Small Talk: Teachers' Decisions Around Research Use

• In Event: 41.083 - Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: 41.083-16 - Research Use: Perspectives on Engagement With and Around Research

Abstract

Studies of research use in education lament that research seems to seldom penetrate practice and point to a variety of contributors to this pattern. This study contributes to this field by examining how teachers’ decisions are influenced by their perception of familiarity with the source of the information they use to make decisions. Using an experimental design involving over 300 teachers from Michigan, I find that patterns in teachers’ decisions support the competence hypothesis, which posits that people assign greater weight to information when they are familiar with its source, though teacher and school characteristics influence the strength of the relationship between familiarity and decision weight. Implications for teacher training and professional development are discussed.

Author

• Jason Burns, Michigan State University