1. science
2. medicine
3. medical research

285
Use of research-based information by school
practitioners and determinants of use:
a review of empirical research
Christian Dagenais, Larysa Lysenko, Philip C. Abrami, Robert M. Bernard,
Jean Ramde and Michel Janosz
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The trend towards using research knowledge to improve policies and practices is on the
rise. However, despite considerable effort and notable progress in recent years, it seems that
school practitioners continue to make little use of research and it is not clear what conditions
would facilitate or obstruct this use.This review focuses exclusively on the available empirical1
research about (a) the use of research by school practitioners and (b) the determinants of
use, and identifies future directions for research.
research
© The Policy Press • 2012 • ISSN 1744 2648
Background
The preoccupation with making scientific knowledge public, useful and practically
beneficial is not new. As early as 1826, in London, scientists formed an association
named the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Smith, 1974). The
Society’s magazine, published weekly and sold for a penny, sought to educate the
general public in science, literature, history and ethics. Today, the frantic onrush of
science and technology means that practice continuously has to catch up with new
developments. The practical usability of advanced knowledge has become a crucial
issue in fields dealing with complex social issues such as health, education, social
services and justice.
However, over the past 50 years, the relationship between education and the research
knowledge it produces has been repeatedly debated, with the main critique being
the persistent failure of educational research to bring the education system up to
speed in synchrony with the demands of a rapidly changing society (consider Taylor,
1973; National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983; Tomlinson, 1994;
Hargreaves, 1996; Davies, 1999; Carnine, 2000; Slavin, 2004; OECD, 2007). These
authors argued that educational research should be accumulating well-established
knowledge with practical relevance to provide an action base so that teachers can
improve the quality of teaching and, consequently, the quality of learning. Specifically,
there should be ongoing collaboration between education policy makers, practitioners
and researchers to shape the agenda and priorities for educational research. These
proposals formed the cornerstone of the evidence movement in education that started
gaining governments’ attention as a useful strategy promising effective change. The
necessity for education policies to be grounded in sound scientific results was explicitly
Key words
research-based information • determinants of use • school practitioners • research utilisation
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Christian Dagenais et al
articulated in numerous documents (eg, the No Child Left Behind Act 2002 in the
United States [US] and the United Kingdom’s [UK] Tooley report to the Office of
Standards in Education: Tooley, 1998). The subsequent reforms prioritised funding
for research producing evidence-based strategies and encouraged educators at all levels
to build their practices on evidence from scientifically based research. At the same time,
teacher experience and judgement were given merit in the evidence-based education
equation. In this context, evidence-based education was defined as the synergistic
integration of the best available empirical1 evidence and professional wisdom in
making decisions about how to deliver instruction (Davies, 1999;Whitehurst, 2003).
A number of new approaches have evolved in response to this shift, including
knowledge mobilisation, research-to-action, knowledge translation, evidence-based
or evidence-informed policy and practice and knowledge-based practice (Graham
et al, 2006; McKibbon et al, 2010), to name a few. At the same time, initiatives to
promote the dissemination and use of research evidence in education have increased
in number. These include, but are not limited to, the Campbell Collaboration (C2,
www.campbellcollaboration.org), the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information
and Coordinating Centre (the EPPI-Centre, http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk), the American
Institutes for Research (AIR, www.air.org) and the What Works Clearinghouse
(WWC, www.whatworks.ed.gov). Open-access online multimedia resources of
evidence-based educational practices such as Doing What Works (http://dww.ed.gov/)
have also been created for the purpose of translating research-based findings into
practical tools for classroom instruction.
Despite considerable effort and the notable progress made in recent years, several
commentators have claimed that school practitioners continue to make little use of
educational research in their classroom practice (eg, Hannan et al, 1998; Nutley et
al, 2003a; Rohrbach et al, 2005; Dagenais et al, 2008). Numerous authors emphasise
the fact that, despite an increasing mobilisation of researchers and research-funding
agencies, the literature on research use continues to yield little evidence on the
processes involved, and even less on the effects of efforts to promote their use (Davies
et al, 2005; Estabrooks, 2007; Mitton et al, 2007; Nutley et al, 2007).
Research-based information may be produced by professional researchers, such as
research teams from universities and government departments, external evaluation
teams, and researchers within institutions, or by practitioners conducting research in
collaboration with researchers.We make a distinction between general research-based
information, which is the scientific evidence found in the literature (in scientific
publications, systematic reviews, etc) and local research-based information, which is
produced locally and intended for local use. The latter is the case, for example, of
the evaluation of a single school programme or of participatory action research. In
these types of research, the goal is to provide feedback and the utilisation of results
focuses on a particular programme. When the results of these research activities are
disseminated or used in other contexts, they then become general research-based
information.This distinction is important, because certain predictors of use identified
by the studies on the subject seem to apply only to one or the other type of research.
For example, a condition that appears to be a powerful predictor of use is direct
contact between researchers and potential users. However, although this condition
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Use of research-based information by school practitioners ...
287
may be necessary in the context of participatory action research (local research), it is
unclear how it may affect the use of a meta-analysis (general research) available on
the Campbell Collaboration website, for example.
Research use has multiple dimensions: factors that mediate the process of utilisation
are plenty and may be grouped in a few ways. In this study, we grouped factors with
a focus on the user of research-based information. For this purpose, we used the key
elements of Rogers’ (1995) model of innovation diffusion, including individuals within
the system, research characteristics and communication channels. Specifically, these
influences may emerge at the practitioner’s level and pertain to perceived research
quality as well as the individual ability to use the research. At the school level, these
factors are deeply rooted in school culture and may affect practitioners’ ability to sustain
openness to learn and stimulate or subdue their initiative to use research generated
in academia or get involved in a local school-based research project. Therefore, the
factors are organised between those emerging at the individual practitioner’s level in
a school or a broader system and those enabling communication between the levels.
From the standpoint of utility or usability, research use gradually evolved into
a multifaceted, multidimensional construct comprising not only direct, but also
alternative forms of use, as well as non-use, misuse and abuse. Therefore, it cannot
be reduced to instrumental use, a direct process where research findings are being
transmitted and applied intact (Weiss, 1980). The view of conceptual use of research
emerged to underscore the enlightening function of knowledge: it is the ‘gradual
sedimentation of insights, theories, concepts and ways of looking at the world’ (Weiss,
1980: 535). Symbolic or strategic use of knowledge has been suggested to account
for the utilisation of research to confirm actual practices. According to Huberman
and Gather-Thurler (1991), such use may also turn into knowledge manipulation to
derive specific profit or to achieve power goals.
Traditionally, much of the writing about the use of research-based information in
education has been theoretical or conceptual. For instance, Sieber (1974) and then
Love (1985) characterised the existing database of research reporting some form of
outcome data on research utilisation as extremely thin. Some 30 years later, a systematic
review of literature by Hemsley-Brown and Sharp (2003) on the use of research to
improve school practices identified six peer-reviewed papers focusing on various
aspects of educators’ use of research. In their cross-sector review of the literature on
research impact, Nutley et al (2003b) located 16 empirical papers pertinent to the
education sector. In his grey2 paper reviewing education practitioners’ use of research,
posted online in 2005, Rickinson reported the increase in empirical studies. The
existing reviews target a broad category of education practitioners, including teaching
and professional staff at secondary and postsecondary educational institutions.
The aim of this study is to review the existing empirical research regarding (a) the
use of research-based information by school practitioners and (b) the determinants of
such use. For the purposes of this paper, the term ‘school practitioner’ means teaching
and administrative staff in elementary and secondary schools.
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Christian Dagenais et al
288
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Method
The search parameters of this review were set to focus on work published since 1990,
reflecting the suggestion by Nutley et al (2003b) that returns on searches of empirical
evidence prior to this date would be limited.The searches were confined to Englishand French-language publications.We maintained an international perspective when
searching. With regard to the literature included, the main focus was on published
journal papers, book chapters, research reports and unpublished conference papers.
We conducted searches of the major education-relevant databases, namely ERIC,
PsycINFO, Web of Science, CBCA Education and Education Full Text. The search
was limited to literature published between 1990 and 2010. Numerous combinations
were used of such terms as ‘research use’, ‘research utilization’, ‘knowledge transfer’,
‘knowledge translation’ and ‘knowledge mobilization’. Since we were interested in
factors affecting use of research-based information, truncations such as factor* or
determinant* were added to the free-text search strings. Searches were performed
using database thesauri and controlled vocabulary in the search statements. In addition,
we searched through the reference lists from the existing reviews. A summary of the
search strategy is presented in the appendix.
These combined searches produced 1,326 citations. The initial selection criteria
were (a) location within the education sector and (b) reference to research utilisation
in practice in elementary/primary, secondary/high schools. One hundred and sixtynine citations met these criteria and were chosen for further review. The second set
of criteria required that publications had to be empirical studies:
•
•
•
•
reporting data about the use of research-based information in school practice;
reporting factors affecting (either inhibiting or enabling) the use of research-based
information in school practice;
targeting one or more groups of school practitioners, including teachers and/or
head teachers and school (vice) principals;
that were not studies of special education, social work or extracurricular
programmes.
The final list of studies meeting the criteria comprised 27 papers reporting on 24
empirical studies conducted in various countries, including Australia, Canada, the
UK and the US. Table 1 summarises the study characteristics: purpose of the study,
sample size, school practitioner type, country where the study was conducted, research
design and data collection method. Half of the reports were journal publications
(n = 14), almost a quarter were reports (n = 7), and conference papers and book
chapters were one ninth each.The majority of the studies used questionnaire surveys
as instrumentation, while the remainder were case studies. Ten studies had teachers
as their target population; only three focused on school principals. The remaining
14 studies (55%) examined mixed populations of teachers and principals. Almost
two thirds (15/24) of the studies were performed in the UK and the US. Canada
and other countries, such as Australia, Israel and Sweden, were the locations of the
remaining one third (9/24).
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551
233
Bingham et al Information
(2004)
spread from
researchers to
practitioners
and its use by
practitioners
Cousins and
Leithwood
(1993)
Use of the
sources of
information
to improve
curriculum
548
To explore
whether
educators are
informed of,
understand and
use research
findings
Bérubé
(2006)
49
To explore
the school
practitioners’
demand of
educational
research
Behrstock et
al (2009)
N
Purpose
Study
Survey
research
Survey
research
Survey
research
Design
Elementary
Survey
school principals research
(Canada)
Career and
technical
secondary
school teachers
(the US)
Teachers and
principals,
primary and
secondary
schools
(Canada)
Elementary,
middle- and
high-school
teachers (the
US)
Sample
Focus group
protocol
Instruments
Use of disseminated information
Characteristics of information: sophistication, relevance, timeliness, content,
improvement setting, information needs, user receptiveness
Seeking information from:
school district sources: other teachers, administrators, curriculum
committees etc
external sources: state department of education, academia, professional
development events etc
Frequency of accessing the following sources of info: web, written
documents, conferences and personal contacts
Information usefulness
Information sharing
Impact of the information on teaching activities
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
based on the
interviews and
case studies.
Validated via
focus group
and pilot
tested
Access to research: availability of research, activities to encourage research Questionnaire
dissemination (financial support, professional development activities)
– pilot tested
Consulting research products and participation in research
Research utilisation: (a) whether they implemented new practices in the last
3 years, (b) whether they use research and what for and (c) barriers and
facilitators of the use
Factors in the school environment (attitudes towards environment,
availability of link/diffusion agents)
Seeking academic research
Reliable sources of research
Criteria to judge research
Type of research useful for practice
Barriers to research use
Preparation to use research
Variables
Table 1: Features of empirical studies on research utilisation, attitudes towards research and conjugated factors
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Forces that serve 60
to enhance or
impede schools’
propensity
to embrace
evaluative inquiry
as a support for
decision making
Cousins et al
(2006)
EvP_8_3_Aug_2012_text_3.2.indd 290
2,425
73
Dagenais et al To identify
(2008)
the predictors
of use of
research-based
information
Department Use of research
of Education, by school
Training
principals
and Youth
Affairs (2000);
Holbrook et
al (2000)
310
Educator
attitudes
towards
engagement
in systematic
inquiry
Cousins
and Walker
(2000)
N
Purpose
Study
Survey
research
Design
Survey
research
School principals Survey
(Australia)
research
Teachers, school
principals and
practitioners
(Canada)
Middle- and
Survey
secondary
research
school principals
and teachers
(Canada)
Teachers
and school
administrators
(Canada)
Sample
Sources of research that are important to principals
Research base for the innovation in their school
Impact of research on their decision making
Areas where research is needed
Collaboration between schools and academia
Frequency of use of sources of research-based information
Type of use
Opinions about research
Individual expertise
Awareness activities
Organisational factors
Elements of school evaluative inquiry
Impact of evaluative inquiry on practice
Factors affecting the reliance on evaluative inquiry at schools
Perceived utility of systemic inquiry (general research findings)
Relevance of inquiry to practice;
Personal ability to use and conduct evaluation and applied research
Need for involvement in systemic inquiry (teachers collaborate with
researchers, home research)
Need to integrate inquiry into training
Factors:
Personal: teaching efficacy, prior participation in research, prior research
coursework, experience and gender
Organisational: organisational learning capacity (collaborative work and social
processing), collegial culture, opportunity to question, etc
Variables
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Structured
telephone
interview
Survey
Interview and
focus group
protocols
Questionnaire
– partially
borrowed from
Green and
Kvidahl (1990)
Instruments
290
Christian Dagenais et al
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Contribution
441
of training to
explain teachers’
self-reported use
of research and
opinions about
research
Use of research
by teachers and
doctors
Factors
influencing
research
utilisation
Green and
Kvidahl
(1990)
Hannan et al
(1998)
EvP_8_3_Aug_2012_text_3.2.indd 291
Hultman
and Hörberg
(1998)
127
33
35
302
Teachers’ views
on research
and the value
attributed to it
Everton et al
(2000)
N
Purpose
Study
Design
Survey
research
Teachers from
primary schools
(Sweden)
Survey
research
Primary and
Survey
secondary
research
teachers
General
practitioners and
surgeons (the
UK)
Teachers (the
US)
School principals, Survey
deputy principals research
and teachers
(the UK)
Sample
Factors: time, ability, support
Obstacles to change: economy, school premises, time, pupils, teacher’s own
view, colleagues, parents
Features of research
Sources of knowledge: colleagues, own experience, professional
development activities etc
Important knowledge (areas of interest for teachers, eg, how pupils learn,
how to teach)
Satisfaction in work (eg, teaching, cooperation)
Frequency of research use
Opinions about status of research
Involvement in research
Type of use: for discussions, reviewing, trials of results, working on local
problems etc, presenting, publishing
Opinions about research
Research coursework and perceptions of training
Membership of professional organisations, subscription, conducted research
projects
Sources of research that teachers rely on and their usefulness
Topics on which research influenced their teaching (improved, confirmed or
questioned their views)
Priorities of topics to be researched
Value of research
Variables
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Interviews,
questionnaire
Questionnaires
Questionnaire:
a combination
of closed and
open-ended
questions
Questionnaire:
a combination
of closed and
open-ended
questions
Instruments
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291
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Purpose
Perceptions of
participation in
the evaluation
process and use
of evaluation
results
Comparison of
research-reading
behaviours
of educators,
engineers,
lawyers and
physicians
Teachers’
attitudes
towards doing
and using
research
Teachers’
experiences
and perceptions
of educational
research
Perceptions
of school
practitioners
about ‘researchbased practice’
Study
Lafleur
(1995)
Latham
(1993)
EvP_8_3_Aug_2012_text_3.2.indd 292
McNamara
(2002)
Miretzky
(2007)
NicholsonGoodman
and Garman
(2007)
62
15
125
80
28
N
Ethnography
Survey
research
Survey
research
Survey
research
Design
Teachers and
Narrative
school principals inquiry
(the US)
Elementary
and secondary
school teachers
(the US)
Teachers (the
UK)
Educators,
engineers,
lawyers and
physicians (the
US)
School board
evaluation
committee
members
(Canada)
Sample
Practitioners’ attitudes towards:
educational research and access to it
communication of educational research
Professional development as the means to expose teachers to research
Engagement in teacher research
Leadership factor
Attitudes towards research;
Perceived benefits of research for the school
Doing and using research (experience and involvement in research)
Impact of research on teaching
Reading professional versus popular literature
Use of literature in school professional collection
Availability and nature of literature in teacher lounges
Factors affecting utilisation of participatory evaluation:
Commitment of staff and the superintendant
Quality of the evaluation
Involvement of the user
Variables
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Interview
schedule
Interview
schedule
Questionnaire
Interview
protocol,
observation
Questionnaire:
a combination
of closed and
open-ended
questions.
Instruments
292
Christian Dagenais et al
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EvP_8_3_Aug_2012_text_3.2.indd 293
Teachers’
n/a
searching
for evidence
on which
improvements in
practice could be
based
Simons et al
(2003)
Teachers
participating
in research
consortia:
schools, local
education
authorities and
universities (the
UK)
School principals Survey study
from Australia
and the US
Research
knowledge
impact on
principals’
decision making
Saha et al
(1995), Biddle
and Saha
(2002)
120
Teachers from
elementary and
high-schools
(Israeli)
Retrospective
case study
Case survey
Survey study
Shkedi (1998) To study the
47
nature of
teacher attitudes
towards research
literature
Design
Primary and
secondary
school teachers,
curriculum
policy makers,
in-service
trainers
and authors
of training
materials (the
UK)
Understanding
62
of the extent
to which
practitioners
in science
education
recognise and
make use of
research findings
Ratcliffe et al
(2005)
Sample
Purpose
Study
N
Important factors that affect use of external evidence:
Evidence should be connected to precise teaching situation
Collective interpretation and analysis is a validity filter for practitioners
Ownership of research
Research knowledge acquisition: exposure to sources, evaluation of sources,
knowledge acquired from sources
Opinions regarding knowledge and innovation
Familiarity with research knowledge: volunteered examples, recognised
examples
Use of research knowledge: volunteered topics, recognised topics, policy
decision events
Respondents’ environments: background, job history, career goals,
characteristics of schools (balance of students, interests groups) and school
system (number of students, teachers, their qualifications)
Use of research literature: professional literature they read, facilitators for
and barriers to reading professional literature
Teachers’ perceptions of research
Users’ perceptions of research: attributes of research, knowledge sources
for research
Barriers and opportunities in using research
Potential of research to affect science education
Perceived impact of research on practitioners’ own practice
Evaluating changes in practitioners’ practice
Variables
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Interview
Questionnaire:
pre-tested
in both
populations;
Structured
interview
Interview
Semistructured
interview, focus
group protocol
Instruments
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293
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91
13
Wilson and
To identify the
Easton (2003) ways in which
local education
authorities can
facilitate the
use of research
for school
improvement
Zeuli and
Tiezzi (1993)
Teachers’ beliefs
about research
influence on
their practice
390
Impact of
information
literacy, access
and attitudes
on the use of
research
Williams and
Coles (2003,
2007)
N
Purpose
Study
Design
Teachers with
some research
experience (the
US)
Primary and
secondary
school teachers
(the UK)
Survey study
Survey study
Nursery, primary Survey study
and secondary
school teachers
(the UK)
Sample
Value of research knowledge to change practice
Educative contexts to acquire broader views of research
Research use: accessing research, engaging with findings, carrying out
research, sharing research
Benefits of research use
Attitudes toward research
Information literacy skills (confidence level)
Access to a range of sources
Individual characteristics: research experience, age, gender, position, subject
taught
Variables
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Interview
Questionnaire,
focus group
protocol
Questionnaire,
interview
Instruments
294
Christian Dagenais et al
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295
Although relying on a systematic approach to searching published research, this
study is a review of the literature that describes the existing empirical research on
research use and factors affecting use by school practitioners, and identifies future
directions of research.
Results
The results are presented in the following two subsections. The first synthesises the
available empirical evidence on the use of research-based information by school
practitioners and the second discusses evidence on determinants of use.
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Use of research-based information in school practice
The empirical studies reported three main outcomes of the use of research-based
information. Specifically, these self-reported outcomes related to the level/extent to
which practitioners use research-based information, the purpose of utilisation and
practitioners’ attitudes towards educational research.
Level/extent of use was rare but was the most sought-after consideration of the use
of research-based information. School practitioners reported making little use of
research findings, no matter whether produced in academia or locally in schools (eg,
Green and Kvidahl, 1990; Lafleur, 1995; Cousins and Walker, 2000; McNamara, 2002;
Williams and Coles, 2003, 2007). Specifically, Green and Kvidahl (1990) reported
that although 441 US teachers expressed positive opinions about the usefulness of
research, on average they consulted research literature only once a year. Latham (1993)
and Shkedi (1998) showed that education practitioners rarely read research literature,
even when it was readily accessible. Bérubé (2006) found that 60% to 90% of teachers
reported research use at the low end of the range, from ‘never’ to ‘sometimes’. On
average, 297 schoolteachers in a study by Cousins and Walker (2000) described their
participation in systematic evaluative inquiry, of which reading research papers was
a part, as rare (mean score 2.2 on the scale from 1 to 5). In a study by Dagenais et al
(2008), about one third of teachers and professionals reported that, on average, they had
used local or general research-based information once or twice during the previous
year. Another third said that they had made no use of research in their practice over
the same period. Among education consultants and school administrators, non-use
was less than 20%. Williams and Coles (2003, 2007) reported that 60% to 80% of
respondents in UK schools used research related to teaching and learning infrequently
(from ‘never’ to ‘occasionally’).
Purpose of use of research-based information was rarely reported. Consequently,
not much is known about the ends to which practitioners apply research in their
teaching practice. Those who reported involvement in research used it conceptually.
This includes using research-based information to increase their teaching effectiveness
(McNamara, 2002), reflect on their practices and experiment (Bérubé, 2006), improve
their professional practice (Dagenais et al, 2008) or learn from research materials
(Saha et al, 1995; Biddle and Saha, 2002). In a study on the use of school programme
evaluations, Cousins et al (2006) reported a significant reliance by practitioners on
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quantitative indicators for decision making and programme modifications, as well
as for systematic inquiry. The studies provided little information about any aspect or
combination of aspects intended to drive educational change.
Attitude towards research-based information was the research-use measurement most
frequently mentioned. Studies on school practitioner commitment to the use of
research-based information suggested that values that practitioners attach towards
research vary. The gamut of attitudes ranged from cynicism (Nicholson-Goodman
and Garman, 2007) to scepticism (Zeuli and Tiezzi, 1993; Shkedi, 1998), to neutrality
(Dagenais et al, 2008) and positive endorsement and motivation to use research
(Green and Kvidahl, 1990; Cousins and Leithwood, 1993; Saha et al, 1995; Biddle and
Saha, 2002;Williams and Coles, 2003, 2007). Emphasising the reciprocal relationship
between use and attitudes, Cousins and Walker (2002) noted that practitioners’
involvement in systematic inquiry affected the development of favourable attitudes
towards research. Interestingly, studies also suggested that practitioners’ attitudes
towards research affected their use of research-based information.
To summarise, the available research suggests that the use of research-based
information is hardly a significant part of the school-practice scenario. If such
use occurs, it is mainly conceptual and research-based information is a source of
inspiration to accommodate or modify the practitioner’s frame of reference. Neither
the national origin of a study, nor the type of research-based information (general or
local) produced, seem to be factors in the use of research-based information in school
practice. However, the literature reports a variety of factors that may affect the process
of research use. The following subsection synthesises the available empirical data on
the determinants of the use of research-based information by school practitioners.
Determinants of the use of research-based information in education
A detailed, careful examination of existing theoretical and empirical research in the
health, social sciences and education fields reveals that a multitude of factors can
facilitate or hinder the process of research use. However, although considerable work
has been done to analyse the forces influencing the use of research-based information
in education and to compare these influences in education and in other disciplines,
not enough is known about the factors that are empirically essential for this process
to occur.
It is crucial to consider, therefore, the factors that affect practitioners’ decisions to
become involved in change processes and that help to sustain their involvement in
order to cultivate professional performance.This subsection presents five categories of
determinants of use, as identified by the empirical studies on research use in education
(see also Table 2). These determinants may be grouped by the characteristics of: (1)
research, (2) communication processes, (3) practitioners and (4) schools. As explained
earlier in this paper, further distinction can be made between (5) factors affecting the
use of general research-based information and those regarding information produced
locally.
Research characteristics identify the quality of the knowledge product, which is
determined in part by the method used to produce it and its scientific properties of
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Table 2: Observed factors affecting use of research (general versus local)
Factor
Type of research
Empirical support
General
Williams and Coles (2003, 2007)b; Wilson
and Easton (2003)
Characteristics of research
Accessible and timely
Local
No distinctiona
Objective and true
General
Hultman and Hörberg (1998)b
Local
No distinction
Easy to understand and implement
General
Hultman and Hörberg (1998)b,
McNamara (2002)b; Williams and Coles
(2003)b; Behrstock et al (2009)
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Local
Connected to school/classroom
context
No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
General
Hultman and Hörberg (1998)b; Shkedi
(1998); Everton et al (2000)b; McNamara
(2002)b; Williams and Coles (2003)b;
Ratcliffe et al (2005); Miretzky (2007)
Local
No distinction
Relevant
General
McNamara (2002)b; Miretzky (2007);
Behrstock et al (2009)
Local
Lafleur (1995)c
No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
General
Williams and Coles (2003, 2007)b
Characteristics of communication
Facilities
Local
No distinction
Access to research and data
General
Latham (1993); Bérubé (2006)b;
Behrstock et al (2009)
Local
No distinction
Quality
General
Behrstock et al (2009)
Local
Lafleur (1995)c
No distinction
Collegial discussions
General
Wilson and Easton (2003)
Local
Collaboration with researchers
No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
General
Cousins and Walker (2000)c; Bingham
Catri et al (2004)b; Cousins et al (2006);
Miretzky, (2007); Behrstock et al (2009)
Local
No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
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Sustained collaboration via networks General
and partnerships
Department of Education, Training and
Youth Affairs (2000)b; Simons et al (2003);
Ratcliffe et al (2005); Bérubé (2006)b;
Nicholson-Goodman and Garman (2007)
Local
No distinction
Media
General
Shkedi (1998); Everton et al (2000)
b; Williams and Coles (2003, 2007)
b; Bingham Catri et al (2004)b; Bérubé
(2006)b; Dagenais et al (2008)c
Local
No distinction
Characteristics of practitioners
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Skills and competencies
Prior participation in research
General
Hultman and Hörberg (1998)b; Everton
et al (2000)b; Williams and Coles (2003,
2007)b; Wilson and Easton (2003)
Local
Cousins and Walker (2000)c
No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
General
Green and Kvidahl(1990)c; Williams and
Coles (2003, 2007)b
Local
Cousins and Walker (2000)c
No distinction
Attitudes towards research
General
Green and Kvidahl (1990)c; NicholsonGoodman and Garman (2007);
Behrstock et al (2009)
Local
Willingness to innovate
No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
General
Saha et al (1995)c ; Biddle and Saha
(2002)
Local
No distinction
Self-efficacy and commitment
General
Saha et al (1995)c; Biddle and Saha (2002)
Local
Cousins and Walker (2000)c
No distinction
Experience
Prior coursework in research
methods
General
Local
Cousins and Walker (2000)c
No distinction
Zeuli and Tiezzi (1993)
General
Green and Kvidahl (1990)c
Local
Cousins and Walker (2000)c
No distinction
Content area taught
General
Green and Kvidahl (1990)c
Local
No distinction
Training on how to make use of
research
General
Saha et al (1995)c; Biddle and Saha (2002)
c ; Bérubé (2006)c
Local
No distinction
Involvement in research
General
Local
Lafleur (1995)c; Simons et al (2003)
No distinction
Zeuli and Tiezzi (1993)
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Characteristics of schools
Enjoys external support
General
Local
Cousins et al (2006)
No distinction
Wants evidence for decision making
General
Local
Lafleur (1995)c
No distinction
Encourages and supports initiative
Has prior experience with initiatives
General
Ratcliffe et al (2005); Bérubé (2006)b
Local
Cousins et al (2006) No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
General
Local
Cousins and Walker (2000)c; Cousins et
al (2006)
No distinction
Staff capacity and support to use
research
General
Local
Cousins et al (2006)
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No distinction
Encourages internal collaboration
General
Simons et al, (2003)
Local
Cousins and Walker (2000)c
No distinction
Prioritises appropriate professional
development activities
Needs innovation
General
Latham (1993); Shkedi (1998); Wilson
and Easton (2003)
Local
Hannan et al (2000)b
No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
General
Saha et al (1995)c; Biddle and Saha (2002)
c
Local
No distinction
Is committed to organisational
learning
General
Ratcliffe et al (2005)
Local
Lafleur (1995)c; Cousins and Walker
(2000)c; Cousins et al (2006)
No distinction
Allocates time and resources,
including available technology
General
Hultman and Hörberg (1998)b; Williams
and Coles (2003, 2007)b
Local
No distinction
Dagenais et al (2008)c
Notes:
a Some studies referred to both types of research without distinguishing the factors influencing
each of them separately.
b
Only descriptive data are presented.
c Weight
of determinants of use has been calculated.
The study presents qualitative data only.
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validity and reliability. Most importantly, however, research characteristics represent
practitioners’ perceptions of its relevance to their practice and drive practitioners’
decisions to use research. The extent to which perceptions affect action can be
considerable. For example, Dagenais et al (2008) found that, among various factors,
practitioners’ opinions about research emerged as the strongest predictor of their use
of research-based information. Other empirical research (Lafleur, 1995; Hultman and
Hörberg, 1998; Shkedi, 1998; McNamara, 2002; Simons et al, 2003; Ratcliffe et al,
2005; Behrstock et al, 2009) has reported that the features appreciated by education
practitioners include clarity, timeliness, relevance, usability, amenability of research to
action/transfer, applicability and sophistication in terms of how well the research-based
information aligns with classroom needs and local contexts. Specifically, research is
valued more when it matches professional experience (Everton et al, 2000) and can
be translated into tangible and useful outcomes (Ratcliffe et al, 2005). In addition,
to be of value in classroom practice, research-based information should be linked to
practice and yield direct teaching applications (Hultman and Hörberg, 1998; Shkedi,
1998; McNamara, 2002) or enhance teacher–pupil interaction and improve methods
of classroom instruction (Everton et al, 2000). Despite the rates of information
digitisation and computerisation, research accessibility remains an issue: teachers
prefer information that is readily accessible (Williams and Coles, 2003, 2007;Wilson
and Easton, 2003), makes minimal demands on time, and does not require special
knowledge or search skills.
Characteristics of communication processes reveal the nature of relationships between
researchers and potential users, as well as their roles in research production. On the
one hand, on the premise that research is external and should be delivered to the
user, the knowledge dissemination model encourages researchers’ initiatives to interest
practitioners in research outcomes. Tailoring research products to meet educators’
needs, expertise and contexts may secure the practical application of these products.
In this way, contacts between researchers and practitioners have been reported as
ensuring more personalised and contextualised research results that increase both the
relevance of the research to the practitioners and, consequently, the likelihood that
they will use it (Bingham Catri et al, 2004; Miretzky, 2007; Behrstock et al, 2009).
On the other hand, sustained interactivity between researchers and practitioners
guarantees the use of the results produced by such common effort. Thus, networks
and partnerships may enhance situated transfer processes (Simons et al, 2003; Ratcliffe
et al, 2005; Bérubé, 2006; Nicholson-Goodman and Garman, 2007). Participation
in such alliances allows practitioners to develop a sense of ownership and a positive
attitude with regard to the research products. Because teachers value their own
research (Wilson and Easton, 2003), their direct involvement in the research process
increases its utility and utilisation. Cousins and Walker (2000) and, later, Cousins et al
(2006) reported that the participation of teachers in programme evaluation initiatives
increased their appreciation of both the evaluation results and the related school
improvement processes.
The choice of media used to communicate research-based information to potential
users also emerges as an important determinant of use (Shkedi, 1998; Williams and
Coles, 2003, 2007; Bingham Catri et al, 2004; Bérubé, 2006). Everton et al (2000)
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reported that teachers still preferred traditional print media such as official publications
and books. A few years later, Williams and Coles (2003, 2007) found that teachers
valued the speed and general accessibility of the Internet. Along the same lines,
Dagenais et al (2008) reported that the Internet was the most frequently consulted
source for research-based information.
Practitioners’ characteristics provide the third category of factors that appear to
determine user-related research-use variables. Williams and Coles (2003, 2007)
reported that the overall beneficial impact of research on practice would improve
if teachers knew more about how to use the products of research. An individual’s
capacity to use research findings to inform everyday practice and the skills needed
to do so thus become important prerequisites for practitioner engagement with
educational research.This skill set includes, but is not limited to, the ability to formulate
questions about problems encountered in practice and the ability to find solutions
by locating research, appraising it critically, inferring from data, applying findings
to practice and conducting one’s own research projects (Hultman and Hőrberg,
1998; Williams and Coles, 2003, 2007; Wilson and Easton, 2003; Dagenais et al,
2008). Simons et al (2003) emphasised the importance of the practitioner’s ability
to perform contextual interpretation of educational research. Empirical research has
also shown that practitioners’ inclination to use research and their engagement with
it can be influenced by a number of personal variables, including self-efficacy and
commitment (Saha et al, 1995; Cousins and Walker, 2000; Biddle and Saha, 2002),
prior involvement in research (Green and Kvidahl, 1990; Cousins and Walker, 2000;
Williams and Coles, 2003, 2007), previous research training (Saha et al, 1995; Biddle
and Saha, 2002; Bérubé, 2006), the number of years of experience (Zeuli and Tiezzi,
1993; Cousins and Walker, 2000) and individual willingness to innovate (Saha et al,
1995; Biddle and Saha, 2002).
A few of the studies reviewed suggested that functions performed by practitioners in
the school hierarchy may affect use of research-based information by various groups of
school practitioners. In Everton et al’s (2000) study, school principals, deputy principals
and teachers reported that their engagement in research use caused them to question
their current opinions and led to improvements in their practice. Deputy principals
were most likely to benefit from extended professional development opportunities
to pursue their career advancement. Not surprisingly, they also scored highest on the
scale of interest in research, whereas teachers scored lowest. However, teachers valued
the opportunity for personal involvement in research much more than did the other
practitioners. Dagenais et al (2008) identified a divide between school principals
on the one hand, and teachers and professionals on the other. Although overall use
of research-based information was low, school administrators showed a significant
lead in the use of major sources of research-based information, including scholarly
documents, professional publications, school evaluations, pre-service and in-service
training, conferences and experts.
School characteristics refer to the educational organisation, with its structure, culture,
physical and human capital, procedures and incentive systems all playing an important
role and contributing to a school’s capacity to learn. In the context of this review,
school learning capacity can be understood as a school’s willingness and readiness to
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encourage and support its practitioners in their use of research-based information
to improve practice. Factors promoting school learning refer first and foremost to
leadership and administrative styles that are geared to enhance the school’s capacity to
learn. Specifically, this includes openness to change initiatives (Lafleur, 1995; Cousins
and Walker, 2000; Ratcliffe et al, 2005; Cousins et al, 2006), support for collaboration
and collegiality (Cousins and Walker, 2000; Simons et al, 2003), providing time and
appropriate resources including technology (Hultman and Hörberg, 1998; William
and Coles, 2003, 2007; Dagenais et al, 2008) and prioritising professional development
of the teaching staff (Latham, 1993; Shkedi, 1998; Hannan et al, 2000; Wilson and
Easton, 2003; Dagenais et al, 2008). The school’s need for innovation (Saha et al,
1995; Biddle and Saha, 2002) and evidence for decision making (Lafleur, 1995) are
the critical prerequisites for the move. For a school to succeed, another two elements
are important: prior experience with initiatives (Cousins and Walker, 2000; Cousins
et al, 2006) and staff capacity and support in using research (Cousins et al, 2006).
Because educational institutions are embedded in a larger system, a school’s
commitment to the use of research-based information may in turn be affected by
a number of system-related factors, including political concerns, public opinion,
available resources and funding, and the influence of lobbyists and support groups
(Nicholson-Goodman and Garman, 2007).
Determinants of use relating to local versus general research-based information
In this subsection, we explore potential differences in the determinants influencing the
use of general versus local research-based information. Because the studies we reviewed
presented no empirical comparison of the uses of these two types of information, we
analysed the factors observed in each study to determine whether any were specific
to either type of research-based information (local or general). Thus, for instance,
perceived quality of research and communication strategies might be more relevant
for users of general research, since this research is traditionally external to everyday
educational practices. On the other hand, contact between producers and users might
be an important determinant for the use of research studies produced locally for local
users, but probably not for systematic reviews.
Our comparative analysis shows that for the most part, the factors affecting the
use of general research-based information are similar to those affecting the use of
locally produced research (see Table 2). However, certain differences exist. Studies
have revealed five determinants specific of local research use:
•
•
Local research project must be relevant to the teachers’ classroom needs (Lafleur,
1995); for instance, practitioners are more likely to use local research-based
information if in the first place the school wants evidence of efficient decision
making (Lafleur, 1995).
High-quality communication must occur between researchers and practitioners
(Lafleur, 1995).
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•
•
•
303
Direct involvement in research by practitioners is even more desirable as a
predictor of use (Lafleur, 1995; Simons et al, 2003). The process of preparing
and conducting research also increases the likelihood that local research will be
successful and thus used.
Practitioners with extensive teaching experience are more likely to use school
research data (Zeuli and Tiezzi, 1993; Cousins and Walker, 2000).
Organisational support for the local endeavour is crucial for research to be
conducted and used. School commitment to learning and the school’s capacity to
conduct local inquiries on a systematic basis (Cousins and Walker, 2000; Cousins
et al, 2006) also encourage the use of locally produced research-based information.
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Conclusion
Under pressure from an emerging learning society in which knowledge is becoming
the force that drives economies, education faces the challenge of having to adapt in
order to be more effective. Education needs to go through processes of enhanced
individual and organisational learning and change. To ensure that this learning is
continuous, it is important to build close links between research, policy and practice,
through which relevant research can be made available at appropriate times for
acquisition and use by practitioners and school organisations that have the potential
to produce and share contextual knowledge.
This review of the empirical literature pertaining to the use of research-based
information (local and general) by school practitioners may suffer limitations that
affect its results and conclusions. First, little focus was placed on some resources
available in the open Web and dissertation research having neither publication nor
peer-reviewed status was left out of the review. Second, the limited number of primary
studies focusing on the use of research-based information generated in situ and the
complete absence of studies comparing the use of general and local research-based
information did not allow for a full comparison of factors affecting use by education
practitioners. At the same time, the comparison of the available determinants of local
and general research use revealed only some significant differences in their main
features. However, the distinctions between the two did become apparent. Third,
it was difficult to evaluate the relative influence of factors on use, since only four
of the 24 empirical studies tested variables for causality and reported the unique
contribution of each factor; other studies were either descriptive or exploratory.
None of the four studies tested factors for their interaction or combined contribution
in producing an effect on research use. The operationalisation of what constitutes
research use, psychometric inconsistencies such as lack of reliability coefficients, and
small unrepresentative or misrepresentative samples are among the main limitations
of the scales developed to measure use.
There are a few points to be made in these conclusions. As empirical evidence
shows, it is necessary to clarify what constitutes research-evidence use in education.
Despite the accumulated empirical evidence, the extent of use and the dimension
of use, or a combination thereof, sufficient for educational change to occur are still
unknown. Specifically, for instance, we do not know whether reading research once
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Christian Dagenais et al
a year is a sufficient incentive to improve classroom instruction. Neither do we know
whether conceptual use of research that modifies opinions and understandings is a
good-enough indicator of change of practice.
Further, to help promote research use in education, the five categories of
determinants that we used to group the numerous factors presented in the selected
studies need to be further assessed for the extent of their influence as well as for
their reciprocal associations and individual share in the joint effect they produce on
educational practice. Finally, much more research is needed to test the many existing
theoretical models of knowledge-transfer processes to guide the transfer process in
education.
Most of these models originate in research-and-technology-guided domains where
ends and means are relatively plain and straightforward and where constant advances
make knowledge obsolete within a few years. Despite contextual differences, transfer
and use patterns developed for other sectors can be worth empirical exploration in
education. From this perspective, evidence-based practice seems to be a promising
framework. If the required research is inadequate or unavailable, practitioners or
organisations with sufficient capability could undertake research on their own or in
partnership with researchers to produce the information required to make decisions
about what will work in their practice (Davies, 1999; Hargreaves, 2000). In this
regard, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development emphasises
the importance of training, support and access to expertise (Cook and Gorard, 2007;
OECD, 2007).
It should be noted that strategies and structures used to support the process of
research-based information use by practitioners as a catalyst for educational change
are contextually embedded and thus exposed to the myriad influences emerging
from their contexts. A multi-framework analysis of likely determinants of use
combines features of research-based information, communication, users and schools.
These determining factors, arising from empirical attempts to understand research
use, need to be examined for both their direct and their mediated influence on the
research-use process. It would also be interesting to analyse the variables studied in
the empirical research for their fit with the critical elements and features of models
that conceptualise the knowledge transfer process.
Notes
1 Empirical: capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment.
2
Grey literature refers to written material that is difficult to find through conventional
channels, for example in published journals and monographs, because it is not published
commercially or is generally inaccessible.
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Appendix: Search strategy summary
The following is a brief description (with an example) of each database used in the
search to identify relevant studies. The overall search strategy utilised terms to capture
the outcome, setting and participants.
The basic search string (free-text) was as follows: (“research use” OR “research utilization”
OR “evidence-based” OR “knowledge transfer” or “knowledge mobilization”) AND
(determinant* OR factor * OR predictor*). A similar basic search string was used for
the French language search.
Year of publication: 1990 was used as a delimiter.
When available, the database thesaurus was consulted for the specific terminology used
by the database to adjust the search statement.
ERIC (Education Resources Information Centre) Thesaurus: research utilization,
evaluation utilization, use studies, elementary secondary education.
PsycInfo and Academic Search Complete Thesaurus: evidence based practice, best practice,
knowledge transfer.Alternative free-text search element: NOT (health OR medicine OR
nursing OR clinical OR “social work”).
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CBCA Education Thesaurus: none.
Web of Science Thesaurus: none. Alternative free-text search element: NOT (health OR
medicine OR nursing OR clinical OR “social work”).
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Education Full Text Thesaurus: evidence-based education.
Christian Dagenais (christian.dagenais@umontreal.ca)
Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, and
Centre for Liaison on Intervention and Prevention in the Psychosocial Area (CLIPP),
Montréal, Canada
Larysa Lysenko, Philip C. Abrami and Robert M. Bernard
all at Department of Education, and Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance,
Concordia University, Montréal, Canada
Jean Ramde Department of Psychology and
Michel Janosz School of Psychoeducation,
both at Université de Montréal, Canada
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