Barriers for Translating Evidence Into Practice in Higher Education in Latin America

• In Event: Bridging the Gap: Opportunities, Challenges, and Lessons From Five Knowledge Translation Initiatives

Abstract

Objectives
Evidence-based teaching practices exist for all levels and modalities of education, including within university structures (e.g., Cook et. al, 2012; Richmond et al., 2016; Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2014). However, improved knowledge about teaching and learning has not been translated into higher education instructional practice, which remains relatively unchanged (Keeling & Kersh, 2012), and more so in Latin America than in other regions of the world (Guzmán-Valenzuela, 2017). This study seeks to identify the factors that keep higher education teachers in Latin America from translating research about best instructional practices into their university classes.

Theoretical framework
This investigation has two guiding frameworks. First, the knowledge-to-action framework (Graham et al., 2006), which explains how knowledge is translated into action based on processes such as knowledge creation and application. To further contextualize to the educational setting, this study uses Tseng’s (2012) framework to understand how teachers “acquire, interpret, and ultimately use research [and] the social ecology that influences those processes” (p.5).

Methods
This study uses a multiple-choice, non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional survey approach with a self-response questionnaire (Creswell, 2014) to determine the barriers that exist in translating evidence into practice in higher education in Latin America. The survey distributed July-November 2019.

Data Sources
A survey was developed to collect descriptive data regarding barriers to translating evidence into instructional practices by university professors. All questions in the survey follow a similar pattern: The statement about a practice and the supporting evidence is followed by a question asking if the participant uses the practice or not. If the participant indicates the practice is not used, the participant is asked to select a reason from a predetermined list of translation barriers. This list of translation barriers was constructed based on an accumulative survey of the literature and confirmed using interviews of educational translators.

Anticipated Results
Although there is little direct evidence about barriers to translating research into practice in the university context, evidence from other fields suggests possible causes, including time constraints, lack of information knowledge and a lack of authority to change practices (Hutchinson & Johnson, 2004). The slow adaptation of evidence-based practices due to the user’s lack of familiarity and comfort (Morris, Wooding & Grant, 2011) may decrease the likelihood of university professors translating research into practice. Translational research suggests that the adopter’s attitudes, skills and habits can also limit translation (Graham et al., 2006). Knowledge-to-action stages such as knowledge creation, knowledge adaptation, and the intervention stages (Graham et al., 2006) may be of particular relevance for the Latin American context due to language and contextual differences.

Scholarly Significance
A better understanding of the barriers to translation of evidence into practice in higher education in Latin America can help better tailor translation efforts in the region and, consequently, has the potential to significantly improve the quality of teaching and learning processes in the region.

Author

• Cynthia Borja, Universidad de Las Américas - Quito