Research as a tool for educational practice

Research is a useful tool that guides the teaching staff, but does not determine what can work in the classroom, concludes Dylan Wiliam (professor emeritus of Educational Assessment at UCL Institute of Education).

He explains how research can not provide recipes, but directions:
“While educational research can never tell teachers, leaders and policymakers what to do — the situations they face are too varied and complex — it can suggest which practices are likely to have the greatest benefits for their students, and which are likely to be less effective. However, even where such guidance is supported by the preponderance of evidence, it is important to note that it may not be applicable to all situations. As a result, teachers, leaders and policymakers need to be critical consumers of educational research.”

Therefore, it becomes necessary to know the contributions of the investigation to be able to incorporate in the educational practice the discoveries or information that can be useful in each specific environment.