In 2024, we published Engaging with Evidence, a report that explored how teachers and school leaders in England say they use research evidence in their day-to-day work.
Drawing on survey data collected via Teacher Tapp, we saw signs that engaging with evidence is becoming part of the fabric of the education system, though challenges remain. We found that most school leaders look for research evidence before making changes to practice but that educators at all levels of seniority report finding it difficult to apply research to their own practice.
Repeated questions
In early 2025, we commissioned the same questions again through Teacher Tapp, alongside two new ones. This allowed us to check whether last year’s results remain consistent over time, for stable trends at the population level can be as useful to learn about as significant changes
We found that very little had changed. For example:
- most school leaders continued to report looking for research evidence before making changes to practice,
- most teachers, and over half of leaders (senior leadership teams and heads) still recognised difficulty in applying research in their own classrooms, and
- when asked who or what they rely on, educators continued to highlight colleagues and peer networks, with senior leaders more likely to mention external guidance such as that provided by the EEF.
These recurrent patterns reinforce what we saw last year: educators value educational research as one source of guidance, but they often prefer to access it through trusted intermediaries, be these peers, leaders, or organisations that can interpret and contextualise findings for them.
Why this matters?
One of the most consistent findings across both years of data is the reported difficulty of applying research evidence in practice. This highlights the critical role of those who sit between research and the classroom: professional development providers, academic researchers, charities, and other third sector organisations.
These groups can help bridge evidence-practice gaps by supporting educators to infer practical, actionable implications from research evidence, and in doing so build the confidence and capability of teachers and leaders to use them.
If the trends we are seeing are indeed sticky, it means that without additional support the gap between evidence and practice may remain entrenched. Helping teachers and leaders to move from accessing research, into being able to engage with and act on it, must be a collective priority.
A call to action
That’s why we are excited to have launched our current funding round on Research Evidence Mobilisation for School Leaders. We want to support new and innovative projects that can help leaders to make better use of evidence in their decision-making, and in turn to better support teachers and pupils.
The call is open now with details available on our website: Research Evidence Mobilisation for School Leaders funding round. It will close at 11 am, Wednesday 5th November.
Looking ahead
The consistency of the survey findings over two years tells us two things.
First, the good news. Evidence use is becoming an embedded part of how educators, particularly school leaders, approach change.
And secondly, the translation of research evidence into real-world improvements to educational practice remains challenging.
Both are important. Both need sustained attention. And both point to the need for continued collaboration across the system, among teachers, leaders, academics, professional development providers, and other bodies, to ensure that research evidence makes a difference where it matters most: in the classroom.