Fordi det virker! - Hvordan ideen om evidensbaseret praksis er drivkraft for forandring af lærerprofessionen i folkeskolen

Abstract

The idea of what works in evidence based practice is one of the driving forces behind the Danish school reform 2014. However, so far there is little empirical knowledge as to how the logic of “what works” is exercised in the Danish school system. To address this concern, the article investigates empirically, how “what works” is practiced as a steering logic in a public school management in a Danish municipality. In a case study, I show how school teachers are organized in a new team structure, with the purpose of supporting the use of an evidence based teaching concept, inspired by Hattie´s Visible Learning. The use of evidence based knowledge entails that that teachers no longer have the same degree of autonomy in the school organization. In a new team structure, teachers are to prepare teaching material collectively, observe and supervise colleagues. The school management legitimizes the organizational change of the schools in the municipality with the basic narrative of evidence based practice: that knowledge about what works, should inform teaching practices. By exploring the specificities of how evidence based practice operates as a steering logic, the case study contributes to a better understanding of how evidence based practice changes the teacher profession in Danish public schools.