European Educational Systems are experiencing an increasing interest in using research evidence to inform educational practices. The use of research evidence is associated with multiple benefits and positive impacts on the educational structures, systems, theories, and teaching-learning processes (Cain & Allan, 2017). There is evidence that when research evidence is used effectively as a source for teacher training and professional development, it makes a positive difference to the teacher, the school, and the system performance (Brown & Zhang, 2016).

Evidence-based decision-making in education leads to improved student outcomes (Bell, Cordingley, Isham, & Davis, 2010). Mills & Saunders (2019) argue that the main reason for using evidence to inform practice by the teachers is to make a positive difference in the learning process of their students.

In the study conducted by Judkins et al. (2014), teachers argue that the use of evidence: encourages reflection, stimulate the adoption of new pedagogical approaches and innovative pedagogical practices, improve teacher confidence, and inform professional development. Other benefits are related to the opportunity to access new ideas that can potentially lead to improvements in practice or feeling safer to introduce new teaching approaches (Brown, 2018, cited in Brown, Zhang, Xu, & Corbett, 2018).

Despite the known benefits, it seems that teachers make unconscious or irregular use of research evidence. Teachers find it difficult to search, access and use research data without practical support (Brown, 2015; Cain, 2015). School report problems to effective time use and spaces for interaction and collaboration, both key elements to stimulate reflection and engagement with research at the school level (Ion, Díaz-Vicario, & Suárez, 2021). Also, the scientific community experiences difficulties in transferring efficiently and managing the knowledge created, generating an impact on educational practices (Ion & Castro, 2017; Lillejord & Borte, 2016), not making research accessible and understandable for teachers. In this sense, the use of research evidence depends on the perception of the cost-benefit and factors linked with the personal characteristics of the teachers, the school organization, and the research culture itself.             

This paper examines the beliefs and perspectives of primary and secondary school teachers of Catalonia (Spain) about using research evidence to inform their practice. Specifically, it aims to identify the potential or actual benefits and costs of using research evidence that schoolteachers perceive. In the framework of this study, we understand "research evidence" as information based on academic studies, for example, research evidence obtained from an article in an academic journal or a website (such as the Education Endowment Foundation and the Learning Toolkit).

We apply the survey “Research use survey” to analyze the teachers' beliefs. Based on the work of Baudrillard (1968, cited by Brown, 2015), the survey design assumes that any educator's use of research will be a function of some combination of three factors: the benefits, the cost, and the signification associated with using academic research. The survey includes 97 items grouped in five dimensions of analysis (research use, kind of resources used to inform the practice, the benefits, costs, and significations of research use) and a final section to obtain information about the teachers' and schools’ profiles. Twenty-six of the 97 items are related to the benefits and cost of research use to be valued with five steps Likert-type scale. The survey was sent by email to all primary and secondary schools of Catalonia (Spain). The final sample was comprised of 652 primary and secondary teachers, mainly working in secondary schools (57%) of public titularity (91%) and characterized by a middle-high social complexity (63%). The 72% of the sample were female of 45 years old (M = 44.58; SD = 9.863), with a postgraduate/master’s degree (45%). 48% have a full-time contract, and 24% are leaders or middle leaders in their school. Initially, a descriptive analysis was performed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS v.20). In further steps, a correlational analysis will be applied to observe possible differences depending on the school characteristics (titularity and level of social complexity) and teachers’ profile (age, level of education obtained, and school role), as at this moment the research is ongoing, and the data collection will be completed by the time of the conference.

Related to the benefits, teachers considered that research evidence can have a positive impact on educational practice (M = 1.61; SD = 0.873, for the item “I don’t believe that research evidence can have any positive impact on practice”). Also, they perceived that research evidence: “expand, deepen and clarify their understanding of teaching and pedagogy” (M = 4.32; SD = 0.752), “provides ideas and inspiration for improving their practice” (M = 4.23; SD = 0.883), and “provides theories that they can use to improve their practice” (M = 4.19; SD = 0.882). They consider that “the use of research evidence can lead to improved student outcomes” (M = 4.13; SD = 0.957). About the costs of research use, teachers reported that “it is difficult to know how to directly apply the findings of research evidence to their practice” (M = 3.23; SD = 1.030). For that reason, they consider that research evidence needs to be “‘translated’ and made practitioner friendly for using effectively” (M = 3.91; SD = 0.971) and “combined with educators’ practical knowledge to be professionally useful” (M = 3.88; SD = 1.049). The preliminary findings show that Catalan teachers have a positive view of research evidence, even though some mental and time costs are perceived, and those can act as enablers for the extensive use of research evidence to inform educational practice. To increase the use of research evidence by schoolteachers, we suggest promoting the vision for evidence use, training teachers to use research evidence effectively, and facilitating access to research evidence.

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