How Is Evidence Use Policy Enacted in Schools? A Mixed-Methods Multiple-Case Study

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Leveraging Evidence Use to Address Systemic Inequities (Table 13)

Abstract

Underlying evidence use policies are normative assumptions about research use in schools, assumptions which do not fit with empirical evidence about the complexity of school improvement and decision-making. This paper explores how evidence use policies are implemented in what we refer to as deep use schools in order to develop meaningful guidance to schools and to assess and improve evidence use policy. Through a mixed methods multiple case study design, we link large-scale survey data to qualitative interviews to explore research use practice and the conditions that support it. Findings reveal distinct ways in which policy is enacted, the role of leadership, and a need to better align conceptions of evidence among research, policy, and practice communities.

Authors

• Elizabeth N. Farley-Ripple, University of Delaware

• Katherine Tilley, University of Delaware

• Hilary Mead, University of Delaware

• Darren Agboh, American Association for the Advancement of Science