Our expanded remit in the 16 – 19 sector involves building the evidence base, by developing, testing, and scaling programmes and approaches. We’ll also summarise the existing evidence to find out what we already know about what works. But – if we really want to improve learner outcomes – we need to collaborate with practitioners to help put that evidence to use.
Through our work with schools over the past decade, we’ve learnt that simply making research evidence available isn’t enough to change practice. Our guidance on implementation and the research that underpins it shows that while ‘an educational approach or idea may seem great in principle, what really matters is how it manifests itself in the day-to-day work of people in schools, colleges, and early years settings.’
That’s why we’re setting up a new initiative for the 16 – 19 sector that will focus on supporting colleges – both general FE and sixth form – to access, understand, and apply research evidence within their teaching and learning.
Bringing evidence to life
We want to become a driver for evidence use, ultimately leading to improved practice and better outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged learners.
To bring evidence to life it needs to be exemplified in context within a range of communities, across different regions and settings, and within technical, vocational and academic provision. Through a new evidence collective, we’ll invest in colleges’ professional expertise to help translate research evidence into practice and share that learning with others.
The new initiative will help shape our work through co-construction to build shared understanding of the sector’s priorities and of what effective use of evidence looks like in the 16 – 19 sector.
Zoe Lewis, EEF Trustee and Principal & CEO of Middlesbrough College, said:
Members of the group will work together and collaborate with others in their regional and national networks. The initial focus will be on learning from each other and co-constructing ways of working. Over time they will promote opportunities to engage with evidence through communicating and exemplifying evidence in use and offering training and support to other colleges.
Coming soon
In March, we’ll be launching a funded opportunity to be amongst the first members of the new group. We’re looking for a small number of colleges covering a range of geographical contexts and settings (including both general FE and sixth form colleges) who share our commitment to using research evidence to improve outcomes, particularly for socio-economically disadvantaged learners.
We’ll be sharing details of the application process on our website and through our dedicated post-16 newsletter very soon. Sign up to be notified when applications open.