Navigating education research: The EEF’s comprehensive guide

A new guide has emerged from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), providing invaluable assistance to school leaders, teachers, and training providers. Titled “Using Research Evidence: A Concise Guide,” this resource aims to demystify the vast array of education research, empowering professionals to make informed decisions for optimal classroom outcomes

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Education Endowment Foundation

Education professionals are increasingly turning to research evidence to support the decisions they make in the classroom. It can help them make informed decisions about how to make the most of their resources. But there’s an increasing amount of education research evidence available, as well as materials and products that make claims based on research, so it can be difficult and time-consuming to make judgements about their reliability and usefulness.

To help, the guide introduces several red flag warning signs to look out for when examining a piece of research evidence, including:

• The research is funded by an organisation of individual who has a personal stake in the findings.
• The evidence is shared on a commercial website that benefits from the intervention or approach.
• The number of participants included in the research is small or isn’t representative of the target population.
• The findings have been extended to situations or people – for example, different year groups or subjects – that the research didn’t look at.

It also gives five tips on getting beneath the surface of research evidence before applying it in classrooms, early years settings, or colleges. These include integrating research evidence with professional expertise and insights, and maintaining a critical eye and not accepting claims without question.

Professor Becky Francis CBE, CEO of the EEF, emphasises the guide’s significance:

We know that using research evidence can help education professionals, not only by guiding them towards more effective interventions of approaches, but also away from those that might not be worth their time or efforts.

But with so much education research out there, and some of it coming from those with vested interest in selling a product, it can be hard to find the time to wade through and engage with claim after claim.

Our new guide includes information on what research evidence is – and is not – as well as the advantages and potential limitations of different forms of research. Our hope is that it will support those involved in school improvement and the design and delivery of training to make best use of the research evidence available to them.

In essence, the guide helps SBLs to navigate the complex currents of education research and steers them towards evidence-backed practices for enhanced educational outcomes. Click here to read the full guide.