Purpose: In Denmark, there has been, over decades, an intensified political focus on how humanities research and doctoral education contribute to society. In this vein, the notion of impact has become a central part of the academic language, often associated with terms like use, effects and outputs, stemming from neoliberal ideologies. The purpose…

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…

Policy scoping reviews are an effective method for generating evidence-informed policies. However, when applying guiding methodological frameworks to complex policy evidence, numerous, unexpected challenges can emerge. This paper details five challenges experienced and addressed by a policy trainee-led, multi-disciplinary research team, while…

Despite a political climate demanding evidence-informed decision making in education both within individual countries and at the international level, empirically grounded European research in this field is scarce. This paper reports on a European Commission-funded study that sought to identify and analyze different initiatives across Europe aimed…

Reported benefits of research-informed teaching include enhanced student engagement and graduates that are better prepared for employment in an uncertain world. However, there are a number of academic risks that can have both positive and negative impacts on staff and students when implementing research-informed teaching. Mitigating such risks…

That research is a veritable tool for rapid social and economic development is undoubtedly well known globally. That educational researching is fraught with multi-dimensional challenges cannot be over-stressed. That multi-disciplinary approach and public-private, public-public, private-private partnership in educational researching for better and…

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…

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…

Throughout this era of greater educational accountability, assessment researchers have argued that large-scale comparative assessment data can enhance learning within and across systems of education and can foster reforms based on the practices of high achieving jurisdictions. Other researchers are less optimistic, warning that educational reform…

Researchers, teachers, and administrators involved in educationally innovative projects in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland were questioned concerning problems in curriculum innovation. The author states that curricular changes are dependent on sociodynamic processes and concludes that social and subject-specific consultation and interaction…

Focusing on the effects that research on the Taiwan family planning program has had on social change, both in the intergration of research findings into national action programs and in the dissemination of these ideas to other Asian countries, this report discusses five individual case studies and presents a summary and analysis of the research…

This publication summarizes two surveys of teachers and researchers in Scotland on different aspects of staff development. In the first survey, teachers were asked what types of support they valued at times of change in the curriculum. A total of 165 questionnaires were returned by principal teachers from 45 of the 51 schools targeted by the first…

In most developed countries a majority of the citizens benefit from extensive educational opportunities, yet there is a growing number of people in these same countries who are educationally disadvantaged because of their sociocultural backgrounds. There are four stages of educational disadvantage including: (1) limited experiences in early…

Prefaces this journal issue on policy-making in early childhood services. Reviews ideas about policy-making processes and policy agendas and what processes shape them, with particular reference to the relationship between research and policies on early childhood services, setting a context for the subsequent articles in the journal. (Author/AA)

Using as an example the development of the comprehensive school concept in the Netherlands, this paper explores the strategy for educational innovation in a centralized national educational system, the role of educational research and evaluation in educational innovation, the impact of research on policy-making, and the strengths and weaknesses of…