Research article

Does a theory of action approach help teachers engage in evidence-informed self-improvement?

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Abstract

This article reports on how using Theories of Action (TofA) can help teachers scale up evidence-informed teaching practices by aiding their understanding of why such interventions have been effective and which aspects are key to driving change. This paper reports on a specific approach: a partnership between an academic and three schools. The findings based on interviews with 15 teachers and school leaders (the whole of the federation's teaching staff), and pre- and post-intervention surveys (undertaken with 13 staff members) suggests that the scale-up of evidence-informed practice, when aided by TofAs, can lead to substantial impact on teacher and pupil outcomes. The paper concludes that the effective scale-up of evidence-informed interventions is grounded in teachers' understanding of why interventions have been successful and how that success might be realized in a new context. Correspondingly, when teachers are shown how to use TofAs to tailor interventions, this helps them ascertain how such interventions can be realized most effectively in their own settings.

Keywords: THEORY OF ACTION, RESEARCH-INFORMED PRACTICE, ACADEMIC-TEACHER, PARTNERSHIP, RESEARCH LEARNING COMMUNITIES

How to Cite:

Flood, J. & Brown, C., (2018) “Does a theory of action approach help teachers engage in evidence-informed self-improvement?”, Research for All 2(2), 347–358. doi: https://doi.org/10.18546/RFA.02.2.12