusion, we suspect that interpretations of what matters outlined earlier will be as relevant to assessment and evaluation studies designed to explore EE practices and associated learning outcomes as they are to empirically-and theory-driven research and practice development, particularly if the former seek to make a contribution to the field too (Zint 2012). Simply put, it is highly likely that measurement and other methodological factors, as well as moderating and mediating factors, operate in studies of EE practice, and that rigorous accounting of these is needed if we are to gain better insights from these studies of practice, and arguments to adopt and develop them further as quality uses of evidence (see Rickinson 2001;Rickinson et al 2017;Zelezny 1999).…”