Evidence-based practice is one of the emerging concepts, which to an increasing extent is connected to school activity. This implies that school leaders and teachers are expected to facilitate their work based on systematic research-based knowledge, combined with practice-experience and local knowledge (Møller & Ottesen 2011). Collaboration between researchers and practitioners has for the past decade been a core request in education policy making.  A number of national programs emphasize partnerships and closer links between researchers and school development projects such as in the Norwegian national project “The Knowledge Promotion Reform – from word to deed”. This paper will report on the results of the collaboration in the project, and the school leaders experience of being given a position to develop leadership-practice within the basis of evidence.

There might be many possible reasons to explain why school development projects are considered to be successful or not (Ekholm, Lund, Roald and Tislevoll 2010). Teachers or principals may indvidually be successful in developing new practice, or it may occur in the implementation of so-called research-based programs, such as  programs against bullying in schools (Nordahl and Dobson 2009). This study looks into educational research’s contributions to school development from school-leaders persepctive, and is based on the main research question: How do school leaders experience evidence based knowledge in a national school-development project?

For better to understand the field of educational research (Møller 2004, Dale 2005, Rasmussen et al. 2007, Ekholm et al. 2010), this study describes and discuss what types of perceptions that is characteristic in the school leaders desire to improve and develop their school (Fevolden & Lillejord 2005). International research shows that school developing projects not strictly controlled by research based knowledge, are most likely to fail. This means that when schools wants to implement change on their own, they strive to succeed. This in spite of the extensive research based knowledge of how to succeed with change within the school (Ertesvåg 2012). The article describes the concept of school development as development regarding both school practice and development of the school as an organization. The paper identifies perspectives for communication and connections by school leaders experiencing evidence-based knowledge in a school-development project. The perspectives are illuminated in the focus on school leaders expectations and how they generally relate to evidence-based knowledge.

Fevolden, T. og Lillejord, S. Kvalitetsarbeid i skolen. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Ekholm, M. mfl. red. (2010). Skoleutvikling i praksis. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Nordahl, T og Dobson, S. (2009) Skolen og elevenes forutsetninger. Om tilpasset opplæring i pedagogisk praksis og forskning. Vallset: Opplandske Bokforlag. Ragin, C. C. (1994). Constructing social research. California: Pine Forge Robinson, V.J. (2001) "Descriptive and normative research on organizational learning: locating the contribution of Argyris and Schön", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 15 Iss: 2, pp.58 - 67 Sivesind, K., Langfeldt, G. & Skedsmo, G. (2006). Utdanningsledelse. Oslo: Cappelen Akademisk Forlag. (Kap. 1, 3, 4, 6 og 11) 88 sider. Walters, P.B. mfl (2009). Education Research on Trial. Policy Reform and the Call for Scientific Rigor. New York: Routledge.