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I was on a webinar today that really got be thinking of both the importance of research in education *and* the problems that are being caused by mandates to do things that are considered "evidence based" and "research based".
Research is important in education because we need to know what works and what doesn't â and because we need to support teachers so they don't have to figure out everything in isolation.
But there's also something that has gone badly wrong.
But there's also something that has gone badly wrong.
Research/evidence-based *should* mean "we do research and find out more information about what works well, what doesn't, and why."
But in education research, it often doesn't.
But in education research, it often doesn't.
In practice, research/evidence based often means treating a certain narrow privileged perspective as objective and treating most stakeholders as subjective, irrational, and presumptively lacking in meaningful expertise.
That's a big problem.
That's a big problem.
I don't think it's possible to do good education research without collaboration with experienced educators.
I don't think it's possible to do good inclusive education research without collaboration with disabled adults.
Marginalizing those perspectives makes school worse.
I don't think it's possible to do good inclusive education research without collaboration with disabled adults.
Marginalizing those perspectives makes school worse.
Another problem with mandates to only do things that are âevidence/research basedâ is that they create an incentive to do low quality research and to misrepresent things as rigorously supported by research in a way that they really arenât.
In order for teachers to use research to inform their teaching, the research has to actually exist.
In practice, there are a lot of important questions that have not been researched in a meaningful way.
In practice, there are a lot of important questions that have not been researched in a meaningful way.
Teachers are often required to use research/evidence based practices â even when the research doesnât actually exist.
Requiring teachers to do impossible things just sets everyone up for failure.
Requiring teachers to do impossible things just sets everyone up for failure.
This creates an incentive to do low quality research or to misrepresent the applicability of research for the sake of pretending that thereâs an existing evidence-based strategy.
I think it would be much more constructive to be honest about uncertainty.
I think it would be much more constructive to be honest about uncertainty.
Also: Educational methods research is inevitably going to lag behind what teachers are working on in the field.
Teachers canât wait for studies before they try to teach all of their students.
And the things teachers figure out start being valuable before studies prove it.
Teachers canât wait for studies before they try to teach all of their students.
And the things teachers figure out start being valuable before studies prove it.
Also: âevidence basedâ/âresearch basedâ elides something important about educational goals.
Studies can tell us things about whatâs possible and how. They canât tell us what our goals should be. Thatâs a question of values.
Studies can tell us things about whatâs possible and how. They canât tell us what our goals should be. Thatâs a question of values.
Because of systemic bias in research, there is a lot more research about how to meet some goals than others.
This gives the false impression that those kinds of goals are by definition more rigorous than other types of goals.
This gives the false impression that those kinds of goals are by definition more rigorous than other types of goals.
For instance, we have a lot more research about using behavior modification methods to modify the behavior of autistic people than we do about how to help autistic people understand things.
Thatâs because of choices that have been made about what research to fund.
Thatâs because of choices that have been made about what research to fund.
Advocating for different goals generally means that you have less research to point to about how to do it.
Thatâs a failure of research priorities.
And itâs a problem when advocates get blamed for this failure.
Thatâs a failure of research priorities.
And itâs a problem when advocates get blamed for this failure.
Thereâs a lot of research on how to do things that I regard as a violation of peopleâs fundamental human rights.
That does not, and should not, remotely challenge my conviction that people have rights.
That does not, and should not, remotely challenge my conviction that people have rights.
Knowing how to do something does not always mean that itâs the right thing to do.