Guiding Principles for Evaluating Evidence in Education Research

Abstract

Based on their experiences from their work with two national initiatives designed to reform educational practice in U.S., the authors present seven guiding principles of evidence-based/informed educational policy and research to lay the foundation for making rigorous and comprehensive judgments about what evidence and scientific research designs should be taken into account when scaling-up educational reforms to serve the public good. The authors further provide case examples from US with a clear potential to both utilize and generate evidence in the public interest including educational research studies that seeks to support underrepresented groups in preparing for and achieving successful transitions to postsecondary education and careers, in STEM and other fields. The authors conclude that educational researchers have a critical role to play in providing decision-makers with the tools to judge the evidence to serve public good.