The relationship between research and practice in K-12 is complicated and fraught. Research publications are unlikely to become more "user-friendly," and teachers are unlikely to change their practice quickly or more willingly -- nor should they. Recognize that reality, Isobel Stevenson and Richard Lemons explain that schools need to…

Given the pace of their work, school administrators often find it difficult to sift through the massive volume of primary academic research produced each year to find specific pieces that might be useful to inform their practice. In response to this issue, the author developed and implemented a strategy to filter research for local relevance and…

Education researchers have sought to address the divide between research and persistent problems of practice faced by educators through technology, pedagogy, and methodology innovations (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012; Mishra & Koehler, 2007; Richey, 1998). Barriers to the successful development and implementation of technological innovations…

While beneficial, the consistent and regular use of evidence to improve teaching and learning is proving difficult to achieve in practice. This paper attempts to shed new light on this issue by examining the question: "If using evidence to inform teaching practice is rational behaviour, why aren't all teachers engaged in it?" It first…

The objective of this commentary is to call attention to the feasibility and importance of large-scale, systematic, quantitative analysis in international and comparative education research. We contend that although many existing databases are under- or unutilized in quantitative international-comparative research, these resources present the…

In the current educational landscape, pressures are ever increasing on educational policy and practice to use research to guide improvement. In recent years, federal programs such as No Child Left Behind, Reading First, and Race to the Top have all provided strong incentives for the use of research in decision-making. Research-practice…

In contemporary school settings, leaders seeking to support professional development are faced with many challenges. These challenges call for educators who can undertake professional learning that is continuous and adaptive to change. As a term, continuous professional development (CPD) reflects many different forms of professional development in…

The purpose of this study is to examine how Illinois school districts are utilizing the Illinois 5Essentials Survey results, particularly for school improvement, to determine challenges to successful implementation, and to make recommendations for improvements to the 5E Survey and implementation process for statewide use. We also summarize…

In recent years, interest has spiked in data-driven decision making in education--that is, using various types of student data to inform decisions in schools and classrooms. In October 2008, the Council of the Great City Schools and American Institutes for Research (AIR) launched a project funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that focused…

With a view to bridging the gap between elementary (primary) and secondary school second language teachers and researchers, the study reported in this paper identified differences in language register, educators' lack of access to research articles and lack of shared space for researchers and educators to communicate as causes of the gap. There is…

A variety of interventions have been attempted in education and other fields to increase the use of research use in policy and practice. However, there is still limited research on the impact of these interventions. This paper uses survey and qualitative data to analyze three interventions designed to increase research use among secondary school…

This study describes certified rehabilitation counselors' attitudes (n=163) about evidence based practice, knowledge and skills related to obtaining and evaluating evidence, use of literature in practice, availability of information, and perceived barriers to evidence-based practice. Responses related to knowledge and skills were mixed with strong…

The aim of this paper is to explore the demand side of the market for educational research. That is, what types of educational research do teachers find useful for advancing their instructional practice and under what conditions do they access the research currently available? Although teachers have mixed opinions--both positive and negative--of…

This report discusses the most relevant issues concerning using student test results in OECD countries. Initially the report provides an overview of how student test results are reported in OECD countries and how stakeholders in these countries use and perceive of the results. The report then reviews the literature relating to using student test…

For many years, university based educational research has been blamed for being dominated by positivistic research tradition at the near exclusion of field based ethnographic work. Several findings have also portrayed this domination among the major explanations for practitioners' lack of interest in educational research literature. With the…