We wanted to know what evidence-based practice meant to educators: So we asked

Through a multi-stakeholder workshop, open feedback on a draft discussion paper, a team of participants working on further development for survey, interviews, and further workshops with teacher educators and representatives of teacher, school leader, and school organisations, we have written a discussion paper outlining the problems, assumptions, and silences within ‘evidence-based practice’, how these educators engage in ‘enriched evidence-based-practice’ and what these educators see is necessary to move forward.

 

The educators showed clear agreement with the detrimental impact of ‘evidence-based practice’ as raised in academic critique. While not necessarily familiar with the critique itself, the educators gave ‘on-the-ground’ examples of the impacts they witness in practice.

 

The problems

 

The educators raised problems with ‘evidence-based practice’:

 

• “Practice is determined by evidence from scientific, intervention studies where practice is narrowed to only what can be measured”.
• “Government policies and resources tell teachers what practices are evidence-based rather than respecting teachers’ professionalism/experience/abilities to digest and apply research for their particular contexts
• “Evidence-Based Practice is intended to help but creates another problem” where teachers and students have minimal impact on teaching and learning.

 

They recognised assumptions underpinning ‘evidence-based practice’:

• “Certain research studies are ‘gold standard’ excluding all else”. 
• “School is only about learning”.
• Practice is presented “as singular rather than being a collection of practices”.
• “Literacy and numeracy are the be all and end all”.
• It is possible to determine “What works best” which can only consider the past neglecting opportunities for innovation.

 

They also identified the following silences within ‘evidence-based practice’:

 

• “Purpose of education”.
• “Contradictory evidence”.
• “Teaching is about people, relationships, personalisation”

 

Significantly, educators shared frustration over the lack of recognition for the breadth of evidence educators work with all the time.

 

Enriched evidence-based practice

 

The educators shared insight to the ‘enriched evidence-based practice’ they engage with already, along with instances from the recent past that have been halted through new policy, that extends well beyond the scope of ‘evidence-based practice’. The ‘enriched evidence-based practice’ the educators shared encompasses the ‘ground-level’ evidence from practice, students, and community, with the full breadth of evidence from research, summed up as: “variety of evidence to make decisions – complexities, different variables, ways of being – Synthesis of academic + school-based “home grown” + institutional evidence”. Three core areas of existing practice were highlighted for drawing on evidence well beyond ‘evidence-based practice’:

 

Day-to Day Practice: 

 

Evidence is gathered in schools and individual classrooms every day. Central to day-to-day school situated evidence practice is . . . 

 

“Teachers critically analysing, making decisions, every second of the teaching day, to decide the ‘what next’, how their students are progressing, how they are going emotionally/physically/academically etc. Evidence in this sense, is more contextual, personal to knowing students holistically, recognises the diversity of students/teachers”

. . . though this evidence practice is “NOT CURRENTLY VALUED” (capitalised by participants).

 

Educators as Researchers:

 

School-situated professional learning engages in ‘enriched evidence-based practice’ through practitioner inquiry. It encompasses a range of research practices that place the educator as the researcher. Practitioner inquiry often involves academics as mentors in the research process and supports making the research public for others to draw upon. Large-scale projects mentioned by the educators included the NSW Quality Teaching Action Learning (QTAL) projectsand the Coalition of Knowledge Building Schools, and existing projects including Quality Teaching Rounds,Culturally Nourishing Schooling, and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy.

 

Teachers are recognised and supported to develop as research-literate professionals best placed to make decisions for practice in their own contexts.

 

Alternative Student Credentials:

 

As schools respond to school-situated evidence in conjunction with the broad field of educational research, alternative approaches and programs are developed to best meet the needs of specific contexts. Students and teachers work together to collect and analyse evidence to make judgements on progress and steps for further development. Examples of alternative end of school credentials include the Big Picture Learning Credential, the International Baccalaureate, and the New Zealand Certificate of Steiner Education (currently used in some Queensland Steiner high schools).

 

What’s needed

 

Teachers already engage in ‘enriched evidence-based practice’ though these practices are impinged by demands to meet requirements of ‘evidence-based practice’.

• “PERMISSION” (capitalised by participants). “Teachers need permission and the skills to disrupt, pushback, not be gagged”.
• Time is needed for students, teachers and school leaders to collaborate, “to gather (evidence), synthesise, analyse and then plan”, and for professional learning to develop and sustain enriched evidence use across teachers’ careers.
• “Wholesale change” to address the far-reaching impacts of evidence-based practice on beliefs and practice and in turn the future direction of education.
• “Build awareness to the detriments (of evidence-based practice) and the impact of enriched practice”. “Change the narrative” of simplistic solutions for ‘what works’ to embrace the complexity and nuance of teaching and “share stories of enriched evidence practice” demonstrating the much wider benefits that may be achieved.
• Support for more extensive relationships between schools and universities to support the “Need (for) more research by teachers, with teachers; research with students, by students; diverse research; research with diverse schools/students”.

 

Have your say on evidence practice in education

 

This project continues and wants to work with more educators across sectors. If you are interested to share your insights and experience, please explore the following arms of the project:

 

Enriching the Broad Base of Evidence to Inform Teaching Practice Survey

 

Teacher Decision Making Survey

 

Evidence as Practice, Practice as Evidence: Essays exploring the relationship between evidence, pedagogy, education, and praxis – open call for essay proposals

 

Authors

 

Nikki Brunker is a senior lecturer in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at The University of Sydney. Her research explores evidence-based practice. 

 

Michelle Hostrup is an experienced teacher, principal, and educational leader within the NSW Department of Education.  She teaches in initial teacher education at the University of Sydney. 

 

Virginia Moller has over 40 years of experience in education, as a teacher, principal and project manager. She teaches in the Master of Educational Leadership degree and initial teacher education at the University of Sydney.  

 

Alison Boyd-Boland is director of teaching and learning at St Vincent’s College and an experienced English teacher and leader. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Sydney. 

 

Grant Sciberras is a secondary English and History teacher completing his PhD at the University of Sydney. He teaches in initial teacher education at the University of Sydney and Western Sydney University.