The invisible impact of educational research

Abstract

Although there are policy calls for educational research to discover ‘what works’ and thereby inform decision making directly, the research literature argues instead for research to have a ‘conceptual’ impact on practice. Empirical studies also suggest that, when teachers use research, their use is conceptual; research influences the content and the process of their thinking, changing attitudes and perceptions and making educational decision making more intelligent. This study investigates the ways in which educational research has achieved impact on practice from the perspective of the researchers. A sample of highly-rated impact case studies in the UK’s research assessment exercise (REF2014) were subject to content analysis, using qualitative coding techniques. Analysis shows that most research is ‘invisible’ to education practitioners because it is embedded in educational policies, technologies, and services. This ‘invisible use’ is unlikely to realise the conceptual benefits claimed for research utilisation. If educational research is to make educational decision making more intelligent at its point of use, it will be necessary to re-think current notions of quality in research impact.

Keywords:

• Educational research
• research impact
• research utilisation
• teacher thinking

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Tim Cain had an extensive career teaching music in Secondary schools, before becoming a teacher educator in universities including Kingston University, Bath Spa University and the University of Southampton. He moved to Edge Hill University in 2011 as Professor in Education. He directs the research centre for Schools, Colleges and Teacher Education (SCaTE) and teaches research methods on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. His research interests centre around music education, teacher research and research utilisation by teachers. His work in this area has appeared in Croatian, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, and Slovene publications.

David Allan is a lecturer on the PGCE in Further Education and Training at Edge Hill University. His research interests have focused on disaffection with learning, student voice, attitudes to learning, and research impact. He is particularly interested in the Bourdieusian concepts of habitus and capital, and how school structures can impact on learning. At present, David is principal investigator for a research project - involving over forty schools in the north-west of England - that is exploring the use of Lesson Study as tool for empowering disengaged students.