Impact Of Educational Research Research Articles

A Critical Analysis of the Impact of Research in Education: A Systematic Review

Background: Many studies have demonstrated the impact of research in many spheres of life. With the scientific knowledge on the rise, we postulated that impact of research is evident in different scientific fields, which includes education. It is not easy to provide a scholarly definition of the term impact of research as it lacks a standard definition and has various applications. Its uses ranges measuring specific measures to measuring different phenomena. However, impact of research is a demonstrable contribution outside academia. It is a benefit that society gets because of research activities and one way of archiving this benefit can be through the addition of value and improvement of the quality of life as a consequence of research. From the education perspective, the meaning of the impact of research may include the development of skills, knowledge, values, and cultural norms of a people. It is equally alluded to the ability to transform the art of teaching, which might lead to useful lessons that explain the curriculum to the benefit of the students. The impact of research can also mean the ability to influence the modification of educational policies to align them with the global educational trends. This critical systematic review addresses the gap in knowledge about the impact of research in basic education. It further provides a broader understanding of how the research impact affects teaching approaches, education policy, and how it influences education management. Method: the authors carried out a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles about the impact of research. Results: it has been demonstrated from the reviewed literature that research has an impact on the teaching approaches, education policy, and education management. Keywords: research, impact, output, evidenced-based, teaching-approaches Paper type: A systematic literature review

If Mobilizing Educational Research Is the Answer, Who Can Afford to Ask the Question? An Analysis of Faculty Perspectives on Knowledge Mobilization for Scholarship in Education

This article explores faculty perspectives at three colleges of education regarding strategies of knowledge mobilization for scholarship in education (KMSE), with consideration for the opportunities and challenges that accompany individual and organizational capacities for change. Faculty surveys ( n = 66) and follow-up interviews ( n = 22) suggest two important trends: First, KMSE presents both a complementary agenda and a competing demand; second, barriers and uncertainties characterize the relevance of knowledge mobilization for faculty careers in colleges of education. This study empirically illuminates the persistence of long-standing challenges regarding the relevance, accessibility, and usability of research in colleges of education housed in research-intensive universities. While KMSE holds promise for expanding the reach and impact of educational research, scholarly tensions underlying these trends suggest that individual and organizational efforts will suffice only with modifications to university procedures for identifying what counts as recognizable, assessable, and rewardable scholarly products and activities for faculty careers.

Valuing epistemic diversity in educational research: an agenda for improving research impact and initial teacher education

Research in education draws upon a wide range of epistemological traditions due in part to the wide range of problems that are investigated. While this diversity might be considered a strength of the field, it also makes researchers who work within it vulnerable to being divided into those worth listening to and those who should be ignored by ‘end-users’. These people and groups who are interested in the outcomes of educational research, such as policy makers and system providers, increasingly expect research findings to be accessible, and to inform questions of the ‘what works’ variety. Under this imperative, research processes that elaborate the complexity of educational problems, and the provisional, partial and contingent nature of solutions, tend to be dismissed as unnecessarily complex and inaccessible. Epistemological diversity in educational research also presents challenges for inducting teacher education students into the profession. We outline some of these challenges in a discussion of epistemological diversity in research in education. We also describe differences in how research traditions construct educational problems. We argue that crossing epistemic boundaries is a necessary condition of the educational practices of teachers and of those preparing to join their ranks. We compare and contrast knowledge-producing processes in education and identify the repertoires of capabilities and habits of mind associated with different epistemologies or ‘angles’. We suggest that the impact of educational research, including its contribution to teacher education programs, policy and public debate about issues in education, might be enhanced through a heuristic suite of four angles that are each understood to be necessary but not sufficient on their own. We provide a brief worked example of how such a heuristic might be applied to make sense of the diverse bodies of research regarding student engagement in school.

Improving the Impact of Educational Research

How can research have a larger impact on educational practice? What kinds of research can have the greatest impact on educational practice? These are perennially thought-provoking questions for mathematics education researchers (e.g., Battista et al., 2007; Boerst et al., 2010; Heck et al., 2012; Heid et al., 2006; Herbel-Eisenmann et al., 2016; Langrall, 2014; Silver, 2003) as well as educational researchers more broadly (Kane, 2016; Snow, 2016). In recent years, educational researchers have lamented the failure of educational research to have a transformative effect on educational practice despite repeated reform efforts. One might be tempted to adapt a motto of the Reformation, Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda, to describe the history of education: reformed and always reforming. Payne (2008) systematically reported the persistence of failure in urban schools despite “so much reform.” However, the failed impact of educational research on practice goes far beyond urban schools (Bryk, Gomez, Grunow, & LeMahieu, 2015). We are forced to ask, how can the field of educational research improve its impact on practice?

Participatory knowledge mobilisation: an emerging model for international translational research in education

Research alone does not inform practice, rather a process of knowledge translation is required to enable research findings to become meaningful for practitioners in their contextual settings. However, the translational process needs to be an iterative cycle so that the practice itself can be reflected upon and thereby inform the ongoing research agenda. This paper presents the initial findings of a study into an international, participatory model of knowledge mobilisation in the context of translational research in the field of education. Using a mixed methods approach, the study draws upon data collected from the Education Futures Collaboration (EFC), an educational charity, which has developed an international knowledge mobilisation strategy. Through the innovative use of technologies, this initiative improves the link between research and practice by finding new and practical ways to improve the knowledge base for practitioners. The EFC has developed two work strands within the international knowledge mobilisation strategy, which utilises two complementary digital platforms. The first is the online MESHGuides (Mapping Educational Specialist knowHow), a collaborative tool for connecting educators with visual summaries of educational research from which practice can be developed. The second is the online Education Communities of Practice network, which is used to support international partnerships for collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Findings indicate that utilising web 2.0 tools to develop translational research through MESHGuides is significantly groundbreaking in its vision and scope with respect to practitioners accessing and building the knowledge base of the teaching profession internationally and strengthening the link between researchers and practitioners, thereby increasing the impact of research in education.

English

The aim of this study is to investigate the scholarly impact of knowledge generated as part of doctoral studies in the field of education in South Africa. The transition rate of the 97 doctoral theses completed in the various fields of education in South Africa in 2008 into peer-reviewed articles and chapters in scholarly books, as well as the citation impact of these theses, were studied. It was found that the transition rates of these theses to journal articles and book chapters were low, as was their citation impact. Eighty three of the 97 theses did not transfer into any kind of publication, 70 out of the 97 made no citation impact, and 65 theses neither transferred to an article/a book chapter, nor did they receive any citation. The low scholarly impact of doctoral research in education in South Africa is related to a number of contextual and field-specific factors, identified in the survey of literature. The main recommendation made is the mapping of fields of education scholarship, making possible the identification of lacuna for research with high impact potential.

The Future Stewards of the Profession

The title of this editorial is inspired by the letter to the editor in the Winter issue of the Annals (Marlatt, 2014) and two recently published Annals articles, one in the Winter issue (Beal-Alvarez & Cannon, 2014) and the other in the current issue (Gardiner-Walsh, Kemmery, & Compton, 2014). Well, if truth be told, maybe it all started with my re-reading of an interesting piece by Schirmer (2008), followed by fresh looks at two relatively recent articles (Benedict, Johnson, & Antia, 2011; Johnson, 2013). I might as well include articles in a special section of theJanuary/February issue of Educational Researcher (Southerland, Gadsden, & Herrington, 2014) and various essays in a book I coedited (Hancock & Paul, 2005) that touched on a number of topics that were later addressed in those Educational Researcher articles.There are at least several approaches from which to choose to connect a few major points in the abovementioned publications. There are a number of topics ranging from the closing of special schools for d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) students to the termination of university/college P-12 teacher preparation programs to the need for additional university/college educators-specifically, teacher educators who are professor-researchers who publish and present their work-to the innovative future preparation of doctoral students specializing in the education of d/Dhh students to-oh, my head-evaluating the quality and impact of educational research for d/Dhh children and adolescents. I got out of breath (and incredibly stressed) re-reading the preceding Proustian-inspired sentence, so I have decided to select a simple all-encompassing connective construct, which, no doubt, has layers of interpretations and is not that simple: stewards of the profession.When thinking of stewards, typically one might think of university professors and doctoral students-especially if the focus is on doctoral programs in education (e.g., Hancock & Paul, 2005). In general, these stewards should be competent in raising and answering hard scholarly and researchable questions to advance theory and research and to facilitate the improvement of practice. Along with the knowledge-generation and knowledge-dissemination endeavors, these stewards should be cognizant of broader educational policies and practices and be familiar with the challenges of working with diverse children in P-12 educational settings. In short, stewards should be respectful, if not downright knowledgeable, of the broader educational paradigms and philosophies, not just those in their immediate areas of interest or research foci.If these stewards are successful-so to speak-they may demonstrate how the understandings in their areas or disciplines contribute to a better understanding of the larger questions associated with the acquisition of knowledge (see Hancock & Paul, 2005; Southerland et al., 2014). Of course, if the above condition is to materialize, it might be that current and future teacher-educators will need to be adept at conducting research; publishing, presenting, and disseminating their findings; and being aware of trends-perhaps impelled by evidence-based practices and needs-in their fields (see, e.g., Bennett et al., 2011; Gardiner-Walsh et al., 2014; Johnson, 2013; Schirmer, 2008).From another perspective, I like to paint with a broad brush. In my construct, stewards should include all preservice and in-service teachers, parents and other caregivers, educators, community and business members, ancillary support-service personnel (e.g., speech pathologists, educational audiologists, interpreters), academics (whether scholars, researchers, or professors), and other stakeholders involved in the education of d/Dhh children, adolescents, and adults. Did I leave anyone out? Setting aside the required legal meetings for a few of these stewards, I admit that encouraging all of the above personnel to work together productively in an ongoing progress-monitoring fashion is probably more difficult than herding cats. …

Chemistry teaching: Impact of educational research on the practices of chemistry teachers in Singapore

This paper reports the findings of a study which investigated the role that educational research plays in influencing 29 Singapore pre-university (Grades 11 and 12) and secondary (Grades 9 and 10) chemistry teachers' curricular and instructional decision making process. Twenty-five teachers were interviewed while four preferred to submit written responses to questions in the interview protocol. The findings indicated that factors which had an impact on the use of educational research by the teachers included those related to the teacher, school, research literature and time. This study can inform the chemistry educational research community of the issues that are important to teachers in their teaching of chemistry and use of educational research, and ways of working with teachers to address these issues.

The international impact of Education research done and published in South Africa

The aim of this article was to determine the international impact of Education research in South Africa, through a citation analysis of articles published in the South African Journal of Education from 2000 to 2010 The citation impact (nationally as well as internationally) was found to be low. The international impact has been particularly poor, both quantitatively (in terms of the number of citations) and qualitatively (in terms of the standing of the publications in which this research does get cited, seen in the context of the hierarchy of scholarly publications). The article shows that certain topics of research in South Africa fail to break through to the international arena at all, such as research on the current restructuring of education in South Africa. Research that was cited most often in international journals dealt with research methodology, creativity and entrepreneurship education, beliefs and perception studies, and language-in-education in South Africa. In conclusion, a number of recommendations are made for raising the international profile of Education research that is done in South Africa and for further research in pursuance of that objective. Keywords: Education research; impact; internationalisation; South African Journal of Education

Teachers' views on educational research

Exploring teachers' attitudes toward educational research has been an important subject for researchers. This study aimed to determine teachers' views on educational research. A three-part survey questionnaire, the first part of which consists of demographic questions, the second part of which consists of statements aiming to determine teachers' views on the impact of educational research, and the third part of which consists of 18 items aiming to determine teachers' views on the value of educational research, was used to elicit responses from teachers. Results showed that 68% of the participating teachers had seriously considered educational research findings since first qualifying as teachers.

Developing Indicators for a New ERA: Should we Measure the Policy Impact of Education Research?

The Australian government has announced its intention to measure the quality of research in Australian universities under the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative. The process for measuring research quality through the ERA is still being developed but the government has proposed that ‘a suite of indicators appropriate to difference disciplines' (Carr, 2008b) is likely to be used and is seeking public input through a consultation process. Using Weiss's (1979) seven models of research utilisation, and Husén's (1994) constraints on policy-makers, this article identifies the many ways in which education research influences policy. The author proposes that the uses of education research should be acknowledged in a research quality assessment process such as the ERA. If the policy influence of education research is not recognised under the new ERA, there is a risk that a narrow suite of indicators will be developed that does not capture the breadth and complexity of education research's impact on policy.

Knowledge transformation and impact: aspirations and experiences from TLRP

This paper reviews the intentions and strategies adopted by the UK's Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) in its attempts to maximise the impact of its research portfolio. The Programme's early commitment to user engagement and to an ‘interactive, iterative, constructive, distributed and transformative’ impact strategy is described. The specific outputs and initiatives of the Programme are considered in relation to three issues – the transformation of findings beyond abstract academic forms; the authentic engagement of users; and the exploitation of ideas which are culturally and politically current. From TLRP experience, it is argued that such work requires significant resources, technology, imagination, expertise and time. The paper concludes with a call for substantial, long‐term investment in an appropriate infrastructure to maximise the impact of research in education.

The impact of education research on teaching: the perceptions of Greek primary school teachers

This paper reports a small‐scale study of the perceptions of primary school teachers in Greece regarding the impact of research evidence on their profession and their own practice. A qualitative approach is adopted. It analyses teachers’ accounts of their reading habits, their experience of research and their professional practice, and attempts to find links between them. Teachers’ personal characteristics, such as their age, studies, experience and satisfaction with their profession, are also taken into account in an effort to find out whether they affect teachers’ perceptions of the impact that research evidence has on their practice. The paper suggests that teachers’ studies and experience may be important factors in determining the way they view the contribution of research evidence to practice. Although the small sample of Greek teachers who were interviewed seem to be interested in reading research reports, their own practice does not make extensive use of research findings. It is suggested that to increase the impact of research on the teaching profession it would be necessary to involve teachers in research more actively.

The personal as pedagogical practice

This paper uses data originally gathered as part of an Australian national research study into the Impact of Educational Research (2000).1 The author was a member of one of four research teams, led by Professor Marilyn McMeniman. The team's focus was to identify the main influences on the knowledge that teachers draw on as they teach—their ‘knowledge in action’. What emerged from the data was a complex picture of the teacher in action and the multiplicity of functions undertaken by teachers in the teaching/learning process. This paper examines one practice that emerged from this complex picture—teacher disclosure. Three teachers in the study incorporated personal disclosure in their practice. The context of the teachers and their disclosures is described followed by an examination of these teachers' reasons for incorporating as pedagogical practice experiences from their personal lives. The reasons that emerge are about not only explaining content to students, but also establishing particular learning environments and challenging assumptions about themselves as teachers.

‘In praise of educational research’: formative assessment

Abstract The authors trace the development of the King's Formative Assessment Programme from its origins in diagnostic testing in the 1970s, through the graded assessment movement in the 1980s, to the present day. In doing so, they discuss the practical issues involved in reviewing research and outline the strategies that were used to try to communicate the findings to as wide an audience as possible (including policy‐makers and practitioners as well as academics). They describe how they worked with teachers to develop formative practice in classrooms, and discuss the impact that this work has had on practice and policy. Finally, they speculate about some of the reasons for this impact, and make suggestions for how the impact of educational research on policy and practice might be improved.

The impact of educational research: Teacher knowledge in action

In this paper I argue against a dominant view that social planning, supported by strategically located and tightly controlled research and development, is delivered from above and enacted downwards by the education system. As such the paper argues against a view taken by many theorists/politicians and reinforced by the major components of the educational bureaucracy. The Impact of Educational Research produces a warrant for an alternative form of thinking about the deeper forces of contemporary change including the ways that individuals are culturally formed and how they relate to each other. Understood this way, classrooms and schools are sites where new meanings and understandings are created and shared. The paper concludes with a call for consideration of new ways of understanding and discussing the context of change that educational research relates to.

‘Send three- and four-pence; we’re going to a dance’: Forward generating research

As my playful title suggests, I am referring to the process where the statement, ‘send reinforcements; we’re going to advance,’ is said to have become, ‘send three- and four-pence; we’re going to a dance’.1 This quotation springs to mind when asked to think about how research gets picked up and recommendations from research are implemented in schools. This paper draws on the professional experiences of the author who has held a variety of roles in schools and the system and has also worked with a university as a system representative on a ‘collaborative’ research project. This paper focuses on the ‘Transient Students Project’2 that has recently been described in Changing Schools (DEST and DoD 2002). This example is described as having many of the features of ‘forward-reaching research’, as described in ‘Backtracking practice’ (Figgis et al 2000), in Chapter 3 of The Impact of Educational Research (DETYA 2000). At the heart of this paper is the question ‘who is research for?’

The impact of educational research: alternative methodologies and conclusions*

Recent controversy regarding the nature, organization and impact of educational research in the UK (Hargreaves, 1996; 1997; 1999; Hammersley, 1997; Tooley, 1998; Hillage et al., 2000; Ball, 2001) seems to devote little attention to research on the impact of educational research. This paper examines a recent Australian report (The Impact of Educational Research, DETYA, 2000) in terms of both its conclusions and its methodologies. It suggests that the impact of educational research on both policy and practice is often complex and indirect rather than linear and straightforward and that the methodologies employed in assessing such impact need to be similarly complex. Moreover, it would appear that this particular research supports Atkinson's (2000) contention that the ways in which educational research is typically produced and utilized is as part of a complex conversation about a diversity of purposes, effects and judgements rather than a more technically oriented implementation of ‘what works’.

Educational research partnership: differences and tensions at the interface between the professional cultures of practitioners in schools and researchers in higher education

This article is a contribution to an ongoing debate in the United Kingdom about the value and impact of educational research. Specifically it focuses upon educational research carried out by teachers in school when they work in a partnership relationship with university-based researchers from a School of Education. The occupational culture of each of these professional groups differs, and the likelihood within a partnership for difference to be magnified and for misunderstanding and tension to arise are manifold. In attempting to explain how educational research is viewed from the perspective of each other's occupational culture, the hope is that greater understanding will give rise to partnerships that prove fruitful for both teacher researchers in school and for professional researchers from Higher Education.

What History Teaches about the Impact of Educational Research on Practice

What History Teaches about the Impact of Educational Research on Practice