Review of evidence on implementation in education

Abstract

Background ‘Implementation in education’ refers to active and planned efforts to introduce and sustain an approach in schools. It therefore involves making, and acting on, evidence-informed decisions. There is substantial evidence indicating that quality implementation amplifies the effectiveness of a range of school-based approaches. However, implementation in schools is complex and there is a need to know more about how to do implementation in schools well. It is important to understand how new approaches can be selected and put in place in school settings to improve outcomes for all pupils, including those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. There have been few reviews of research to date that take a holistic view of implementation across multiple intervention and school types. The EEF commissioned this evidence review to underpin an update to its guidance report ‘Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation’. Aims of the evidence review The evidence review aims to address two overarching questions: 1. How should school leaders and teachers understand implementation and how should they implement evidence informed approaches in their context to have the best chance of improving all pupils’ outcomes? 2. What is the relationship between content (‘what’) and process (‘how’) within school implementation? To address these two questions the evidence review is organised into four inter-related ‘work packages’. Because schools are complex, adaptive systems involving a diverse range of individuals, investigating implementation in schools needs to focus on context to understand what works for whom, where, and why. This realist perspective is reflected in our approach throughout.