Research and Evidence in Education Decision-Making: A Comparison of Results from Two Pan-Canadian Studies

Autor/inn/en	Galway, Gerald; Sheppard, Bruce
Titel	Research and Evidence in Education Decision-Making: A Comparison of Results from Two Pan-Canadian Studies
Quelle	In: Education Policy Analysis Archives, 23 (2015) 109, (41 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1068 2341
Schlagwörter	Educational Research; Research Utilization; Evidence; Decision Making; Educational Policy; State Departments of Education; School Districts; Comparative Analysis; Research Reports; Influences; Foreign Countries; Mixed Methods Research; Surveys; Interviews; Focus Groups; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung; Forschungsumsetzung; Evidenz; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Kultusministerium; School district; Schulbezirk; Research report; Forschungsbericht; Influence; Einfluss; Einflussfaktor; Ausland; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Kanada
Abstract	In this paper we compare the use of research and other evidence in the decision-making practices of two groups of education policy elites, situated in different contexts--provincial education ministries and school districts. Data are derived from two pan-Canadian studies: Galway (2006) and Sheppard, Galway, Brown and Wiens (2013). The findings show that policy decisions at the ministry level are informed primarily by political and pragmatic factors, personal and professional beliefs and local knowledge. The role of external research is shown to be relatively marginal and confined to quantitative studies and performance assessments. Decision makers at the school district level attend less to political and pragmatic influences relying more on personal beliefs, values and experiential factors supplemented by the advice of professional staff and in-house research/indicators. Results from both studies demonstrate limited reliance on external data and university-based research--the latter ranking 15th of 20 influencing factors. Consistent with Beck's (1994; 1997) risk theory, we theorize that education policy making in both contexts is influenced by both macro- and micro-level factors, where choice of policy evidence is mediated by personal considerations and political risk factors. This suggests a weak policy development paradigm that is resistant to independent research-informed evidence. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Colleges of Education at Arizona State University and the University of South Florida. c/o Editor, USF EDU162, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-5650. Tel: 813-974-3400; Fax: 813-974-3826; Web site: http://epaa.asu.edu
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01