CASE Contributes to OECD Book: Evidence in Education

Throughout 2006, Jerzy Wisniewski has been organizing a series of meetings at CASE at which former education ministers of Poland discuss how to create stronger links between evidence-based research and current education policy in Poland. One outcome of this series of meetings has been a contributing chapter on Poland to the new OECD book, Evidence in Education: Linking Research and Policy. The book focuses on the “challenge of effective brokering between education policy makers and researchers” in all OECD countries. It is now available for purchase at the OECD online bookshop. Click here to download the chapter on Poland.

Book summary from OECD website:

Education policies and systems in all OECD countries are coming under increasing pressure to show greater accountability and effectiveness and it is crucial that educational policy decisions are made based on the best evidence possible. This book brings together international experts on evidence-informed policy in education from a wide range of OECD countries. The report looks at the issues facing educational policy makers, researchers, and stakeholders – teachers, media, parents – in using evidence to best effect. It focuses on the challenge of effective brokering between policy makers and researchers, offers specific examples of major policy-related research, and presents perspectives from several senior politicians. This book provides a fresh outlook on key issues facing policy makers, researchers and school leaders today

Table of Contents

Evidence in Education: Linking Research and Policy

Centre for Educational Research and Innovation

Executive Summary
Part One: Setting the Stage: The Evidence Agenda and Methodological Issues
Chapter 1. The Evidence Agenda by tracey Burns and Tom Schuller
Chapter 2. What Counts and What Should Count as Evidence by Thomas Cook and Stephen Gorard
Part Two: Mediating the Research/Policy Interface: The Role of Brokerage Agencies
Chapter 3. What Works Clearinghouse, United States by Robert Boruch and Rebecca Herman
Chapter 4. The Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Coordinating (EPPI) Centre, United Kingdom by David Gough
Chapter 5. The Iterative Best Evidence Synthesis Programme, New Zealand by Adrienne Alton-Lee
Chapter 6. The Canadian Council on Learning, Canada by Charles Ungerleider
Chapter 7. The Knowledge Clearinghouse, Denmark by René Bugge Bertramsen
Chapter 8. The Knowledge Chamber, Netherlands by Hans Stegeman and Rien Rouw
Chapter 9. The Social Care Institute for Excellence, United Kingdom by Bill Kilgallon
Part 3. Evidence-Based Policy Research in Practice: Examples from the Field
Chapter 10. A Large-Scale Policy Research Programme: A Canadian Experience by Staya Brink
Chapter 11. Life as Learning - A Finnish National Reserach Programme by Hannele Niemi
Chapter 12. The United Kingdom's Teaching and Learning Research Programme by Andrew Poland
Chapter 13. Policy-Driven Research and Evidence-Bassed Education Innovation in Singapore by David Hogan
Part Four: The Politicians' Perspective
Chapter 14. Research-Based Policy-Making: The Need for a Long-Term Perspective by Johnny Nilsson
Chapter 15. Evidence-Based Policy: Yes, but Evidence-Based Practice as Well? by Maria J. A. Van der Hoeven
Chapter 16. The Importance of Evidence-Informed Policy Research in Education: A Perspective from Wales by Jane Davidson
Chapter 17. Promoting Evidence-Based Policy in Education: The Case of Poland by Jerzy Wisniewski