Report (Lit. review)
Assessment #1 - Report (Lit. review) (Graded) – 1,800 words [40%]
For this assessment you are required to research the current literature on evidence-based and evidence-informed practice from journals, books, online publications or refereed conference proceedings published within the last five years. You should refer to course readings but also extend your search to a wider selection of academic and practitioner literature.
Select
fivearticles, and compare and contrast them, using the following questions as a guide:
- What types of educational organisations or programs are involved?
- What are the issues in using evidence-based practice?
- To what extent do the articles contribute to an understanding of education-informed practice in educational settings?
- What educational or learning processes are involved?
- Can you identify any relevance for different types of educational setting from any or all of these articles?
- The literature review should describe each article briefly and include full referencing including author, date, place of publication, journal number, page numbers etc.
- However the assignment will be marked on your ability to analyse, compare and contrast the five chosen articles rather than simply describe their content.
Reference should be detailed using the UniSA version of the Harvard Author-date style, including a full bibliographic list of all references used.
someTitle CONDUCTING EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH series editor: Harry Torrance Evidence-Based Practice in Education edited by Gary Thomas and Richard Pring Evid en ce-B ased Practice in Ed ucatio n Th o m as an d Prin g cover design: K ate P rentice EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE IN EDUCATION "Where does hunch end and evidence begin? Too much is written and said about school improvement – about improvements in teaching and learning – with far too little attention to this question. This book provides vivid discussion from distinguished protagonists and antagonists about what gets called 'evidence-based practice'. Reading it, all involved in education – policymakers and practitioners alike – can proceed more confidently." Professor Tim Brighouse, London Schools Commissioner The movement towards evidence-based practice in education is as important as it is controversial. This edited volume explores the arguments of leading advocates and critics of the movement. The first part of the book begins with an explanation of evidence-based practice, and discusses some of the ideas of its proponents. In the second part of the book, contributors examine the use of evidence-based practice, addressing, in particular, the validity of the transposition from its original use in medicine to its application in educational policy. The third part of the book looks at criticism of evidence-based practice and questions which have been raised about it, for example regarding the transferability of research findings to practice, the consequences of the move towards evidence-based practice for governance in education, and how particular kinds of evidence may be privileged over others. Evidence-Based Practice in Education is key reading for all educators, educational researchers and policy-makers. It is also recommended for professionals in medicine, social work and psychology who are interested in evidence-based practice. Gary Thomas is a Professor of Education at the University of Leeds, having previously worked as a teacher and an educational psychologist. His interests are in inclusive education and research methodology and his books include The Making of the Inclusive School (1998) and Deconstructing Special Education and Constructing Inclusion (Open University Press, 2001). Richard Pring is an Emeritus Fellow of Green College, Oxford. Previous to this he was Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Oxford and lecturer at the University of Exeter and the University of London Institute of Education. He also taught in London comprehensive schools and was Assistant Principal at the Department of Education and Science. His book Philosophy of Educational Research was published in 2000. � ������ ������ �� ������������� Thomas, G., & Pring, R. (2004). Evidence-based practice in education. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from unisa on 2019-09-20 03:57:46. C op yr ig ht © 2 00 4. M cG ra w -H ill E du ca tio n. A ll rig ht s re se rv ed . 10833_2009_9107_10_2-web 159..171 The growing (but still limited) importance of evidence in education policy and practice Amanda Cooper Æ Ben Levin Æ Carol Campbell Published online: 25 March 2009 � Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract 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. Keywords Education � Evidence � Evidence-based decision making � Knowledge mobilization � Research use � Research impact Introduction One feature that distinguishes education change in the last decade from previous waves of reform has been a growing interest in the ways that research evidence is incorporated into policy and practice. In this paper we discuss the growth of interest A. Cooper (&) � B. Levin TPS Department, 6th floor, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada e-mail: acooper@oise.utoronto.ca B. Levin e-mail: blevin@oise.utoronto.ca C. Campbell Ontario Ministry of Education, Toronto, ON, Canada e-mail: carol.campbell@ontario.ca 123 J Educ Change (2009) 10:159–171 DOI 10.1007/s10833-009-9107-0 and activity in this area—which we call ‘knowledge mobilization’ (KM). We outline some of the controversies around the role of evidence, discuss recent developments to increase KM work, and assess the current state and desirable future directions of efforts to strengthen the role of research and evidence in education. Growing interest in research and evidence Around the world we are witnessing increasing efforts to have public policy and practice guided by evidence derived from research. This development is true not only in education but other public services as well such as health and criminal justice where the pressure for ‘evidence-based decision making’ (EBDM)1 and evidence-based or evidence-informed policy and practice have become primary concerns (Davies et al. 2000; Nutley et al. 2007). Health care has probably been the leading area in which the relationship between evidence and practice has been both advocated and studied (Lavis et al. 2003a; Lemieux-Charles and Champagne 2004) but many efforts have also been made in education, as described more fully a little later. The push for greater use of evidence in public affairs has many roots (Levin 2004). Davies et al. (2000) maintain: This rise in the role of evidence in policy and practice is the result of a number of factors, which include: the growth of an increasingly well-educated and well-informed public; the explosion in the availability of data of all types, fuelled by developments in information technology (IT); the growth in size and capabilities of the research community; an increasing emphasis on productivity and international competitiveness, and an increasing emphasis on scrutiny and accountability in the government (p. 2). The rationale for the use of evidence is obvious. Using research evidence should lead to more informed policy, higher-quality decisions, more effective practices, and, in turn, improved outcomes. As has been demonstrated many times in various areas of social policy, when practices based on custom or ideology are replaced with practices based on evidence, better results follow. The examples are so many as to be almost unnecessary, and go back centuries to the use of citrus fruits to prevent scurvy, the importance of washing hands in preventing infection in medical care, the influence of clean drinking water on public health, the ability of disabled children to benefit from public education, and so on. Still, not everyone agrees that the movement towards greater use of research and evidence is desirable. The EBDM approach has been criticized as ‘‘technocratic, seeking to deny or downplay the realities of politics’’ (Boaz et al. 2008, p. 238). Critics raise a variety of issues. A main issue concerns the criteria used to judge evidence; some are concerned that proponents of evidence have a very narrow view of what is to ‘count’, and consequently that some kinds of evidence will be used to 1 We will utilize EBDM, Evidence-based policy and Evidence-based practice interchangeably for the rest of this paper. 160 J Educ Change (2009) 10:159–171 123 replace professional judgment and experience. A similar concern is the appropriate balance between large-scale evidence and local contexts, diversity and complexities. Others lament that evidence and the language of research are often political strategies that give the illusion of authority, objectivity and legitimacy to policy choices (Neylan 2008). All of these concerns are around limitations in moving from research findings to practical applications, in part because of limited capacity for genuine engagement and interaction between research, policy and practice. In this regard, some critics highlight the paradoxical lack of evidence showing that the use of evidence improves outcomes (Lemieux-Charles and Champagne 2004)! In our view, most of the critics are confusing means and ends. It is virtually impossible for a reasonable person to disagree with the idea that policy and practice should be based on the best available evidence. Indeed, the critics themselves are advancing evidence in support of their own positions, and are also advocating the use of evidence to inform policy and practice in other areas of importance to them. The critics’ real objections are not to the use of evidence itself, but to particular ways in which evidence is being defined or used, especially to what is seen as the rhetorical use of evidence to justify positions that are felt to be based on ideology. For example, many of the objections to the science-based provisions of the No Child Left Behind legislation in the US were because the definition of evidence was quite narrow and excluded many kinds of evidence that critics thought were reasonable and ought to be included. Other critics fear that the use of test scores or evaluations of particular interventions will override the professional knowledge and judgment of educators. These are all legitimate concerns. It’s easy to cite examples of the disingenuous use of research to support pre-existing positions, or of a narrow-minded application of research yielding proposals that cannot work or should not be implemented in practice. Evidence and values are inextricably connected, so the idea that ‘research’ will unambiguously reveal the truth or right course of action in all circumstances clearly involves an unwarranted optimism. But to admit that research is not objective in some kind of final sense, or that truth is not a once-and-for-all state does not mean descending into a relativism that accords all views the same warrant. Indeed, it is impossible to live as a strict relativist, since if one view is as good as another there is no basis for preferring one idea or course of action over another, and one would be reduced to total paralysis in a world that constantly requires decisions and actions. As Stone (2002) reminds us ‘‘to call for a measurement or survey of something is to take the first step in promoting change’’ (p. 168). Evidence can be inclusive of a range of perspectives, methods and forms of information, including integrating evidence and professional knowledge. Accepting that evidence is given meaning through larger social and political processes should not diminish its potential value then to inform decisions about policy and practice. The entire process of knowledge development, whether in science or any other field, involves a necessary contradiction in which one believes that current knowledge is a sound basis for action while simultaneously being skeptical about it and always looking for new evidence that might either confirm or deny one’s beliefs. Indeed, a commitment to continuous improvement necessitates drawing on existing evidence and developing an ‘inquiry habit of mind’ (Earl and Katz 2006) to J Educ Change (2009) 10:159–171 161 123 support new learning and improved practices. There is no doubt that things we firmly believe today will turn out to be quite wrong. Yet we are still required to act