ESRC/EEF Research Use collaboration
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Social Science
Abstract
The ESRC/EEF 'Research Use in Schools' collaboration was a partnership between the ERSC and the Education Endowment Foundation, between 2016 and 2019, to improve our understanding of how research informs education policy and practice.
It involved three main strands of activity:
1. Developing national initiatives to mobilise research evidence
The ESRC/EEF collaboration initiated a number of major projects to mobilise evidence across England. This includes a national network of Research Schools, which mirror the role of Teaching Hospitals in being centres of world-class research, practice and training, as well as a multi-stranded 'campaign' model, where guidance on practical school improvement issues is backed up by regional training. Collectively, these initiatives are supporting 1000s of schools in developing evidence-informed practice. Independent evaluations suggest they are having an impact on teacher behaviours and pupil outcomes at scale.
2. Conducting research on 'research use'
In this collaboration a range of research on research use was conducted, which has been recognised internationally as important in terms of novelty, scale and significance. This includes: a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluation of different approaches to disseminating and communicating research evidence; a national baseline study of schools' use of research; developing a standardised, quantifiable measure of research engagement in schools; and evaluating four different models to scaling-up EEF evidence. Outside of education, we systematically reviewed the functions and work of the UK's What Works Centres.
3. Creating research-based resources for schools and policy makers
The collaboration led to the development of clear and actionable guidance for schools by the EEF - now a key resource for evidence-based school improvement nationally. The PI in this project, Professor Jonathan Sharples, was lead author on the 'Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants' guidance report, known to 90% of Headteachers nationally, and 'Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation', a guide for schools and system leaders on how to make, and act on, evidence-informed decisions.
It involved three main strands of activity:
1. Developing national initiatives to mobilise research evidence
The ESRC/EEF collaboration initiated a number of major projects to mobilise evidence across England. This includes a national network of Research Schools, which mirror the role of Teaching Hospitals in being centres of world-class research, practice and training, as well as a multi-stranded 'campaign' model, where guidance on practical school improvement issues is backed up by regional training. Collectively, these initiatives are supporting 1000s of schools in developing evidence-informed practice. Independent evaluations suggest they are having an impact on teacher behaviours and pupil outcomes at scale.
2. Conducting research on 'research use'
In this collaboration a range of research on research use was conducted, which has been recognised internationally as important in terms of novelty, scale and significance. This includes: a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluation of different approaches to disseminating and communicating research evidence; a national baseline study of schools' use of research; developing a standardised, quantifiable measure of research engagement in schools; and evaluating four different models to scaling-up EEF evidence. Outside of education, we systematically reviewed the functions and work of the UK's What Works Centres.
3. Creating research-based resources for schools and policy makers
The collaboration led to the development of clear and actionable guidance for schools by the EEF - now a key resource for evidence-based school improvement nationally. The PI in this project, Professor Jonathan Sharples, was lead author on the 'Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants' guidance report, known to 90% of Headteachers nationally, and 'Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation', a guide for schools and system leaders on how to make, and act on, evidence-informed decisions.
Planned Impact
Not Applicable
Publications
Tripney, J
(2018)
Promoting Teacher Engagement with Research Evidence
Sharples, J
(2018)
Developing effective learners - Editorial
in Impact
Sharples, J
(2017)
Teacher research engagement: what do we know and what can we learn?
in Professional Development Today
Sharples JM
(2017)
Critical thinking in healthcare and education.
in BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
Sharples J M
(2018)
Putting evidence to work - A school's guide to implementation.
Sharples
(2017)
Critical thinking - A core skill in education and healthcare.
in Impact
Higgins, S.E.
(2016)
Improving literacy at Key Stage 1
Gough, G
(2018)
UK What Works Centres: Aims, methods and contexts
Aronson JK
(2019)
Key concepts for making informed choices.
in Nature
| Description | The ESRC/EEF 'Research Use in Schools' collaboration led to three main achievements: 1. Developing national initiatives to mobilise research evidence The ESRC/EEF collaboration has initiated a number of major projects to mobilise evidence across England. This includes a national network of Research Schools, which mirror the role of Teaching Hospitals in being centres of world-class research, practice and training, as well as a multi-stranded 'campaign' model, where guidance on practical school improvement issues is backed up by regional training. Collectively, these initiatives are supporting 1000s of schools in developing evidence-informed practice. Independent evaluations suggest they are having an impact on teacher behaviours and pupil outcomes at scale. 2. Conducting research on 'research use' In this collaboration we conducted a portfolio of research on research use that is recognised internationally as important in terms of novelty, scale and significance (some of this research was done internally, some was commissioned externally). This includes: a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluation of different approaches to disseminating and communicating research evidence; a national baseline study of schools' use of research; developing a standardised, quantifiable measure of research engagement in schools; and evaluating four different models to scaling-up EEF evidence. Outside of education, we systematically reviewed the functions and work of the UK's What Works Centres. 3. Creating research-based resources for schools and policy makers The collaboration led to the development of clear and actionable guidance for schools by the EEF - now a key resource for evidence-based school improvement nationally. The PI in this project, Professor Jonathan Sharples, was lead author on the Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants guidance report, known to 70% of Headteachers nationally, and Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation, a guide for schools and system leaders on how to make, and act on, evidence-informed decisions. |
| Exploitation Route | There are three key lessons: 1. Traditional communication and dissemination of research should be seen as just one strand of a multi-faceted approach to mobilising knowledge. Although traditional communication of research can provide a cost-efficient way of engaging a large number of schools, and create widespread awareness of a piece of work, it should be seen as a foundation for further activities, rather than a means to research use in itself. 2. Projects and interventions that encourage an engagement with research need to provide better support for translation and adoption back in the school. For example, a growing body of evidence demonstrates the benefits of in-school coaching and mentoring in supporting changes in classroom behaviours - we should explore how these and other activities can be woven into projects that support research use in schools. 3. We should continue to help build the general capacity and skills in the sector to use research as part of school improvement. This includes developing resources and processes to support evidence-informed school improvement, as well as creating wider readiness and incentives to use research by working with regional and national policy makers. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/untangling-the-literacy-octopus/ |
| Description | The findings, strategies and resources that have emerged from these awards have led to extensive non-academic impacts. Details of these impacts are provided in the researchfish submission, however, they can be summarised in terms of: 1. Impacts on policy making - the projects in this award have led to demonstrable changes in national and regional policy making. For example: the UK government are using the 'School's Guide to Implementation' to support the implementation of a number of major national policy initiatives in education (e.g. SSIF, Opportunity Areas); regionally, 11 local authority regions, covering over 1000 schools, have run events and training as part of the "Making best use of Teaching Assistants" campaign. The work has created cultures and infrastructure that is leading to sustainable impacts. 2. Impacts on evidence-informed education systems - In addition to the direct, instrumental impacts on policy and practice relating to teaching assistant deployment, the outputs from this award have significantly influenced the way that research evidence is translated and used in the UK, and the creation of integrated evidence systems. For example, the 'Making best use of Teaching Assistants' campaign was the first attempt by the EEF to create a piece of clear and actionable guidance for schools, which is then used to underpin a national multi-stranded, scale-up initiative. The success of the project has led to it acting as a model for EEF's overall scale-up strategy, which has been applied across a wide range of topics - literacy, numeracy, metacognition etc.The model of producing and mobilising evidence-based guidance is impacting on What Works Centres in other fields. For example, the What Works Centre for Children's Care have used EEF guidance as their model for creating evidence-based guidance. 3. Impacts on practice - Independent evaluations of the projects in this award show they are having a positive impact on school and teacher behaviours, and on pupil attainment at scale (e.g. on Key Stage 2 English outcomes across Yorkshire). In addition to national impacts, the outputs from the ESRC award is having an impact internationally across the three dimensions described above. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | 70% of Headteachers, nationally, are aware of the Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants guidance report, with 40% reporting either to have read the report or acted on it (2015 NFER Omnibus data). |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/campaigns/making-best-use-of-teaching-assistants/ |
| Description | Ambition Institute academic advisory group |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The Ambition Institute are using an EEF guidance report that I authored, 'Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation' as the overarching improvement framework for their leadership training programmes. |
| Description | Member of the Chartered College of Teaching advisory board |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Increased professionalism of the teaching profession, through the development of evidence-informed practice |
| URL | http://www.claimyourcollege.org/about/advisory-group/ |
| Description | OfSTED briefed all schools nationally on the 'Making best use of Teaching Assistants' in their Schools Inspection Update |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Impact | Increases in impact of teaching assistants on pupil attainment, particularly those from low SES backgrounds. |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/595745/School_inspection_u... |
| Description | Q Project advisory group |
| Geographic Reach | Australia |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.monash.edu/education/news/q-project-brings-schools-and-research-evidence-closer-to-unloc... |
| Description | Using the EEF guidance report, 'Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation' to influence national and regional policy making and practice in education |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | In 2018 the Education Endowment Foundation published a guidance report that I authored, called 'Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation'. This report is having a significant influence on the national and regional policy making and practice in education in the UK. For example: - The school inspectorate, OfSTED, have used this resource in their development of the new OfSTED framework. - Government have used the guide to support the implementation of the Strategic School Improvement Fund projects and the Opportunity Area policy, with my assistance and training. - The EEF and Research School Network are using the guide to underpin their school improvement programmes, reaching 1000s of schools. - National agencies, charities and third sector organisations - e.g. Ambition Institute, Right to Succeed - are using the guide as a framework for their leadership and teacher training programmes. Across all of this work, I have provided hands-on training and support to mobilise the evidence in the implementation guidance report. |
| URL | https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/a-schools-guide-to-implementation... |
| Description | Collaboration with Lincolnshire Learning Partnership to disseminate and implement the 'Making best use of Teaching Assistants' guidance across Lincolnshire schools |
| Organisation | Lincolnshire County Council |
| Department | Lincolnshire Learning Partnership |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Learned Society |
| PI Contribution | Scale up campaigns are specific and directive activities that address practical issues in schools by scaling up evidence-based approaches. Underpinning each campaign is clear and actionable guidance, with additional supporting resources to help schools act on the evidence. This guidance is disseminated and implemented using a range of approaches, tailored for each campaign - e.g. through communications (e.g. press/media), awareness raising, training, influencing policy. We brought guidance on 'Making best use of Teaching Assistants' to the partnership, help on understanding the guidance, training for schools, and support in creating a plan to integrate the work into the region. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A key feature of the campaign model is partnering with practice-based intermediaries (or 'advocates') in geographically-focused target areas to provide additional practical support for dissemination and implementation. The roles of practice partners include: • Encouraging schools to engage with EEF evidence and resources • Providing support and challenge around implementation through training and coaching. • Integrating EEF's work within the existing processes and priorities in the region • Signposting schools towards EEF-funded interventions that can provide further support for implementation. Lincolnshire Learning Partnership (LLP) provided support of this type across 300 schools in Lincolnshire through events, training and coaching. |
| Impact | Over 300 schools in Lincolnshire are participating in a project to improve the way Teaching Assistants are deployed and trained, in line with the research evidence compiled by the EEF. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | North East Primary Literacy campaign |
| Organisation | Northern Rock Foundation |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The EEF's scale up strategy (see Making best use of Teaching Assistants above) is also being applied to a Primary Literacy campaign in the North East, which has drawn £5m co-funding from the Northern Rock Foundation. The campaign will last five years and aims to reach all primary schools in the region, to apply the evidence on effective literacy teaching. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Northern Rock Foundation have provided £5m co-funding to the project. They will be involved in the governance of the project. |
| Impact | The collaboration has just started. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Partnership with Suffolk County Council: Encouraging schools to use evidence-based programmes |
| Organisation | Suffolk County Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | EEF have partnered with Suffolk County Council to run an Excellence Fund that supports disciplined innovation across the region, where schools are financially incentivised to implement evidence-based programmes and interventions. 130 schools have selected programmes from a menu of approaches that have been evaluated by the EEF and shown to improve pupils' learning outcomes. Schools have provided 50% of the funding for the programme, with the EEF and Suffolk providing 25% each. EEF and Suffolk CC staff support schools in selecting and implementing the appropriate programmes. EEF are evaluating the project as a novel approach to scaling up evidence-based programmes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | See above |
| Impact | 130 schools have adopted an evidence-based programme as part of the Excellence Fund partnership. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Research Schools |
| Organisation | Government of the UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The Research Schools Network is a partnership between the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) to fund a network of schools who will support the use of evidence to improve teaching practice. The Research Schools aim to become a focal-point for evidence-based practice in their region, building affiliations with large numbers of schools and supporting the use of evidence at scale. Research Schools will engage with local schools in a variety of ways and with varying degrees of intensity. The Research Schools are all recognised as leaders in bridging between education research and everyday classroom practice. They'll use their expertise to support up to 1000 schools by: 1. Communication - Encouraging schools in their network to make use of evidence-based programmes and practices through regular communication and events. 2. Training & Modelling- Providing training and professional development for senior leaders and teachers on how to improve classroom practice based on the best available evidence. 3. Innovation - Supporting schools to develop innovative ways of improving teaching and learning and providing them with the expertise to evaluate their impact. The Research School Network has attracted widespread attention across government, including from the former Minister for Education, Justine Greening MP, who expanded the network to 12 new social mobility Opportunity Areas, as part of a £3.5m collaboration with the EEF. The network now comprises 23 schools, supported by a total budget of £7.2m and a team of 12 staff. |
| Collaborator Contribution | See above |
| Impact | 23 Research Schools have been appointed and are working with 100s of schools around the country. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Schools |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Department | The Institute for Effective Education |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The Research Schools Network is a partnership between the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) to fund a network of schools who will support the use of evidence to improve teaching practice. The Research Schools aim to become a focal-point for evidence-based practice in their region, building affiliations with large numbers of schools and supporting the use of evidence at scale. Research Schools will engage with local schools in a variety of ways and with varying degrees of intensity. The Research Schools are all recognised as leaders in bridging between education research and everyday classroom practice. They'll use their expertise to support up to 1000 schools by: 1. Communication - Encouraging schools in their network to make use of evidence-based programmes and practices through regular communication and events. 2. Training & Modelling- Providing training and professional development for senior leaders and teachers on how to improve classroom practice based on the best available evidence. 3. Innovation - Supporting schools to develop innovative ways of improving teaching and learning and providing them with the expertise to evaluate their impact. The Research School Network has attracted widespread attention across government, including from the former Minister for Education, Justine Greening MP, who expanded the network to 12 new social mobility Opportunity Areas, as part of a £3.5m collaboration with the EEF. The network now comprises 23 schools, supported by a total budget of £7.2m and a team of 12 staff. |
| Collaborator Contribution | See above |
| Impact | 23 Research Schools have been appointed and are working with 100s of schools around the country. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | A New Zealand publication, called Public Sector, published an article on our review of the What Works Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A policy magazine/journal based in New Zealand, called Public Sector, published an article on our review of the What Works Network |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Delivering regular keynote addresses on evidence-based practice to national and international practitioner audiences |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I regularly present to schools on the concept of 'evidence-informed practice' and how research can be used to inform their decision-making (~50 over the last three years). This is usually framed around a process of evidence-based school improvement and includes practical advice on how to find, interpret and act on research evidence. The EEF/Sutton Trust Teaching and Learning Toolkit has become a widely referenced resource, informing decision-making in schools and at policy level (e.g. half of headteachers in England report using the Toolkit). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018 |
| Description | Presentations on 'Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I have delivered approximately 15 presentations since 2018 to a range of audiences - schools, policy makers, system leaders third sector organisations - on effective implementation in eduction, based on the guidance report i authored, 'Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation'. These presentations have led to demonstrable changes in school improvement practices around the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| URL | https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/a-schools-guide-to-implementation... |
| Description | Presentations to policy audiences on developing evidence-based policy and practice in education |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I have delivered a number of plenary and keynote presentations to policy audiences on developing evidence-based education policy and practice. This includes presentations to OECD, US government, EU Commission, Australian state and federal governments and UK Department for Education. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018 |
| Description | Press/media engagement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I have conducted a number of interviews with the national press/media on the work related to the placement ( eg Times Education Supplement), particularly the 'Making best use of Teaching Assistants' scale up campaign. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017,2018 |