Evidence-based practice: panacea or over promise?
Evidence-based practice: panacea or over promise?
This issue on evidence-based practice in education locates the rise of contemporary interest in evidence-based practice in the political culture of our times and the dominant discourse, noted and critiqued in several of the papers, of the government's agenda of ‘what works’. It outlines the motivations and origins of the current movement and the different forms of evidence advanced to serve policy and practice. The paper briefly explores the oft-quoted parallel with evidence-based medicine and professional decision-making and with the field of evaluation, the context for the papers in this issue, where the tradition of using evidence to inform decision-making has not always led to informed policy decisions or improved practice. It also briefly examines the changes in terminology (e.g. ‘evidence-informed’ and ‘practice-based evidence’) which have evolved to reflect a broader range of evidence and the complexity of practice. Each of the papers is briefly outlined and common themes identified. The paper concludes by arguing that we may need to be more modest in our claims for evidence-based practice. The relationship between evidence and policymaking or practice is complex, affected by relationships, ideologies and professional preferences as much as by evidence. It is by no means a panacea for all contexts and practices.
evidence?based practice, contemporary debate, origins, purposes, evaluation, professional practice
303-311
Simons, Helen
3f029b50-c852-4ba6-9cbf-2a3b6e2a5c33
December 2003
Simons, Helen
3f029b50-c852-4ba6-9cbf-2a3b6e2a5c33
Abstract
This issue on evidence-based practice in education locates the rise of contemporary interest in evidence-based practice in the political culture of our times and the dominant discourse, noted and critiqued in several of the papers, of the government's agenda of ‘what works’. It outlines the motivations and origins of the current movement and the different forms of evidence advanced to serve policy and practice. The paper briefly explores the oft-quoted parallel with evidence-based medicine and professional decision-making and with the field of evaluation, the context for the papers in this issue, where the tradition of using evidence to inform decision-making has not always led to informed policy decisions or improved practice. It also briefly examines the changes in terminology (e.g. ‘evidence-informed’ and ‘practice-based evidence’) which have evolved to reflect a broader range of evidence and the complexity of practice. Each of the papers is briefly outlined and common themes identified. The paper concludes by arguing that we may need to be more modest in our claims for evidence-based practice. The relationship between evidence and policymaking or practice is complex, affected by relationships, ideologies and professional preferences as much as by evidence. It is by no means a panacea for all contexts and practices.
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Published date: December 2003
Keywords:
evidence?based practice, contemporary debate, origins, purposes, evaluation, professional practice
Organisations:
Southampton Education School
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 388343
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/388343
ISSN: 0267-1522
PURE UUID: 19d036a2-4746-48e5-9f2d-97881c51933c
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Date deposited: 24 Feb 2016 10:01
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 22:55
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