Quality Use of Research Evidence in Education: A Recommendation

“Evidence-based practice” has become an over-used mantra in education, as it has in most fields. The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) was established to provide teachers and school leaders with evidence to guide their practice based on research in areas of priority. There is an assumption that school personnel know how to use research. The good news is that a five-year project at Monash University (Q Project) has been designed and implemented to illuminate the matter and that a highly-readable book has been published to highlight the findings. I recommend it. In my view, as contained in a post on the back cover of the book, is that it “heralds a new generation of knowledge about the use of research in schools. As such it is an indispensable guide for policymakers, practitioners and scholars who seek fresh perspectives and scalable examples. It goes beyond seemingly endless publications of why and how research is used, or not used, to inform us about how to use it well.”

 

Rickinson, M., Walsh, L., Gleeson, J., Cutler, B., Cirkony, C. and Salisbury, M. (2024). Understanding the quality use of research evidence in education: What it means to use research well. Oxford and New York: Routledge.