Creating a closer connection between research and practice

For a long time, the question asked of teachers and school leaders was: do you use research and evidence in your work? Today, the question is more likely to be: how do you use research and evidence in your work?

That shift matters.

Over recent years, there’s been an “evidence revolution” across the English education system. Using research to inform decisions has become the norm.

For example, 93 per cent of schools cite Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) resources in their pupil premium statements. We also hear regularly from teachers and leaders who are drawing on research when considering new approaches in their settings.

This is a genuine achievement. But it’s not enough to consider the work of building an evidence-informed profession as complete.

Keeping pace

If we are asking teachers and leaders how they use evidence, those of us who produce and mobilise research need to ask ourselves a corresponding question: are we keeping pace with the challenges and questions that the system is facing?

There is an inherent challenge here. The pace of change in schools, colleges and early years settings can be rapid, while producing robust research takes time. We need to find ways of responding to emerging questions while maintaining the rigour that makes research valuable in the first place.

Generative AI is a good example of this. The simple fact is that everyday use of AI in schools is moving faster than the evidence on its effectiveness. The EEF is investing now to build the evidence pipeline - we’ve committed up to £2.5 million to new programmes that explore how generative AI affects learning.

At the same time, we need to make the evidence that does exist accessible and useful. This includes emerging findings on the potential for AI to save teachers time on tasks such as lesson planning.

The AI evidence picture that is beginning to emerge is one of complexity. Our role is being clear about what the evidence does and doesn’t tell us, including where we need to find out more and where we need to be wary of risks.

Understanding the reality

AI is only one example.

Educators will often encounter new challenges before they appear in evidence reviews, policy papers or research programmes. Teachers and leaders are close to the realities of practice. They can identify challenges and questions that may not yet have been recognised by researchers.

This is why it’s crucial we spend time building closer connections between research and practice to make sure the questions that researchers are asking are grounded in everyday realities.

Teachers and leaders may be the primary consumers of education research and evidence, but they’re also partners in building our understanding of what works, for whom and under what conditions.

That is the principle behind our consultation, which is open now until 9 October. We want to hear from people working in education about the challenges they are facing, the questions they think research should help to answer and where they see important gaps in our current understanding.

Share your views

This consultation is open to the whole sector, including teachers and leaders in schools, colleges and early years settings.

We also want to hear from the people working with them, both in and with the wider education system. If you work in education, your experience can help inform the questions we ask.

Responses to the consultation will sit alongside focus groups, evidence reviews, policy analysis and expert advice as we develop our research funding priorities for 2027-29.

Good research depends on asking good questions. And good questions are more likely when researchers listen carefully to the people closest to the challenges we are trying to understand.

So perhaps the next stage of England’s evidence journey is not simply to ask teachers and leaders how they use research; it is to ask: how can educators help shape the research we need?

Professor Becky Francis is CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation