Evidence-based school leadership

1. Evidence-based school
leadership and
management
Dr Gary Jones

2. Agenda
Introduction
What does the evidence-enriched school like
Strategies to support the evidence-based school
Research literacy
Mistakes to avoid
What next
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3. Who am I?
Dr Gary Jones
Former senior leader in a
further education college
Blogger
Speaker
Author
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4. What does an evidence-based/enriched
school look like? 4

5. What is evidence-based practice (EBP)? 1
… the production or creation of desirable
change and the prevention of undesirable
change, somehow guided by evidence of
what works.
Kvernbekk, T. (2016). Evidence-Based Practice in Education: Functions of Evidence and Causal
Presuppositions. London. Routledge.
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6. 6

7. 7

8. Conclusion
School leaders' support for engagement with research is the most
important driver. Whether schools are completely disengaged or highly
engaged with research evidence, school leaders can make positive
changes to increase engagement.
Whilst some schools are strongly engaged, many are not, and this
study suggests that attention needs to be paid to each part of the
school and wider education system, including research quality and
accessibility; school processes, cultures and leadership; teachers' skills,
motivations and knowledge; and the wider policy environment. The
importance of the role of school leaders as crucial drivers of change
was a central message of the study
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9. The evidence enriched school
Weak
School leadership evidence-based culture
Whole school evidence-based culture
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10. Weak evidence culture School leadership evidence
culture
Whole-school evidence
culture
No dedicated time to engage with
research evidence
Dedicated time for senior leaders Dedicated time for all staff groups
Narrow culture focused on
immediate imperatives
Open learning culture, focus on
longer term goals
Inconsistent and/or low levels of
engagements with research
evidence across the schools
Senior leaders filter research
evidence
All staff or most staff engages in and
access research evidence directly
Few staff motivated, skilled and
confident in engaging with research
Senior leaders motivated, skilled
and confident in engaging with
research
All or most staff motivated, skilled
and confident in engaging with
evidence
Support structures - reading groups,
research projects, learning
communities – limited or
unavailable
Support structures in places- reading
groups, research projects, learning
communities – that all staff are
invited to engage in research
Support structures in places- reading
groups, research projects, learning
communities – that all staff are
expected to engage in research
No or very limited policiies and
guidance on engaging with research
evidence
Informal policies and guidance on
engaging with research evidence
Clear formal policies and guidance
on engaging with evidence
Few or no research-related
relationships with other schools and
external organisations
School leader research-related
relationships with other schools and
external organisations
Research related relationships with
other schools and external
organisations across the school
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11. Identify your school’s evidence-culture 11

12. Weak evidence culture School leadership evidence
culture
Whole-school evidence
culture
No dedicated time to engage with
research evidence
Dedicated time for senior leaders Dedicated time for all staff groups
Narrow culture focused on
immediate imperatives
Open learning culture, focus on
longer term goals
Inconsistent and/or low levels of
engagements with research
evidence across the schools
Senior leaders filter research
evidence
All staff or most staff engages in and
access research evidence directly
Few staff motivated, skilled and
confident in engaging with research
Senior leaders motivated, skilled
and confident in engaging with
research
All or most staff motivated, skilled
and confident in engaging with
evidence
Support structures - reading groups,
research projects, learning
communities – limited or
unavailable
Support structures in places- reading
groups, research projects, learning
communities – that all staff are
invited to engage in research
Support structures in places- reading
groups, research projects, learning
communities – that all staff are
expected to engage in research
No or very limited policiies and
guidance on engaging with research
evidence
Informal policies and guidance on
engaging with research evidence
Clear formal policies and guidance
on engaging with evidence
Few or no research-related
relationships with other schools and
external organisations
School leader research-related
relationships with other schools and
external organisations
Research related relationships with
other schools and external
organisations across the school
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13. Does you approach to research and
evidence use demonstrate your
commitment as well as facilitate
the efforts of others?
Does your own approach to
research and evidence use have
buy-in throughout the school?
Does your approach to research and
evidence use have teacher learning
and practice at its core?
Does your approach to research and
evidence use ‘start with the end in
mind’ and ensure that progress
towards this end is tracked?
Does your approach to research and
evidence ensure that the right
people are in the room?
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14. Theme Factor Sub-action
Transformational Does your approach to research and
evidence demonstrate your own
commitment as well facilitate the efforts of
others?
• Promote a vision of research and evidence-informed school
• Make resources available
• Design and implement support structures
• Create time and space for such work
• Make it part of everyone’s work (especially leaders)
• Model the use of research and evidence in decision-making
• Develop an enquiry habit of mind – look for new perspectives
• Seek out new information
• Explore new ways to tackle old problems
Does your approach to research and
evidence use have buy-in throughout the
school?
• Adopt a distributive approach to leadership
• Attend to the informal aspects of the school organization
• Identify and influence key-opinion formers and shapers
• Seek to be consensual
Teaching and learning Does your approach to research and
evidence use ‘start with the end in mind’
and ensure that progress towards this end is
tracked?
• Articulate what success would look like
• Consider what will need to be done differently
• Question how things will be different for pupils and teachers
• How will you know things are different?
• Evaluate impact of any changes
• Engage in learning conversations – develop theories of action and develop and trial new actions
• Constantly refine processes and actions
• Stop doing some things
Does your approach to research and
evidence have teacher learning and practice
at its core?
• Continue to emphasize the importance of teacher-expertise
• Use data to help teachers refine their practice
• Create opportunities for collaborative learning both inside and outside of the school
• Continually focus on evidence
• Draw in external experience and knowledge/theory
• Develop protocols and ways of working
• Create facilitative arrangements
Does your approach to research and
evidence ensure that the right people are in
the room
• Develop middle leaders who are interested in evidence-informed practice
• Identify research and evidence champions
• Involve people with the right mix of skills to support the use of research and evidence
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15. The big assumption - school leader and
teacher research literacy 15

16. Research literacy
distinguish evidence from propaganda (advertisement)
probability from certainty
data from assertions
rational belief from superstitions
science from folklore
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Hurd, P. D. (1998). Scientific literacy: New minds for a changing world. Science
education, 82(3), 407-416

17. 17

18. Research literacy 18

19. Research literacy 1- answers 19

20. Research literacy – analysis of answers 20

21. Which is the most way of researching the
purpose of the research
• Purpose 1 - To provide an
overview of the evidence base.
• Randomised Controlled Trial
(RCT).
• Longitudinal Study.
• Interviews and/or
questionnaires.
• Literature review.
• Correlational study.
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22. Which is the most way of researching the
purpose of the research
• Purpose 2 - To determine
whether an intervention or
approach has a direct impact
on pupil learning outcomes.
• Randomised Controlled Trial
(RCT).
• Longitudinal Study.
• Interviews and/or
questionnaires.
• Literature review.
• Correlational study.
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23. Which is the most way of researching the
purpose of the research
• Purpose 3 - To understand
how an intervention or
approach works in practice.
• Randomised Controlled Trial
(RCT).
• Longitudinal Study.
• Interviews and/or
questionnaires.
• Literature review.
• Correlational study.
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24. Research literacy 2 - answers 24

25. Research literacy – Analysis of answers 25

26. Mistakes to avoid
Engaging in pseudo-inquiry
Being a dedicated follower of fashion
Adding without taking away
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27. Engaging in pseudo-inquiry
• Pseudo-inquiry takes place where there is
not a commitment to open-
mindedness and has the surface
characteristics of inquiry, it is not driven
by a desire to learn.
• Genuine inquiry requires conversations to
be motivated (either consciously or
unconsciously) by a desire to learn and to
be drive by a stance of open-mindedness
(p884)
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28. Distinguishing between types of inquiry
Pseudo-inquiry takes place where there is not a commitment to
open-mindedness and has the surface characteristics of inquiry,
it is not driven by a desire to learn.
Genuine inquiry requires conversations to be motivated (either
consciously or unconsciously) by a desire to learn and to be drive
by a stance of open-mindedness (p884)
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29. Barriers to genuine inquiry
Cognitive biases
Confirmation bias
Attribution bias
Perceptions of risk
Relationship
Being challenged
Interpersonal skills
Too concerned with what next
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30. Mistakes to avoid
Engaging in pseudo-inquiry
Being a dedicated follower of fashion
Adding without taking away
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31. Mistakes to avoid
Engaging in pseudo-inquiry
Being a dedicated follower of fashion
Adding without taking away
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32. Criticisms of evidence-based practice
Evidence-based decisions can be tainted with self-interest;
Cast-iron evidence can get rusty later on;
Evidence-based principles are used very selectively;
Evidence isn't always self-evident;
Evidence on what to changes isn't the same as how to change;
Positive initiatives based on evidence in one area can inflict collateral
damage;
People can cook the data;
Evidence-based teaching is only somewhat like evidence-based medicine;
Evidence comes from experience as well as research. (adapted from p47)
Hargreaves, A. and Fullan, M. (2012). Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in
Every School. New York. Teachers College Press.
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33. Critics of evidence-based practice?
• Biesta, G. (2007). Why “What Works” Won’t Work: Evidence‐Based Practice
and the Democratic Deficit in Educational Research. Educational theory. 57.
1. 1-22.
• Elliott, J. (2001). Making Evidence‐Based Practice Educational. British
Educational Research Journal. 27. 5. 555-574.
• Hammersley, M. (2004). Some Questions About Evidence-Based Practice in
Educaiton In Thomas, G. and R. Pring. Evidence-Based Practice in
Educations Maidenhead. Open University Press.
• MacLure, M. (2005). ‘Clarity Bordering on Stupidity’: Where’s the Quality in
Systematic Review? Journal of Education Policy. 20. 4. 393-416.
• Sanderson, I. (2003). Is It ‘What Works’ That Matters? Evaluation and
Evidence‐Based Policy‐Making. Research papers in education. 18. 4. 331-345.
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34. Summary ….
Grounds, recent research states that only 67% of school leaders use the
EEF’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit
https://www.suttontrust.com/research-paper/best-in-class-2018-
research/
Claim, School leaders should make greater use of research evidence of
‘what works’ when planning teaching and learning within schools.
Warrant, Some teaching strategies bring about greater increases in
pupil learning than other teaching strategies.
Backing, The best available evidence from systematic reviews, meta-
analyses and meta-meta-analyses.
Qualifier, Presumably these teaching strategies are relevant to the
needs of pupils.
Rebuttal, Unless the context in which the school is operating does not
facilitate the use of the selected research informed approach.
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35. Available October 2018
@DrGaryJones
jones.gary@gmail.com
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