The education professionals’ training in Spain and its basis on scientific evidence

Author(s):

Carmen Alvarez-Alvarez(presenting / submitting)Rocío Vejo Sainz(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 06 C, Learning Communities and Professional Identities

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-24

15:30-17:00

Room:

NM-C214

Chair:

Milosh Raykov

Contribution

Nowadays, the interest in improving educational outcomes is generating an international debate in which the teaching training is questioned and it is required to be based on international scientific evidence (Colucci-Gray, Sharmistha, and Donald 2013; Duchnowskia et al. 2006; Klimoski, and Amos 2012; Low, et al. 2012; Ludlow, et al. 2008; Slavin 2008a; Saville 2010; Zeichner 2012). The main premise of this approach is basing decisions on the explicit and judicious use of current best evidence available so far (Davies 1999).

In order to translate this into education, as Slavin proposes (2008a), the development of a substantial set of replicable programs and practices with strong evidence of effectiveness is needed. Educators and policymakers must have confidence that if they embrace evidence-based reform, they will be able to choose among many programs that have been developed, rigorously evaluated, and found to be effective.

Singapore is a pioneer in this field, by adopting a priority in the teacher training agenda that the professionals training is made based on evidences that have proved effectiveness (Low, et al. 2012). A similar policy is developed in countries like Finland, but in others, like Spain, it is a major challenge, because governments must have evidence and know the successful practices of the country after conducting rigorous evaluations to decide to focus their reforms on certain ideas and practices (Slavin 2008a) As this happens, researchers, professionals and innovation networks will have to make formative efforts based on evidence in their contextual frameworks of action until the situation is more favorable to policy change, both initial and ongoing training.

In the international educational landscape, nowadays there are significant efforts to bring about the teaching-learning practices based on evidences and “Evidences banks” exist, i.e. portals or databases where information is provided to teachers about scientific evidence that are being accumulated from research and experiences made in order to facilitate decision making with the aim to orientate and consolidate the educational innovation processes (Tejedor, 2008). There are several interesting initiatives in this regard, as they offer relevant information for the faculty when documenting on successful educational performances. Some of these are set out in Table 1:

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

Be a resource for informed education decision-making, identifying studies that provide credible and reliable evidence of the effectiveness of a given practice, program, or policy, and disseminates summary information and free reports.

The EPPI-Centre

http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=53

Inform policy and professional practice with sound evidence. As such, it is involved in two main areas of work: systematic reviews and research use.

The EIPPEE Network from the European Commision

http://www.eippee.eu/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=3179

Provide training and support in research synthesis and evidence informed policy and practice

The Center for Evidence-Based Education (CEBE)

http://www.cebe.us/

This center employs the evidence of inquiry, research, and analysis to assist schools, networks of schools, and school systems, in their efforts to improve performance, promote innovation, and sustain transformation.

Campbell Collaboration

http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/

Try to improve decision-making through systematic reviews on the effects of interventions within the areas of education, crime and justice, social welfare and international development.

BEE

www.bestevidence.org

The is a product of the Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE), a U.S. Department of Education-funded research center at Johns Hopkins University

Web of Science

www.webofscience.com

It is a platform that includes references of the main scientific publications from all disciplines of knowledge, including education

Table 1. International “Evidence Banks”

Method

Approach This study’s aim is to identify in which areas professional’s training based on received evidence, both initial and ongoing training, have had an impact. There have been done 15 case studies with education professionals in Cantabria’s region (northen Spain) along the months of May and June 2015. They have been selected in the basis on two criteria, to ensure diversity testimonials: (1) Having had a recent contact with training activities based on evidence (two university subjects, two ongoing training courses and one pedagogical university gathering) (2) Achieving a variety of the participants in the study in regard to their age, gender, years of experience, initial qualification and work activity. Based on their age, gender and years of experience it is generated a key with which they will be referred to. Data collection The basic information collection technique has been the communicative report. Our communicative interaction has led to understand how these fifteen profesionals’ initial and ongoing training has been; inquiring about its scientific basis and its impact in their daily professional practice. To carry it out, professionals were individually summoned and they were asked to talk about their formative experience and its impact in their practice, with particular emphasis on those formative actions based on scientific evidence, inquiring about their impacts, in their professional life and their teaching practices. Data analysis Communicative reports made were recorded and, later, transcribed. After that, we proceeded to organize and analyse these fifteen professionals’ training experience through a process of content analysis, as all of them are qualitative, with the intention of identifying changes that have been currently incorporated into their ideas and ways of working, triangulating results.

Expected Outcomes

The analysis of the data collected in the fifteen communicative reports made allows us to support that the evidence-based approach is spreading across Spain, causing changes of various kinds and at different levels. This section will discuss at first, briefly, how subjects value their initial and ongoing training received as education professionals in Spain and the impact that those formative experiences had in practice, stopping in their training experiences based on evidence. In this regard, it has been possible to identify five dimensions: (1) Increased scientific documentation. Participating in evidence-based training encourages participants to further inquiring and documenting, trying to access to scientist sources, both to read and to lean, and also to contrast information. (2) Increased expectations. The evidence-based training has increased the expectations about the students and the families’ possibilities and the education of all participants. (3) Changes in the teaching practice. The evidence-based training has led these professionals to start performing innovative and well-based education practices, finding a new horizon of improvement and transformation to walk, which also gives them more enthusiasm in their daily work. (4) Increased professional confidence. Other consequence of the evidence-based training is that it helps professionals feel more confident in their decisions, take to implement work’s forms and have argumentation to anyone to defend their practices (5) Change in the formative practices. Another dimension that is clear in these professionals is the fact that they have changed their formative practices: before enrolling in courses they document because they fear of losing time.

References

Colucci-Gray, L., D. Sharmistha, and G. Donald. 2013. “Evidence-based practice and teacher action-research: a reflection on the nature and direction of 'change'”. British Educational Research Journal 39 (1): 126-147. Davies, P. 1999. “What is evidence-based education?” British Journal of Educational Studies 47 (2): 108-121. Duchnowskia, A., K. Kutashb, S. Sheffielda, and B. Vaughnb. 2006. “Increasing the use of evidence-based strategies by special education teachers: A collaborative approach”. Teaching and Teacher Education 22: 838-847. Klimoski, R., and B. Amos. 2012. “Practicing evidence-based education in Leadership Development”. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11 (4): 685-702. doi: 10.5465/amle.2012.0018. Low, E., C. Hui, P. Taylor, and P. Tee. 2012. “Towards Evidence-based Initial Teacher Education in Singapore: A Review of Current Literature”. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37 (5): 65-77. Ludlow, L., J. Pedulla, S. Enterline, M. Cochran‐Smith, F. Loftus, Y. Salomon‐Fernandez, and E. Mitescu. 2008. “From students to teachers: using surveys to build a culture of evidence and inquiry”. European Journal of Teacher Education, 31 (4): 319-337. Slavin, R. E. 2008a. “Evidence-based reform in education”. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación, 54. Retrieved from: http://www.rieoei.org/rie54a01.htm Saville, B. K. 2010. “Using evidence-based teaching methods to improve education”. Essays from Excellence in teaching, Vol. IX, In S. A. Meyers, and J. R. Stowell. 48-54. Retrieved from: http://teachpsych.org/ Tejedor, F. J. 2008. Innovación educativa basada en la evidencia (IEBE). Bordón, 59, 2(3), 475-488. Zeichner, K. 2012. The turn once again toward practice-based teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 63 (5): 376-382. DOI: 10.1177/0022487112445789.

Author Information

Carmen Alvarez-Alvarez (presenting / submitting)

University of Cantabria, Spain

Rocío Vejo Sainz (presenting)

Universidad de Cantabria

Carriazo (Ribamontán al Mar, Cantabria)

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