Taming Randomized Controlled Trials In Education

There is a recent surge in the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) within education globally, with disproportionate claims being made about what they show, ‘what works’, and what constitutes the best ‘evidence’. Drawing on up-to-date scholarship from across the world, Taming Randomized Controlled Trials in Education critically addresses the increased use of RCTs in education, exploring their benefits, limits and cautions, and ultimately questioning the prominence given to them. While acknowledging that randomized controlled trials do have some place in education, the book nevertheless argues that this place should be limited. Drawing together all arguments for and against RCTs in a comprehensive and easily accessible single volume, the book also adds new perspectives and insights to the conversation; crucially, the book considers the limits of their usefulness and applicability in education, raising a range of largely unexplored concerns about their use. Chapters include discussions on: The impact of complexity theory and chaos theory. Design issues and sampling in randomized controlled trials. Learning from clinical trials. Data analysis in randomized controlled trials. Reporting, evaluating and generalizing from randomized controlled trials. Considering key issues in understanding and interrogating research evidence, this book is ideal reading for all students on Research Methods modules, as well as those interested in undertaking and reviewing research in the field of education.

The use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), most commonly a medical sciences research tool, is a hotly debated topic in Education. This book examines the controversial aspects of RCTs in Education and sets out the potential and pitfalls of the method. Drawing on their own extensive experience of running RCTs, and their work at the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation (CESI) at Queen’s University, Belfast, the authors provide a thorough practical introduction to the use of randomised controlled trials in education. Using real data sets, chapters equip the reader with all of the key knowledge and skills required to design, run, analyse and report an RCT. Coverage includes: · Step-by-step guidance on analysing data · How to assess the reliability and validity of results · Advice on balancing the demands of various stakeholders Essential reading for postgraduate and more experienced researchers, as well as teachers and educationalists seeking to increase their knowledge and understanding of the use of such methods in education.

This book examines the controversial aspects of Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT) in education and sets out the potential and pitfalls of the method. Drawing on their own extensive experience of running RCTs, the authors provide a thorough, practical introduction to the use of RCTs in education.

The Handbook of Philosophy of Education is a comprehensive guide to the most important questions about education that are being addressed by philosophers today. Authored by an international team of distinguished philosophers, its thirty-five chapters address fundamental, timely, and controversial questions about educational aims, justice, policy, and practices. Part I (Fundamental Questions) addresses the aims of education, authority to educate, the roles of values and evidence in guiding educational choices, and fundamental questions about human cognition, learning, well-being, and identity. Part II (Virtues of Mind and Character) is concerned with the educational formation of personal attributes that are often seen as essential to flourishing individuals and societies. This section includes chapters on the cultivation of intellectual and character virtues, the nature and formation of expertise, Stoic virtues, and intellectual vices. Part III (Education and Justice) addresses fundamental and emerging issues of educational justice, from equal educational opportunity, racial domination, and linguistic justice in education, to educational problems of mass migration, global educational justice, the education of working children around the world, and the costs of higher education and upward mobility. Part IV (Educational Practices) addresses controversial aspects of contemporary education – pedagogical, curricular, and managerial practices – that deserve careful examination. These include controversies surrounding free speech and instruction in controversial issues; anti-racist, sustainability, and sex education; and the unfulfilled promises and demoralizing impact of high-stakes accountability schemes. The format and jargon-free writing in this volume ensure that topics are interesting and accessible, helping facilitate the work of advanced students and professionals in Education.

Providing an overview of key issues in theory and practice, Replication Research in Education is designed to identify and discuss the benefits and challenges facing replication studies in education. Both clear and practical, this groundbreaking volume covers how to introduce, develop, conduct, report, and discuss these studies, and the issues they raise for policy and practice. Bridging theory and practice, this book considers what replication research should look like, how it should be conducted, and how to judge when it has been successful. It enables researchers to plan and conduct studies successfully, from their earliest stages through to completion. This key text: brings together in a single volume, existing issues, claims and counterclaims, discourses, and practices of replication; introduces, covers, and extends this field of research, indicating its possibilities and limits; expands and adds to existing discussions and practices; will enable researchers to design, conduct, evaluate, and critique studies. The comprehensive and exhaustive coverage of issues and practices within Replication Research in Education make it a 'must read' for all novice and experienced educational researchers who are considering, conducting, and reviewing replication studies in education.

“What a provocative and refreshing stance on evidence-informed education! Evidence-informed education may currently be a divided field, but this must-read book offers hope that a reunion of existing approaches may be possible for a ‘productive tension’ where researchers, school leaders and teachers work together... The disconnect in education between research, policy and practice needs this intellectual reboot!” Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope, Provost and Professor of Education, Plymouth Marjon University, UK “As a school leader, this book is an invaluable guide to evidence-informed educational research... It is a hopeful vision of a united evidence-informed education field in which practitioners, policymakers and researchers all play an active role as discerning creators and users of evidence.” Sam Mason, Deputy Headteacher, Thornton Primary School, UK “This is a wonderful book that deserves to be widely read and, more importantly, widely acted on. It presents a robust and detailed critique of current orthodoxies in how we have tried to improve educational practice through the use of evidence. Researchers, practitioners, policymakers and funders with an interest in evidence and school improvement should take note.” Professor Robert Coe, Director of Research and Development at Evidence Based Education, UK, and Senior Associate at the Education Endowment Foundation, UK A Critical Guide to Evidence-Informed Education analyses the role of research in education and its potential for improving education policy and practice. The book considers how divisions, both between different research traditions and between theory and practice, are hindering progress. Additional online content gives readers access to extra resources such as reflective questions and technical annexes to deepen understanding. Drawing on their experiences both as teachers and researchers, the authors expertly review fundamental questions about what research is, what it is for and the challenges of generating, communicating and using evidence. The book skilfully synthesises perspectives on evidence-informed education, forming connections across the ‘divided field’ and championing a more collaborative and eclectic approach. For education students, teachers, and school leaders, this book is an accessible and invaluable guide to the methods, problems, and key findings from several interconnected areas of education research. For researchers, this book offers an extended critical commentary and methodological critique of several related research communities and their current and potential contribution to educational improvement. The authors invite and equip readers to take their own stance on current and perennial debates about the role of research and evidence in improving education. Thomas Perry is an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick. He is a former schoolteacher who now teaches about education research methods and advises and supervises researchers at all levels, including leading the Education Doctorate (EdD) programme at Warwick. His research and teaching are focused on research methodology and the role of research and evidence in improving education policy and practice. Rebecca Morris is an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick. She is a former secondary English teacher and has previously worked at Durham University and University of Birmingham. Rebecca’s research interests include education policy, teacher education and the teacher workforce, English and literacy, and widening participation. She is an editorial board member for the British Educational Research Journal and Educational Review.

Student engagement is a catch-all term, irresistible to educators and policy makers, and serving many agendas and purposes. This ground-breaking book provides a powerful theory of student engagement, rooted in critical theory and social justice. It sets out a compelling argument for student engagement to promote social justice and to repel neoliberalism in, and through, higher education, addressing three key questions: Student engagement in what? Student engagement for what? Student engagement for whom? The answers draw on Habermas, Honneth, Gramsci, Foucault, and Giroux in examining ideology, power, recognition, resistance, and student engagement, with examples drawn from across the world. It sets out key features, limitations, and failures of neoliberalism in higher education, and indicates how student engagement can resist it. Student engagement calls for higher education institutions to be sites for challenge, debate on values and power, action for social justice, and for students to engage in the struggle to resist neoliberalism, taking action to promote social justice, democracy, and the public good. This book is essential reading for educators, researchers, managers and students in higher education, social scientists, and social theorists. It is a call to reawaken higher education for social justice, human rights, democracy, and freedoms.