Evidence-based educational practices

This executive report, coordinated by Joaquín Gairín and Georgeta Ion, includes the main conclusions of the PBE-Tools project. The main objective of this project has been to analyze the processes of incorporation of scientific research into educational practices in educational centers from the perspective of all the agents involved. It has been proposed as the beginning of a Research Community on Professional Practice (CIP), which contributes to bring the community of researchers and teachers closer together so that they work for educational improvement from a scientific perspective.

The Project has combined field studies, training programs and analysis of the impact of the actions carried out. To collect the information, a mixed methodology (qualitative and quantitative) has been used that has involved the application of 462 prior and 240 subsequent questionnaires, the analysis of 397 innovation practices, observations in the 15 participating centers, and in-depth interviews.

The conclusions of the study suggest that there are certain paths towards achieving more / better use of scientific evidence in education. Also, and as in other fields of social activity, it is recognized that the use of research evidence is a new approach, although not exclusive, for the improvement of educational practice and that its application requires a very specific configuration of organizational and personal elements to encourage teachers' commitment to the evidence.

In general, teachers perceive that their schools are sensitive to the use of scientific evidence for decision-making and implementation of innovative practices. Even so, many centers are skeptical of this approach.

The participants of the educational centers that are perceived as more sensitive to the use of scientific evidence are those that have a teaching staff that stands out for having a proactive attitude, initiative and courage in experimenting and promoting innovative practices in their classes. In addition, they are centers where a climate of trust prevails among the members and decisions are debated and based on scientific data.

The data confirm the importance of personal and interpersonal factors in the development of an organizational culture favorable to the use of scientific evidence, underlining the importance of organizational culture and climate oriented towards organizational development. Promoting innovative practices requires that teachers feel safe and confident to be able to initiate new experiences in their classroom practice and, furthermore, share them with their colleagues and the management team.

The study carried out has allowed the generation of provisional knowledge related to the mechanisms to promote more and better Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) in education, as well as to generate knowledge related to the subject that may be useful for those who want to emulate and improve these approaches from the practice. Finally, it has identified generalizable lessons (in terms of findings or process) that could be applied to improve research on practice (and / or its study) in other sectors.

The line started with the PBE-Tools project remains open through the project 'EIPSI - Evidence-Informed Practice for School Inclusion' funded by the Erasmus + program of the European Union (ref. 2020-1-SE01-KA201-082328 ). EIPSI aims to design, prototype, and test innovative solutions for teachers and other education professionals, such as educational counselors, inspectors, public administrators and / or delegates, to improve equity and inclusion of students through the use of practices based in evidence.

More information about PBE Tools here.

More information about EIPSI here.

Full document here.