What about research and evidence? Teachers’ perceptions and uses of education research to inform STEM teaching

Abstract

The use of research evidence to inform practice has become an expectation of those working in many professions. There is a dearth of research on teacher use of scholarship to inform their practice. While there is an abundance of research that can be used to inform teacher practice, there are unknowns about how much teachers seek, access, read, apply and share evidence from research to inform their teaching. We address this gap in the literature by surveying inservice teachers about their perceptions and practices for using education research. In our analysis of the data collected from 452 teachers, we found teachers are interested in research and perceive value in research to inform their work. However, we also found that teachers struggle to identify sources of quality research and how to translate research to inform their teaching. Our findings have implications for school administrators seeking to promote teacher engagement in evidence-based practice and educational researchers hoping to have their research translated into K-12 teacher practice.