How can we understand and stimulate evidence-informed educational change? A scoping review from a systems perspective

Abstract

Evidence-informed change (EIC) has gained attention recently because it is seen as a lever to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of educational change. Important questions are: how is EIC conceptualized, what counts as evidence, and what factors can support EIC in practice? Because of the complexity of EIC, we aimed to understand these factors from a systems perspective. Different parts of the educational system (e.g. policy, practice of teachers’ and school leaders, research) are interrelated and need to be aligned for effective and sustainable change. Based on our scoping review we propose a model that conceptualizes EIC, identifies and defines different sources of evidence, and discusses influencing factors describing a system's readiness and capacity for EIC. Our results are an important step forward in understanding and supporting EIC in practice and developing targeted policy. This article also defines a common ground for future research, bringing together insights in an integrated framework of evidence-informed change.