Characterizing Schools' Depth of Research Use

• In Event: Research Use in Schools: The Big Picture

Abstract

This paper features findings about how research evidence informs organizational decision-making. The notion of “use” includes categorical descriptions initially offered by Weiss (1977), including instrumental, conceptual, strategic, and symbolic use. However, as we argue elsewhere, there is less focus on the practice of use. Cook and Brown (1999) and Little (2012) suggest that practice is embodied in practitioners’ activities, routines, roles, and tools. In other words, practice is what practitioners actually do and use when engaging with research.

To begin to understand research use as practice, our work conceptualizes six dimensions of use, described as depth of use (Authors, 2018). Evidence is the extent to which research evidence is influential in school decision-making. Search is the process for collecting relevant evidence. Interpretation is the process by which information is transformed into knowledge. Participation focuses on those involved in collecting and evaluating evidence and making decisions. Stage focuses on the various points in decision-making processes during which research may be considered. Frequency is an indicator of the regularity with which research evidence is brought to bear on decisions.

Methods and Data Sources: We developed a comprehensive survey battery including both fixed and open-ended items designed to capture these elements of depth. To describe school-based decision-making, we aggregate these findings to the school level in order to better understand and differentiate among organizations. Analyses presented here are based on a subset of respondents who reported being familiar with a recent organizational decision at their school, including the evidence used to inform that decision. These data include responses from 1,355 educators in 158 schools (median=8 per school).

Results: We present the distribution of these measures across schools. Frequency of engagement with research in decisions is low, but varies notably among schools. External research is rarely influential (only 22% of decisions were informed by research), and the vast majority of these instances (80%) involve research knowledge from books, authors, and program developers targeting a practitioner audience. Internal research (e.g., conducted by a district or school staff) is more commonly influential (50% of decisions), and formal analyses of local data are very frequently influential (78% of decisions). Results also show that search for research evidence is rarely direct, suggesting that practitioners engage secondary products, publications, or sources. Other results suggest that educators strive for careful interpretation of evidence, that research is influential at multiple points in decision processes, and that decisions tend to engage the same people in collecting/evaluating evidence and making the final decision.

Scientific Significance: Results of this large scale study uniquely shed light on schools’ use of research by unpacking multiple dimensions of decision-making. Findings reveal external research has limited influence, and is rarely engaged with directly. However, data also highlight how its use is situated among other forms of evidence and in the larger decision-process. This work therefore contributes to a deeper understanding of the opportunities for research use in school processes and suggests levers for improving its role.

Authors

• Henry May, University of Delaware

• Elizabeth N. Farley-Ripple, University of Delaware