Different Perspectives on Overcoming the Challenges of Conducting Education Evaluations in Real-World Settings

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There are strong indications in much of the western world of a movement towards the use of evidence to inform education policy and practice, yet this movement is not without its challenges. Some of these challenges come in the form of conducting large-scale randomised evaluations (RCTs) of education interventions in real school contexts. There are challenges for:- policy makers and foundations in commissioning RCTs and other rigorous evaluations; - researchers in recruiting the participants, conducting the studies and analysing the data; - purveyors of the interventions in getting participants in the evaluation trained and supported; and - practitioners in implementing the interventions with fidelity.The goals of this seminar series are to have representatives of each of these stakeholders identify the challenges and collaboratively come up with ways of overcoming them. Multi-institutional and international researchers, postgraduate students, policy makers and practitioners will come together to tackle the challenges in conducting quantitative evaluations of educational interventions and having the results of those evaluations influence policy and practice. We propose a series of six day-long sessions, each with two seminars, for a total of 12 seminars. Each seminar would bring together various stakeholders to provide different perspectives and help develop strategies for overcoming the obstacles to implementing and applying these powerful methodologies.The specific theme of the Year 1 seminars will be Challenges in Conducting RCTs in Real-World Settings. We have invited or will invite stakeholders from funding organisations, purveyors of interventions, practitioners, policy-makers and researchers to present their perspectives on the issues and present and discuss possible solutions. We already have expressions of interest to participate from five potential presenters (Kevan Collins, Kathy Sylva, Phil Abrami, Mary Sheard and Pam Hanley).The theme for the Year 2 seminars will be Analysing and Summarising Quantitative Data from Educational Studies. Some of these sessions will be led by world leaders in the field of education research. We have seven presenters who have agreed to lead sessions, including Robert Slavin, Alan Cheung, Kathleen Kiernan, and John Hobcraft. The proposed seminar series will connect very closely with the ESRC's strategic priorities and work towards co-production of knowledge regarding the evaluation of educational interventions with research users. The policy and societal impact of the project will be maximised.The seminar series will involve the input not only of postgraduate students and researchers at all levels of their careers (both UK based and international) but also policy makers, education decision- makers and practitioners. These stakeholders in the evaluation process will be both presenters and participants in the seminars. Seminar organisers and participants are very aware of the importance of exchanging knowledge among the research community, policy makers, practitioners, and organisations with an interest in evidence in education. The final seminar will take place the day before the IEE's annual conference, the theme of which will be Value for Money of Educational Interventions. IEE conferences are a rare opportunity for all stakeholders in evidence-based education to participate in tackling issues of mutual concern. We also aim to share and disseminate the findings of the research seminar series via a dedicated section of the IEE website at the University of York, which will contain links to participating institutions. It will also feature podcasts of seminar presentations and discussions together with written papers and presentations. We will issue press briefings and summaries of the key seminar findings and target particular broadcast, print and web media with relevant stories or interview opportunities.