ESRC/EEF Research Use collaboration

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The ESRC/EEF 'Research Use in Schools' collaboration was a partnership between the ERSC and the Education Endowment Foundation, between 2016 and 2019, to improve our understanding of how research informs education policy and practice.It involved three main strands of activity:1. Developing national initiatives to mobilise research evidenceThe ESRC/EEF collaboration initiated a number of major projects to mobilise evidence across England. This includes a national network of Research Schools, which mirror the role of Teaching Hospitals in being centres of world-class research, practice and training, as well as a multi-stranded 'campaign' model, where guidance on practical school improvement issues is backed up by regional training. Collectively, these initiatives are supporting 1000s of schools in developing evidence-informed practice. Independent evaluations suggest they are having an impact on teacher behaviours and pupil outcomes at scale. 2. Conducting research on 'research use' In this collaboration a range of research on research use was conducted, which has been recognised internationally as important in terms of novelty, scale and significance. This includes: a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluation of different approaches to disseminating and communicating research evidence; a national baseline study of schools' use of research; developing a standardised, quantifiable measure of research engagement in schools; and evaluating four different models to scaling-up EEF evidence. Outside of education, we systematically reviewed the functions and work of the UK's What Works Centres.3. Creating research-based resources for schools and policy makersThe collaboration led to the development of clear and actionable guidance for schools by the EEF - now a key resource for evidence-based school improvement nationally. The PI in this project, Professor Jonathan Sharples, was lead author on the 'Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants' guidance report, known to 90% of Headteachers nationally, and 'Putting Evidence to Work - A School's Guide to Implementation', a guide for schools and system leaders on how to make, and act on, evidence-informed decisions.