evidence-based practices

What we want to say right now to Sahlberg and Goldfeld

By Nathaniel Swain, Pamela Snow, Tanya Serry, Tessa Weadman and Eamon Charles

Schools are places for all kinds of success, including academic achievement. In their recent article, “If not now,

One provocative question: what on earth does evidence-based really mean?

By Paul Gardner

This post was written before Alan Tudge took leave from his position as the Minister for Education. But he’s not the only one to bang on about ‘evidence’ without really being clear what he means. There can be little argument in wanting university Schools of Education to impart to their students, knowledge premised on systematically-acquired

The evidence says teachers need more time and more money. Why is the government ignoring it?

By Carmel Patterson

Governments must stop telling teachers to scale up practice by copying strategies developed for another school’s context. The latest change in NSW education policy again confuses teacher learning from their own evidence-based practice with guidance from practice developed elsewhere. Scaling up won’t work for improved learning outcomes. Here’s why.  The context of our schools is

It’s not just identifying quality evidence, it’s quality use of it that makes the difference

By Connie Cirkony, Lucas Walsh, Mark Rickinson, Joanne Gleeson and Mandy Salisbury

Medical experts around the world are channeling rapidly evolving, and sometimes contradictory, research evidence to inform politicians and the public on the best way forward during this pandemic. A high level of expertise is required to navigate this torrent of information, determine the most appropriate evidence, communicate it, and help work out ways to apply

The problem with using scientific evidence in education (why teachers should stop trying to be more like doctors)

By Lucinda McKnight and Andy Morgan

For teachers to be like doctors, and base practice on more “scientific” research, might seem like a good idea. But medical doctors are already questioning the narrow reliance in medicine on randomised controlled trials that Australia seems intent on implementing in education. In randomised controlled trials of new drugs, researchers get two groups of comparable

What’s good ‘evidence-based’ practice for classrooms? We asked the teachers, here’s what they said

By Nicole Mockler and Meghan Stacey

Calls for Australian schools and teachers to engage in ‘evidence-based practice’ have become increasingly loud over the past decade. Like ‘quality’, it’s hard to argue against evidence or the use of evidence in education, but also like ‘quality’, the devil’s in the detail: much depends on what we mean by ‘evidence’, what counts as ‘evidence’,

Here’s what is going wrong with ‘evidence-based’ policies and practices in schools in Australia

By James Ladwig

An academic‘s job is, quite often, to name what others might not see. Scholars of school reform in