Research 25/07/2022

Evidence that counts: what happens when teachers apply scientific methods to their practice

By Tony McAleavy, Dr Richard Churches

Download now

As the debate about the nature and generation of education evidence becomes centre stage globally this report leads the way. Twelve teacher-led randomised controlled trials and other styles of experimental research demonstrate the potential of serving teachers to carry out research that applies scientific method with rigour. The teachers planned, conducted, analysed and wrote up their research, which they have presented in a conference poster format.

This publication contains 12 reports of teacher experimental research. It demonstrates that schools can carry out rigorous local investigations which can be replicated by others or scaled up to achieve larger sample sizes.

Education research receives a tiny fraction of the funding available for medical research. Alongside this, most publicly-funded education research initially appears in journals that teachers cannot access. It is also the case that very little repetition in education research takes place to check whether the findings replicate. This picture is compounded by the fact that pedagogy in non-core subjects has been subject to very little rigorous research, with much education research being context-specific and not easily able to be generalised or transferred.

The reports in this publication demonstrate the potential of practising teachers to carry out research which applies a scientific method, both in terms of the generation of school-based local and contextual evidence and with regard to the development of a research-engaged, research-informed and research-led teaching profession. They also illustrate how poster-style reporting can offer an engaging and immediate way of understanding a piece of education research of this type, how the research was conducted and its implications for other teachers.

The style of presentation of the reports in this publication parallels the type of preliminary reporting common at academic conferences and postgraduate events. At the same time, it aims to act as a form of short primer to introduce teachers to the basic options that there are when conducting this type of research.

Downloads

Evidence that counts: what happens when teachers apply scientific methods to their practice

Download now

Related Content

NTP Final Evaluation Report News Listing

Article

Positive impact of school-based tutoring revealed in ImpactEd’s Final Evaluation Report of the National Tutoring Programme

We are delighted to share the positive impact of our work on the Department for Education (DfE)’s National Tutoring Programme (NTP) in England, which concluded in August 2024, outlined in ImpactEd’s Final Evaluation Report. The report specifically focuses on the impact of school-led tutors and academic mentors who had access to our training from 2021 to 2024.

Article

EDT to support school improvement in Leicestershire through new local authority partnership

EDT is delighted to be working with Leicestershire Local Authority and 29 local schools through the Schools Partnership Programme (SPP), forming a supportive professional learning network (PLN) focused on sustainable school improvement. Working closely with school leadership teams and the Education Effectiveness Team (EET), which supports all education settings in Leicestershire, this partnership focuses on empowering all staff to actively participate in the school improvement process.

Research

Joint practice development through a peer-led school improvement partnership: research-driven recommendations for policymakers and school leaders

This report presents a summary of a three-year project conducted by academics at the University College London (UCL) Centre for Education Leadership, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), evaluating EDT’s Schools Partnership Programme (SPP). On the SPP, clusters of schools conduct peer reviews and support one another’s improvement – leading to improved system leadership and greater accountability in England’s schools.

Research