Teachers, middle and senior leaders interested in bringing
about greater use of evidence within their schools are exposed to a wide-range
of terminology. As such, teachers and school leaders
interested in evidence have to be able to distinguish, or at least be aware of
the possible differences between: research-based practice; research-informed; evidence-based
practice; and, evidence-informed practice. And now there a ‘new-kid on the block’ – evidence-rich/enriched practice. So in this post I am going to look at: what evidence-rich/enriched practice could
mean; research into evidence-enriched practice looks like in a health-care
setting; and, consider the implications of preceding discussion for those in
interested in the use of evidence within schools.
Evidence-enriched
practice
Stoll (2017)
describes evidence enriched practice as involving teachers and school leaders
using external research evidence; collecting and analysing data; and, engaging
in collaborative enquiry/research and development. With teachers and school leaders being very
much in the driving seat in the use of evidence.
Reflecting on this definition a number of issues need to be
considered.
First, existing definitions of evidence-based practice, such
as, Barends, Rousseau, et al. (2014), already make great play of
different sources of evidence, be it research evidence, organisational data,
stake-holder views and practitioner expertise, and if done properly, will be
evidence-rich.
Second, definitions of evidence-based medicine, such as Sackett, Rosenberg, et al. (1996) emphasise the role of
patients in making decisions. Indeed,
evidence-based medicine is about patients and clinicians making informed decisions
about patient care, which are informed by the patients values and
preferences. Stoll’s definition is
largely silent on the role of pupils and stakeholders in the decision-making
process.
Third, the use of the ‘driving seat’ metaphor is quite
interesting, in the driving seat of what: an evidence-informed pedal-powered
go-kart or an evidence-based F1 racing car.
Four, evidence-based practice is about making decisions on
the basis of the best available evidence, which for me, is not the same as
engaging in collaborative research and development. R&D may subsequently be used in future
evidence-based decisions, but it is a separate process.
Five, despite the above criticism of Stoll’s notion of
evidence-enriched practice, I welcome the emphasis on the collaborative nature
of evidence-based practice, which has particular implications for school
leadership: see Jones (2018 Forthcoming).
Evidence-enriched
practice: lessons from health and social care sector
Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I often
argue that there is much to learn from medicine and health-care about
evidence-based practice. Accordingly, it
seems sensible to see what research has been published in the medicine and
health-care sectors on evidence-enriched practice. To do this I conducted a search on Google
Scholar using the term ‘evidence-enriched practice’ I came across this paper : Developing
Evidence Enriched Practice in Health and Social Care with Older People Andrews,
Gabbay, et al. (2015). This
is a fascinating paper, which I will explore in more detail in future posts,
however for the purposes of this blog I’m just going to highlight the various
elements and sub-elements of evidence-enriched practice which were woven and
interwoven into the project.
Element 1: Valuing and using a range of
evidence
- research evidence
- practitioner knowledge and experiences
- the voice of older people and carers
- organisational knowledge (policy imperatives, embedded systems and resources).
Element 2: Securing senior management buy-in
and valuing and empowering participants
- Appreciation and respect: valuing people and focusing on their strengths and the things that matter to them
- Honesty: supporting people to ‘say it as it is’
- Permission: encouraging people to be creatively humane, not just procedurally compliant
- Mutual trust: developed through respectful conversations
- Celebration: recognising and building on success, including the importance of ‘ordinary’, often little, things
Element 3: Capturing and presenting relevant
evidence in accessible and engaging formats
- Stories, quotes, pictures, music and poetry
- Good practice from elsewhere
- Normative frameworks
- Provocative statements
Element 4: Facilitating the exploration and
purposeful use of evidence
- A simple approach to support dialogic learning using evidence as the stimulus
- Working as a community of practice
- Facilitating serendipity and weaving in evidence as the project developed
Element 5: Recognising and addressing
national and local organisational circumstances and obstacles
- National social policy and financial investment in social care services
- National regulatory requirements and local policies and procedures
- Managing relational risk
- Managing risks to physical safety
- Developing and using recording that enhances the provision of good care and support and quality assurance
- Local organisational management culture
- The problem of feeling ‘left out’
What should be immediately obvious is that in comparison to Stoll (2017) this is a far more comprehensive framework
with which to describe an evidence-enriched environment. In particular, it emphasises the role of
senior leadership in creating the environment in which an evidence-enriched
practice can flourish. It also
recognises the need to address national and local circumstances, and not to see
them as a hindrance but as something which is an integral part of the ‘evidence
environment’. Finally, the role of older people and carers is fully acknowledged.
What are the
implications for those interested in the creation of evidence-enriched practice
with schools?
First, education does not need to reinvent the ‘evidence-enriched wheel’ as there is much to learn from other
sectors. That does not mean it will not
have to be adapted but it does mean we can ‘stand on the shoulders of others.’
Second, school leaders who think they will automatically build an
evidence-enriched school culture by appointing a school research lead/champion
need to think again. School leaders need
to give real consideration as to whether the leadership and management culture
and style of the school is consistent with the conditions necessary to create
an evidence-enriched environment. If it
isn’t but want to do something about it, the starting point is your own conduct
as a school leader. If you are not interested in deeply reflecting upon your
own leadership practice, then you may be better off not trying to become
evidence-enriched.
Third, ‘evidence-enriched’ teachers are part of a community of
practice. It’s not about individual
teachers conducting teacher-led randomised controlled trials – it’s about deep
and profound conversations with colleagues, pupils, parents and other
stakeholders based upon a culture or mutual respect.
Fourth, currently much of the research into evidence-informed practice
focuses on how teachers and school leaders use research-evidence. This is a far too narrow a focus and greater emphasis
should be place on investigating how teachers and school leaders go about aggregating
multiple sources of evidence and incorporating that evidence into the
decision-making process.
Fifth, knowledge brokers – be it research schools or the individual school research champion - need to consider different ways knowledge
can be shared. Newsletters are a very
basic and safe way of sharing information – though probably not that effective
- and we need to find far more of communicating ideas in accessible and
interesting formats.
And finally
If you are interested in finding out more about what evidence-rich and
evidence-enriched may look like in practice, the RSA will later this year be
publishing a report Learning About
Culture which looks at what works in cultural
learning, and how to support schools and
cultural organisations to use evidence from their own work and elsewhere to
continuously improve their practice. Indeed, one of the intended key outcomes
of the work is something the RSA describes as evidence-rich practice.
References
Andrews, N., Gabbay, J., Le May, A., Miller, E.,
O'Neill, M. and Petch, A. (2015). Developing
Evidence Enriched Practice in Health and Social Care with Older People.
Barends,
E., Rousseau, D. and Briner, R. (2014). Evidence-Based
Management : The Basic Principles. Amsterdam. Center for Evidence-Based
Management
Bath, N.
(2018). Exploring What It Means to Be
‘Evidence-Rich’ in Practice. IOE London Blog. https://ioelondonblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/exploring-what-it-means-to-be-evidence-rich-in-practice/.
Jones,
G. (2018 Forthcoming). Evidence-Based School
Leadership: A Practical Guide. London. SAGE Publishing.
Sackett,
D., Rosenberg, W., Gray, J., Haynes, R. and Richardson, W. (1996). Evidence Based Medicine: What It Is and What
It Isn't. Bmj. 312. 7023. 71-72.
Stoll,
L. (2017). Five Challenges in Moving
Towards Evidence-Informed Practice. Impact. Interim issue. Interim issue.
Straus,
S., Glasziou, P., Richardson, S. and Haynes, B. (2011). Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach It. (Fourth Edition).
Edinburgh. Churchill Livingstone: Elsevier.