1. Finding and using research - recent advances in policy and practice
Judy Sebba
University of Sussex

2. Aspects of research utilisation addressed in the symposium
translation & knowledge transformation for teachers, teacher educators & policy
harnessing of teachnology to produce single access points to research evidence
mobilisation of networks to encourage uptake & use of research in practice

3. What is the issue being addressed?
improving access & use of available evidence - requires culture change not just more ‘tackle’ though technology may influence culture change
Teachers who cite research in a staffroom discussion are assumed to be studying for a higher degree, rehearsing for an Ofsted inspection or showing off (Hargreaves, 1996 drawing on Taylor, 1993)
developing a ‘better’ evidence base

4. Progress that has been made
Infrastructure: e.g. National Teacher Research Panel, NERF, websites, portals, etc
Standards for publishing e.g. Guidelines for the reporting of primary empirical research studies in education - The REPOSE guidelines (Newman & Elbourne, 2005)
Standards for reporting on empirical social science research in AERA publications
Evidence of research informing policy e.g. AfL
RAE criteria acknowledge impact but not exclusively

5. Websites supporting use of research
The Research into Practice Site (TRIPS) standards.dfes.gov.uk/research
Research of the month (GTCE) gtce.org.uk/research/romtopics/
EPPI eppi.ioe.ac.uk
CERUK ceruk.ac.uk
Educational Evidence Portal eep.ac.uk
Teacher training resource bank (TDA) ttrb.ac.uk
National Educational Research Forum nerf-uk.org/

6. More recent evidence suggesting this may not be enough
Google at present indexes only a proportion (maybe a third) of what can be found Time spent searching is disproportionate to that available for reading and reflection (Sheffield & Saunders, 2004)
teachers have a preference for research sources that are indirect and informal such as research-based teaching materials and communication with colleagues (Rickinson, 2005)

7. The importance of mediators - What do mediators do
The importance of mediators - What do mediators do? (Fielding et al, 2005, p.103)
For transferring practice successfully, Brown and Duguit (2002) recommend appointing an ‘organisational translator’ - someone ‘who can frame the interests of one community in terms of another community’s perspective’. Such people are, unsurprisingly, rare. ...A significant feature of ....research such as that of Rudduck et al (2000) and ....Rudd et al (2001) points to the importance of both internal and external brokers or coordinators.

8. Too many systems / points of access?
Challenges ahead
Too many systems / points of access?
Fallibility of systems of quality assurance - peer review & editing are isolated, untrained, unrecognised, unpaid.
Role of press (& other mediators) spicing up, manipulation, accuracy, etc
Changing culture re policy makers, profession and public is SLOW
Similar examples in education - 11 plus, learning styles, etc

9. References
Brown, J. S. & Duguid, P., (2002) ‘Organizing Knowledge’ in Little, S., Quintas, P. and Ray, T. (eds) Managing Knowledge. London, Sage
Fielding et al (2005) Factors influencing the Transfer of Good Practice. DfES
Newman, M. & Elbourne, D. (2005) Improving the Usability of Educational Research: Guidelines for the REPOrting of Primary Empirical Research Studies in Education (The REPOSE Guidelines) Evaluation and Research in Education 18,

10. Rickinson, M. (2005) Practitioners’ Use of Research: A Research Review for the National Evidence for Education Portal (NEEP) Development Group nerf-uk.org/
Rudd, P et al (2001) Beacon Schools: Further External Evaluation of the Initiative Slough: NFER
Rudduck, J. et al (2000) Schools Learning From Other Schools: Co-operation in a Climate of Competition Research Papers in Education 15 (3) pp
Sheffield, P. & Saunders, S. (2004) Scoping study related to development of a Web portal for users of education evidence bases. Report presented to the Teacher Training Agency nerf-uk.org/