Evidence-based Education: Inspiration for Educational Research and School Practice

This survey study is based on the assumption that each educational method has its precise functional range and is subject to particular working conditions influencing its effectiveness. It also has its specific target persons. Both educational science and teachers in their school practice should be informed in more detail about the potential and limitations of educational methods, educational approaches and educational conceptions, as the amount of relevant information they have at the moment is insufficient. These users should have educational research result summaries containing detailed assessment of the individual procedures at their disposal. This particular field of research is called evidence-based education.
The survey study describes the evolution, functioning and limitations of evidence-based education and is divided into six parts. The first part gives a basic overview of different research types (basic research, applied research and development). The secondpart focuses on the discussion between British and American academics about the gap between educational research and educational practice. The third part shows how medical science approaches a similar problem and what the branch of science called evidence-based medicine is concerned with. The fourth part of the study focuses on activities of the same kind in educational science and describes various aspects of evidence-based education. The fifth part offers concrete examples of evidence-based education used in practice in developed countries. It mainly concentrates on these four activities: collection, processing and preservation of existing evidence for users, systematic dissemination of existing evidence to those concerned, the application of already existing evidence to practice and cultivation of professionals. The sixth part of the study sums up current and potential risks of evidence-based education.