Leadership for Evidence Informed School Education

Ben Levin (2010): Leadership for evidence-informed education, School, Leadership & Management, 30:4, 303-315

To address the gap between Research, policy and practice Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) has identified a stream of work they have labeled Knowledge Mobilisation - which deals with the production and mobilization of research.

The article has the following sections.

• A discussion of the importance of research in leading to changes that can result in better outcomes for students.

In this section Levin reminds us that there are many things research has identified that have not been taken up by schools, districts or systems.  He suggests that while we frequently hold up health as the model for knowledge mobilisation there are still areas of health servicing where practice and research are not aligned. 

Levin also takes a clear stand against any suggestion that education is too contextual to be guided by research. He writes:

"A real profession seeks out and supports valid research. It embraces the potential of research to inform and help improve practice, and is always keen to learn more from research so as to improve results, without ever assuming that such propositional knowledge eliminates the requirement for professionals to think, to analyse situations and to make judgments about how to apply knowledge to cases. There will always be many areas of professional practice where the empirical evidence does not provide good grounds for particular approaches; these will remain areas of substantial professional discretion. But where there is strong evidence, there cannot be a professional right to use a practice known to be ineffective; indeed, the essence of a profession lies in its members' commitment to using what they commonly understand to be good practice. The argument that evidence-based practice is somehow antithetical to teachers' professionalism can and should be rejected, in favour of understanding research as one of the key elements that shapes the way any profession understands and goes about its work. However, as in other professions, research has its best effect not through managerial direction but through professional belief supported by strong patterns of professional learning grounded in empirical evidence."

• A review of the evidence on the extent to which and ways in which practitioners in education find and use research.

On this matter Levin concludes that that "educators, like other professionals, are interested in research, spend relatively little time on learning about research directly, rely primarily on intermediaries as their knowledge sources, and connect research in various ways and to varying degrees to the tasks and challenges facing them."  

• Barriers to greater research use.

While Levin acknowledges that practitioner accessibility is a major impediment to teachers applying research findings to their practice, efforts to address barriers need to be focused on much more than access.

"Knowledge of research findings does not necessarily translate into policy and practice, a subject of frustration for many researchers." Levin believes this is because of the "importance of interpersonal relationships in shaping professional practice."

Levin cites research that shows teachers consistently rate professional journals and college coursework as generally less trustworthy than their own colleagues and workshops or in-service publications and that personal recommendations from colleagues affect what research is even considered by teachers.

He also notes that teachers and principals are particularly prone to base their conclusions about good practice on experience and will privilege experience over research even though, in Levin's view, the exercise of judgment is rarely  a good substitute for evidence'

From this Levin concludes that 'behaviour is rooted in social settings, which means that the primary determinants of professional behaviour are related to what colleagues and superiors do and value."

• A discussion of the vital role that organisations play in shaping receptivity to and use of research.

The article concludes with a discussion of steps school and district leaders could take to increase the profile of research in their organisations.

"Increased attention to research is not enough in itself to lead to widespread and significant changes in practice; everything we know tells us that changing professional practice, like other human behaviour, is very difficult even with concerted effort.

"However better understanding of research is a contribution to changing practices for the better, and the fact that it does not do everything does not negate its value as part of that larger effort."

 Some of his suggestions include

• ensuring that research is a consideration in the regular work of the school or district. "For example, are interesting and important research findings discussed at staff meetings? Are research materials or sources circulated to staff ? Are they posted in staff rooms or shared in school newsletters? Are staff members encouraged to share their own efforts to learn from research? When a policy is being developed or revised, is it automatic that there is some consideration of the relevant research?"
•  Establishing specified roles related to research and data use.

 Read more at:  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2010.497483

Editor's note: Even though this is a 2010 article it is being included as background ahead of the author's 2012 visit to Australia. Ben Levin, will be coming to Australia sponsored by the Australian College of Educators, the University of Sydney, the Australian Education Union and others in late March 2012, so this is a heads up.  More information will be available as soon as it is to hand.

Professor Ben Levin is Canada Research Chair in educational leadership and policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).  He came to prominence because of his pivotal role in leading highly successful education reforms in Ontario.  These reforms differ markedly from the current education reform orthodoxies and are documented in his book, How to Change 5000 Schools - a practical and positive Approach for leading Change at Every Level, Harvard Education Press 2008.