Mark Rickinson

Education professionals are expected to use research evidence to inform and underpin their work, but using evidence well and developing cultures to support evidence use is not easy. Written for teachers, leaders and decision-makers across all stages of education, this book provides: background on the growth of evidence-based agendas within education and their critiques; a guide to the key skills and issues involved in accessing, evaluating and using different kinds of educational research evidence; and specific suggestions for enhancing the quality of evidence use amongst education professionals and their institutions.

Education professionals are expected to use research evidence to inform and underpin their work, but using evidence well and developing cultures to support evidence use is not easy. Written for teachers, leaders and decision-makers across all stages of education, this book provides: background on the growth of evidence-based agendas within education and their critiques; a guide to the key skills and issues involved in accessing, evaluating and using different kinds of educational research evidence; and specific suggestions for enhancing the quality of evidence use amongst education professionals and their institutions.

This book provides education professionals with an accessible and actionable guide to using research well in real-world contexts.Using research evidence to improve education is critically important but often poorly supported. There is little or no guidance for educators and leaders about how to do it well. Through practical examples, school case studies, improvement activities and practice checklists, this book unpacks what using research well involves, and shows you how to develop it as an action-based practice within your work. The book’s easy-to-read chapters guide you through the process of: identifying your purpose for using research and finding appropriate research, engaging with the research thoughtfully and implementing it effectively, and modelling and supporting quality research use within your organisation.Written for teachers and leaders across all stages of education who are wanting to use research evidence better within their work, this is an indispensable addition to the professional library.

This book provides education professionals with an accessible and actionable guide to using research well in real-world contexts.Using research evidence to improve education is critically important but often poorly supported. There is little or no guidance for educators and leaders about how to do it well. Through practical examples, school case studies, improvement activities and practice checklists, this book unpacks what using research well involves, and shows you how to develop it as an action-based practice within your work. The book’s easy-to-read chapters guide you through the process of: identifying your purpose for using research and finding appropriate research, engaging with the research thoughtfully and implementing it effectively, and modelling and supporting quality research use within your organisation.Written for teachers and leaders across all stages of education who are wanting to use research evidence better within their work, this is an indispensable addition to the professional library.

This book focuses on the question of how to understand quality use of research evidence in education, or what it means to use research evidence well. Internationally there are widespread efforts to increase the use of research evidence within educational policy and practice. Such efforts raise important questions about how we understand not just the quality of evidence, but also the quality of its use. To date, there has been wide-ranging debate about the former, but very little dialogue about the latter. Based on a five-year study with schools and school systems in Australia, this book sheds new light on: why clarity about quality of use is critical to educational improvement; how quality use of research evidence can be framed in education; what using research well involves and looks like in practice; what quality research use means for individuals, organisations and systems; and what aspects of using research well still need to be better understood. This book will be an invaluable resource for professionals within and beyond education who want to better understand what using research evidence well means and involves and how it can be supported.

This book focuses on the question of how to understand quality use of research evidence in education, or what it means to use research evidence well. Internationally there are widespread efforts to increase the use of research evidence within educational policy and practice. Such efforts raise important questions about how we understand not just the quality of evidence, but also the quality of its use. To date, there has been wide-ranging debate about the former, but very little dialogue about the latter. Based on a five-year study with schools and school systems in Australia, this book sheds new light on: why clarity about quality of use is critical to educational improvement; how quality use of research evidence can be framed in education; what using research well involves and looks like in practice; what quality research use means for individuals, organisations and systems; and what aspects of using research well still need to be better understood. This book will be an invaluable resource for professionals within and beyond education who want to better understand what using research evidence well means and involves and how it can be supported.

Environmental education and education for sustainable development have become features of many countries’ formal education systems. To date, however, there have been few attempts to explore what such learning looks and feels like from the perspective of the learners. Based on in-depth empirical studies in school and university classrooms, this book presents rich insights into the complexities and dynamics of students’ environmental learning. The authors show how careful analysis of students’ environmental learning experiences can provide powerful pointers for future practice, policy and research. Environmental Learning will be a key resource for educators, teacher educators, decision-makers and researchers involved in education and sustainable development.

There are increasing calls for social science researchers to work more closely with research users. References to engaging users in and with research are now common in research funding requirements, national research strategies and large-scale research programmes. User engagement has therefore become part of the rhetoric of educational and social science research. But what is user engagement, how can it be achieved and what challenges and opportunities does it present for researchers and research users?The authors of this new book present an authoritative overview of recent theoretical debates, practical developments and empirical evidence on the role of user engagement in contemporary educational and social science research. The book focuses on the relationship between user engagement and research design, and emphasises how user engagement needs to be understood as an interplay between the different kinds of knowledge and expertise held by researchers and users. Drawing on evidence from studies involving different kinds of research users, there is detailed discussion of the dynamics and complexities of working with practitioners, service users and policy-makers. The authors make clear that user engagement has definite implications for the way in which research is designed, managed and commissioned, and the way in which researchers and research users are trained, supported and encouraged to interact.Written for the many professionals involved in funding, doing and using research within education and other social sciences, this book provides:conceptual guidance on different approaches and interpretations of user engagementexamples and evidence of effective strategies for engaging practitioners, service users and policy-makerscapacity building ideas and implications for researchers and research usersspecific suggestions as to how the conceptualization, management, scaling up and evidence base of user engagement could be improved.At the core of this forward-thinking text is a robust analysis of an important facet of modern social science research. The authors’ evidence-based, evaluative approach provides a useful, detailed analysis of an area of social science research methodology which is increasingly valued and emphasised by research councils and mediators.

There are increasing calls for social science researchers to work more closely with research users. References to engaging users in and with research are now common in research funding requirements, national research strategies and large-scale research programmes. User engagement has therefore become part of the rhetoric of educational and social science research. But what is user engagement, how can it be achieved and what challenges and opportunities does it present for researchers and research users?The authors of this new book present an authoritative overview of recent theoretical debates, practical developments and empirical evidence on the role of user engagement in contemporary educational and social science research. The book focuses on the relationship between user engagement and research design, and emphasises how user engagement needs to be understood as an interplay between the different kinds of knowledge and expertise held by researchers and users. Drawing on evidence from studies involving different kinds of research users, there is detailed discussion of the dynamics and complexities of working with practitioners, service users and policy-makers. The authors make clear that user engagement has definite implications for the way in which research is designed, managed and commissioned, and the way in which researchers and research users are trained, supported and encouraged to interact.Written for the many professionals involved in funding, doing and using research within education and other social sciences, this book provides:conceptual guidance on different approaches and interpretations of user engagementexamples and evidence of effective strategies for engaging practitioners, service users and policy-makerscapacity building ideas and implications for researchers and research usersspecific suggestions as to how the conceptualization, management, scaling up and evidence base of user engagement could be improved.At the core of this forward-thinking text is a robust analysis of an important facet of modern social science research. The authors’ evidence-based, evaluative approach provides a useful, detailed analysis of an area of social science research methodology which is increasingly valued and emphasised by research councils and mediators.

Environmental education and education for sustainable development have become features of many countries’ formal education systems. To date, however, there have been few attempts to explore what such learning looks and feels like from the perspective of the learners. Based on in-depth empirical studies in school and university classrooms, this book presents rich insights into the complexities and dynamics of students’ environmental learning. The authors show how careful analysis of students’ environmental learning experiences can provide powerful pointers for future practice, policy and research. Environmental Learning will be a key resource for educators, teacher educators, decision-makers and researchers involved in education and sustainable development.