Teacher attitudes towards evidence-based practices for social, emotional and mental health difficulties in school and association with teacher academic research engagement

Abstract

he study examined the association between teacher engagement with academic research to inform practice for pupils with Social Emotional Mental Health Difficulties (SEMHD) and teacher attitudes towards the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBP) for pupils with SEMHD in a sample (n = 79) of undergraduate and postgraduate primary school trainee teachers in England, UK. A questionnaire was used to assess teachers’ academic research engagement operationalised as positive attitudes towards academic research, use of academic research, and knowledge about research. The Evidence-based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) was used to examine attitudes towards EBP. The findings showed that while appreciation of academic research in the sample was high, the use of academic research to inform practice and knowledge about research was low. A positive attitude towards academic research, less scepticism towards the value of academic research to inform school practice, and high research knowledge was associated with a more positive attitude towards EBP. More scepticism towards academic research to inform school practice for SEMHD and weaker understanding of research methods was linked to more scepticism about the relevance of EBP for school practice. The findings have implications for pre-service and in-service teacher training on SEMHD and the implementation of EBP for SEMHD in schools.