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Educator Voices on Education ResearchJefferson Education Exchange, November 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTSBackground 2

Executive Summary 3

Who are the responding educators? 6

How do educators access research? 10From which sources? 10

How often? 12

How do educators access research sources? 13

Who is accessing research through IES sources? 15

How do educators feel about research? 16

How do educators want to learn about research findings? 17

To what extent are educators familiar with and using IES resources? 18Have educators heard of IES resources? 18

Have educators used information from IES resources? 19

To what extent do educators want to participate in research? 21Should educators influence research topics? 21

Do educators have an opinion about what researchers should study? 22

About what topics do educators seek research? 23About what, more specific, topics do educators seek research? 25

References 27

Acknowledgements 27

Educator Voices on Education Research 2

Background

The Jefferson Education Exchange is a nonprofit organization supported by the University of Virginia Curry School of Education and Human Development and the Strada Education Network. Our mission is to help educators make better-informed decisions about education technology based on their specific instructional environments. Working through collective action, the Jefferson Education Exchange aims to elevate teacher voice and to increase the production and use of implementation-focused research evidence.

The Jefferson Education Exchange entered a formal partnership with the U. S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in September 2018. IES is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the Department of Education that offers a variety of independent non-partisan research resources to educators, policy makers, researchers, parents, and the public. The Jefferson Education Exchange and IES agreed to organize a series of three convenings in October and November 2018 designed to expand the role of educators in helping shape the national education research agenda. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-funded this project.

The first two convenings brought together teachers, principals, and administrators in Omaha and then Raleigh to discuss their use and perceptions of education research, as well as their desire to be involved in education research. The third convening, in Washington, D.C., brought together leaders of 64 educator associations, 52 of which serve member constiuencies.

At the beginning of the two educator field convenings, prior to any discussion of education research so as not to bias their responses, we asked all attending educators to complete a survey sharing their perspectives on education research. A total of 144 educators completed the survey while attending a field convening (100% response rate for attending educators). Prior to the third educator association convening, we asked association leaders to share the same survey with their members. A total of 1,190 educators from 44 associations (85% response rate for attending membership associations) completed the online survey due to their membership in one of these organizations.

This report provides descriptive findings from this survey on research use. The executive summary provides main points for key survey questions, and detailed data can be found in the report.


Executive Summary

Who are the responding educators? (go to page)• A total of 1,334 educators responded to an online survey: 144 were educators attending a

convening that included the survey and 1,190 received the survey from their professional educator associations.

• Educators from all 50 states and the District of Columbia responded to the survey.• 44 associations are represented on the survey, covering diverse student and educator

populations in terms of race/ethnicity, subject area, roles, school level, and special education status.

• Responding educators have worked in education for an average of 21.48 (SD = 11.06) years.

• The majority of responding educators:• work in public schools (including public charters), and their schools are located in

a spread of city (40%), suburb (29%), rural (21%), and town (10%) locales.• work in PreK-12 contexts (89%) in instructional/support roles (92%). • hold master’s degrees (59%).

• The top subject areas represented at the convening were science (13%), arts (11%), and math (11%), while the top three subjects for association members were social studies (10%), science (8%), and math (6%).

• Convening attendees most frequently identified working with gifted and talented students (10%), and association members most frequently reported working with students designated as special education (11%).

How do educators access research? (go to page)• Educators most frequently access research at least once in a year from blog/news articles

(94%), journal articles (92%), colleagues who read research (91%), and professional conferences (91%).

• Educators do not access research as frequently through vendors (69%) or on podcasts or radio shows (62%).

• If educators do access research through journal abstracts, journal articles or blog/news articles, the majority access research seven or more times in a year.

• If educators do access research through education vendors or professional conferences, the majority access research only one to two times in a year.

• Educators most frequently access research through online searches.• Of the IES education sources, educators most frequently use the ERIC database to

access research.• Half of higher education respondents (50%) access research through ERIC, while just over

one quarter (28%) of preK-12 respondents use ERIC.


• PreK-12 educators access research through IES resources (NCES, NCER/NCSER, and ERIC) less than those in higher education.

• PreK-12 educators in instructional or support roles access IES research with similar frequency as PreK-12 educators in administrative roles.

How do educators feel about research? (go to page)Based on a scale of 1-7 where responses range from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree:

• Educators feel somewhat neutral about research in considering timeliness (M = 4.87), ease to find (M = 4.57), to understand (M = 4.54), and to transfer to practice (M = 4.47).

• Educators feel slightly more positive about research considering its relevance (5.16), reliability (5.25), and usefulness (5.49).

How do educators want to learn about research findings? (go to page)Educators most want to learn about research findings in ways that are:

• Actionable (results accompanied by directions (M = 5.80) and demonstrations about applying research (5.42)).

• Contextualized for their own needs (presentations tailored to their needs (M = 5.51) and discussion with their colleagues (M = 5.62)).

To what extent are educators familiar with and using IES resources? (go to page)• The majority of educators have heard of most IES resources, including WWC, NCES,

NCER, NCSER, and ERIC. • Educators are least familiar with the RELs (39%). • Convening attendees were less likely than association members to have heard of

almost every source except for NCER. Significant differences remain consistent when comparing only PreK-12 association members and convening attendees.

• Over half of the educators have used information from ERIC (55%).• Convening attendees were less likely than association members to have used

information from all IES sources.• Significant differences remain consistent when comparing only PreK-12

association members and convening attendees.• Almost one-third of association members have used information from WWC

(32%), NCES (30%), and NCER (31%).

To what extent do educators want to participate in research? (go to page)• Educators agree that they and national educator associations should influence

research topics.• Educators more strongly agree that they should influence research topics than educator

associations (see comparison to educators).• Educators overwhelmingly have opinions about what researchers should study (89%).• Over half of those educators would like to get involved with research (59%).


About what topics do educators seek research? (go to page)• 109 discrete topics describe the topics about which educators would like to see

more research. • Seven of the top ten research categories are the same in both groups:

1. Pedagogical Practices (ranked 1st in both)2. Special Education3. Social-emotional Support & Practices4. Student Achievement5. Student Engagement 6. Diversity Inclusion, & Acceptance Concerns7. Technology Effect on Students

• Pedagogical practices were most frequently identified in relation to: 1. Special education2. Social-emotional support & practices3. Student achievement4. Student engagement

• Concerns about diversity, inclusion, and acceptance focused primarily on special education students, as well as restorative practices for disenfranchised groups.

• Social-emotional support practices were most frequently identified in relation to:1. Student achievement2. Student discipline3. Mental health

• Student achievement and engagement concerns were most frequently co-identified.

• Percents (%) based on total respondents and do not include missing data.• Independent samples t-tests account for unequal variance in samples. All

independent samples t-tests compare the means for respondents who attended a convening and those who responded to the survey based on membership in a professional educator association.

• N = Number of respondents for that item unless otherwise noted as number of responses

• M = Mean• SD = Standard deviation• t(p) = t-statistic (p-value) • Bolded numbers indicate the highest mean, frequency, etc.

Notes Applying throughout the Report


Who are the responding educators?

• A total of 1,334 educators responded to an online survey: 144 were educators attending a convening that included the survey and 1,190 received the survey from their professional educator associations.

• Educators from all 50 states and the District of Columbia responded to the survey.• 44 associations are represented on the survey, covering diverse student and educator populations in

terms of race/ethnicity, subject area, roles, school level, and special education status. • Responding educators have worked in education for an average of 21.48 (SD = 11.06) years.• The majority of responding educators:

• work in public schools (including public charters), and their schools are located in a spread of city (40%), suburb (29%), rural (21%), and town (10%) locales.

• work in PreK-12 contexts (89%) in instructional/support roles (92%). • hold master’s degrees (59%).

• The top subject areas represented at the convening were science (13%), arts (11%), and math (11%), while the top three subjects for association members were social studies (10%), science (8%), and math (6%).

• Convening attendees most frequently identified working with gifted and talented students (10%), and association members most frequently reported working with students designated as special education (11%).

Table 1. Educators’ School Characteristics

All Association Members Convening Attendees DiffSchool Characteristics Freq. % N Freq. % N Freq. % N t(p)

Public vs. Private 986 845

Public 845 86 717 85 128 91 -2.16 (.032)

Private 141 14 128 15 13 9

Locale 991 850 141

City 396 40 322 38 74 52

Suburb 291 29 270 32 21 15

Town 98 10 86 10 12 9

Rural 206 21 172 20 34 24

Title One Status 943 804 139

Yes 614 65 526 65 88 63 0.48 (.634)

No 329 35 248 35 51 37

Note. N is the number of educators who responded to that question.


Table 2. Educators’ Professional Characteristics

All Association Members Convening Attendees DiffProfessional Characteristics Freq. % N Freq. % N Freq. % N t(p)

Responding Educators 1334 1190 89 144 10.79

Sector 1117 973 144

Higher Education 123 11 123 13 0 0 11.86 (.000)

PreK-12 994 89 850 87 144 100

Grade* 962 820 142

PreK/Elementary 214 22 172 21 43 30

Middle 221 23 174 21 47 33

Secondary 574 60 513 63 61 43

Time with Students 1061 919 142

0 hours 218 21 212 23 6 4

1 - 10 hours 237 22 226 25 11 8

11 - 20 hours 133 13 127 14 6 4

21 - 30 hours 132 12 113 12 19 13

31 - 40 hours 341 32 241 26 100 70

Role 876 876 141

PreK-12 Administrator 72 8 72 8 6 4 2.35 (.019)

PreK-12 Instructional 804 92 804 92 135 96

Education 1083 941 142

< college degree 5 1 5 1 0 0

Associate’s degree 4 <1 3 <1 1 1

Bachelor’s degree 122 11 81 9 41 29

Master’s degree 639 59 548 58 91 64

Professional degree 38 4 37 4 1 1

Doctorate 275 25 267 28 8 6

Note. N is the number of educators who responded to that question.

*Grade question was “Select all that apply,” so N is the total number of responses rather than respondents.


Table 3. Convening Attendees’ Subject Area and Student Population Affiliations

Association Members Convening AttendeesSubject Area/ Student Population Freq. % Freq. %

English Language Arts 19 2 8 6

Fine or Performing Arts 3 <1 16 11

Math 46 6 15 11

Social Studies 83 10 10 7

Science 65 8 18 13

World Language 4 1 3 2

Technology 47 6 3 2

Physical Education 4 1 1 1

Special Education 88 11 10 7

English Language Learners 61 7 9 6

Gifted and Talented 47 6 14 10

Other 68 8 13 9

Not Applicable 298 36 20 14

Note. 833 association members and 140 convening attendees responded to the subject area/student population question.

Table 4. Associations Represented on Survey

Association

AAAS (The American Association for the Advancement of Science)

AAE (Association of American Educators)

AASA (American Association of School Administrators)

AASL (American Association of School Librarians)

ACS (American Chemical Society)

AFT (American Federation of Teachers)

ALAS (Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents)

Alliance for Excellent Education

ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)

AMLE (Association for Middle Level Education)

ASA (American Statistical Association)

ASCA (American School Counselor Association)

ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)

CASE (Council of Administrators for Special Education)


Association

CEC (Council for Exceptional Children)

Center for Education Reform

Center for Leadership, Equity and Research

CoSN (Council for School Networking)

CSSS (Council for State Science Supervisors)

IDA (International Dyslexia Association)

ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)

ITEEA (International Technology and Engineering Educators Association)

Learning Disabilities Association of America

MCEC (Military Child Education Coalition)

MISA (Military Impacted Schools Association)

NABE (National Association for Bilingual Education)

NABSE (National Alliance of Black School Educators)

NABT (National Association of Biology Teachers)

NAESP (National Association of Elementary School Principals)

NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children)

NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children)

NASP (National Association of School Psychologists)

NBPTS (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards)

NCHE (National Council for History Education)

NCSS (National Council for the Social Studies)

NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English)

NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics)

NEA (National Education Association)

Next Generation Learning Challenge Schools

NJCLD (National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities)

NSTA (National Science Teachers Association)

SETDA (State Educational Technology Directors Association)

SITE (Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education)

TESOL


How do educators access research?

From which sources? 1• Educators most frequently access research at least once in a year from blogs/news articles (94%),

journal articles (92%), colleagues who read research (91%), and professional conferences (91%).• Educators do not access research as frequently through vendors (69%) or on podcasts or radio

shows (62%).

Figure 1. Percent of Educators Accessing Research at Least Once in a Year by Source

1 Based on responses to “Rate the frequency with which you have accessed information from education research during the past year…”


Table 5. Percent of Educators Accessing Research at Least Once in a Year

Yes, Overall Yes, Association Members

Yes, Convening Attendees Diff

Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % t(p)

Journal Abstracts 974 87 882 89 92 71 4.29 (.000)

Journal Articles 1031 92 923 93 108 83 2.82 (.006)

Blogs or News Articles 1058 94 938 94 120 93 0.49 (.627)

Podcasts or Radio Shows 696 62 624 63 72 55 1.62 (.107)

Reports or Executive Summaries 872 78 805 81 67 52 6.48 (.000)

Infographics or Visual Summaries 903 80 810 82 93 72 2.41 (.017)

Colleagues Who Read Research 1025 91 912 92 113 87 1.56 (.121)

Education Vendors 781 69 691 69 90 69 0.05 (.960)

Professional Conferences 1022 91 914 92 108 83 2.52 (.013)


How often? 2• If educators do access research through journal abstracts, journal articles or blog/news articles, the

majority access research seven or more times in a year.• If educators do access research through education vendors or professional conferences, the majority

access research only one to two times in a year.

Table 6. Frequency of Accessing Education Research by Source

N Never 1-2 Times 3-4 Times 5-6 Times 7+ TimesFreq. % Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % Freq. %

Journal Abstracts a 1,120 146 13 226 20 184 16 156 14 408 36

Journal Articles b 1,126 95 8 250 22 194 17 179 16 408 36

Blogs or News Articles 1,125 67 6 137 12 199 18 194 17 528 47

Podcasts or Radio Shows 1,122 426 38 286 25 161 14 108 10 141 13

Reports or Exec. Summaries 1,122 250 20 276 25 253 23 159 14 184 16

Infographics or Visual Summaries 1,123 220 20 246 22 218 19 192 17 247 22

Colleagues Who Read Research 1,124 99 9 219 19 274 24 199 18 333 30

Education Vendors 1,125 344 31 364 32 223 20 109 10 85 8

Professional Conferences 1,127 105 9 435 39 307 27 141 13 139 12

2 Based on responses to “Rate the frequency with which you have accessed information from education research during the past year…”


How do educators access research sources? 3• Educators most frequently access research through online searches.• Of the IES sources, educators most frequently use the ERIC database to access research.

Figure 2. Percent of Educators Accessing Research via Particular Access Points

3 Based on responses to “How did you access {academic journal abstracts or articles; blog/news article; podcast or radio shows; report or executive summary of research; infographic or visual summary of research}? Check all that apply.”


Table 7. Educators’ Research Access Points




Journal Subscription 594 45 559 47 35 24 6.86 (.000)

Online Search 906 68 802 67 104 72 0.01 (.496)

Social Media 625 47 545 46 80 56 -1.57 (.119)

Peer Colleague 594 45 521 44 73 51 -0.90 (.992)

Supervisor or Leader 367 28 305 26 62 43 -3.72 (.000)

State Department of Education 368 28 335 28 33 23 1.96 (.052)

County Office of Education 84 6 73 6 11 8 -0.46 (.650)

University Researcher 287 22 265 22 22 15 2.66 (.009)

Professional Association 767 58 708 60 59 41 5.48 (.000)

Institute of Education Sciences Access Points

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) 185 14 177 15 8 6 4.73 (.000)

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 170 13 161 14 9 6 3.63 (.000)

Regional Education Laboratories (RELs) 74 6 69 6 5 3 1.62 (.106)

National Center for Education Research (NCER) or National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)

152 11 147 12 5 3 5.33 (.000)

Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) 323 24 302 25 21 15 3.94 (.000)


Who is accessing research through IES sources? 4• Half of higher education respondents (50%) access research through ERIC, while just over one quarter

(28%) of preK-12 respondents use ERIC. • PreK-12 educators access research through IES resources (NCES, NCER/NCSER, and ERIC) less than

those in higher education.• PreK-12 educators in instructional or support roles access IES research with similar frequency as PreK-

12 educators in administrative roles.

Table 8. Educators’ Access Frequency through IES Sources

SECTOR PREK-12 ROLES

Overall Higher Ed PreK-12 Diff Admin Instructional Diff

Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % t(p) Freq. % Freq. % t(p)

WWC 185 14 20 19 153 17 -0.36 (.719) 22 10.95 120 17 2.14

(.033)

NCES 170 13 28 26 133 15 -2.52 (.013) 22 10.95 93 13 0.74

(.462)

RELs 74 6 7 7 65 7 0.31 (.759) 12 5.97 41 6 -0.17

(.864)

NCER or NCSER 152 11 32 30 110 12 -3.82

(.000) 17 8.46 82 11 1.24 (.217)

ERIC 323 24 54 50 246 28 -4.47 (.000) 46 22.89 191 26 1.01

(.314)

4 Based on responses to “How did you access {academic journal abstracts or articles; blog/news article; podcast or radio shows; report or executive summary of research; infographic or visual summary of research}? Check all that apply.”

What is the Institute of Education Sciences?

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the Department of Education that offers a variety of independent non-partisan research resources to educators, policy makers, researchers, parents, and the public. IES supports field-initiated research through the National Center for Education Research and the National Center for Special Education Research. Investigators funded through the research centers disseminate the findings from their studies through a variety of products, including peer-reviewed scholarly papers, briefs, and presentations. IES disseminates research knowledge and evidence through three components of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance: the What Works Clearinghouse, ERIC, and the Regional Educational Laboratories.


How do educators feel about research? 5

• Educators feel somewhat neutral about research in considering timeliness (M = 4.87), ease to find (M = 4.57), to understand (M = 4.54), and to transfer to practice (M = 4.47).

• Educators feel slightly more positive about research considering its relevance (5.16), reliability (5.25), and usefulness (5.49).

Table 9. Educators’ Perceptions of Research

Overall Association Members

Convening Attendees Diff

Education research (is)... M(SD) N M(SD) N M(SD) N t(p)

Easy to find 4.57 (1.52) 1134 4.61 (1.52) 991 4.29 (1.49) 143 2.39 (.018)

Easy to understand 4.54 (1.41) 1129 4.60 (1.40) 986 4.14 (1.45) 143 3.56 (.000)

Relevant to your reality 5.16 (1.39) 1138 5.18 (1.39) 995 5.00 (1.39) 143 1.48 (.140)

Offers timely information 4.87 (1.35) 1130 4.90 (1.36) 987 4.69 (1.30) 143 1.75 (.083)

Reliable and trustworthy 5.25 (1.17) 1135 5.25 (1.18) 992 5.24 (1.10) 143 0.06 (.950)

Useful to guide practice 5.49 (1.17) 1132 5.50 (1.19) 989 5.41 (1.02) 143 1.03 (.303)

Easy to transfer to your practice 4.47 (1.30) 1133 4.48 (1.31) 990 4.37 (1.27) 143 1.00 (.318)

Note. Responses range: 1 = Strongly Disagree to 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree

5 Based on responses to “Rate the extent to which you agree that education research…” Responses range from 1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree. Question modified from Lysenko, Abrami, Bernard, & Dagenis, 2015.


How do educators want to learn about research findings? 6

Educators most want to learn about research findings in ways that are:• Actionable (results accompanied by directions (M = 5.80) and demonstrations about applying

research (5.42)).• Contextualized for their own needs (presentations tailored to their needs (M = 5.51) and discussion

with their colleagues (M = 5.62)).

Table 10. Educators’ Preferences for Learning about Research Findings

is useful to make you aware of education research findings.



M(SD) N M(SD) N M(SD) N t(p)

Presentation of research findings tailored to your needs

5.51 (1.22) 1133 5.50 (1.22) 990 5.59 (1.20) 143 -0.80 (.423)

Involvement in a research project 5.20 (1.53) 1131 5.16 (1.54) 988 5.52 (1.41) 143 -2.89 (.004)

Research results accompanied with clear, explicit directions

5.80 (1.17) 1131 5.79 (1.17) 988 5.87 (1.16) 143 -0.84 (.401)

Opportunities to discuss research results with the research team

5.06 (1.54) 1128 4.99 (1.53) 985 5.48 (1.50) 143 -3.58 (.000)

Regular contact with people who distribute research-based information

4.94 (1.52) 1131 4.92 (1.52) 988 5.10 (1.54) 143 -1.35 (.180)

Demonstrations about how to apply research recommendations

5.41 (1.40) 1132 5.36 (1.41) 989 5.74 (1.34) 143 -3.14 (.002)

Discussions of research-based information with colleagues

5.62 (1.30) 1128 5.60 (1.31) 985 5.80 (1.23) 143 -1.79 (.076)

Note. Responses range: 1 = Strongly Disagree to 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree

6 Based on responses to “Rate the extent to which you agree that the following activities are useful to make you aware of education research findings.” Responses range from 1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree. Question modified from Lysenko, Abrami, Bernard, & Dagenis, 2015.


To what extent are educators familiar with and using IES resources? 7

Have educators heard of IES resources? 8• The majority of educators have heard of most IES resources, including WWC, NCES, NCER, NCSER,

and ERIC. • Educators are least familiar with the RELs (39%). • Convening attendees were less likely than association members to have heard of almost every source

except for NCER. Significant differences remain consistent when comparing only PreK-12 association members and convening attendees.

Figure 3. Educators’ Familiarity with IES Resources

7 Based on responses to “What is your familiarity with {What Works Clearinghouse; National Center for Education Statistics; Regional Education Laboratories; National Center for Education Research; National Center for Special Ed. Research; Education Resources Information Center}?”8 Based on responses of “0 = I’ve never heard of this source before,” showing all except for responses of 0


Table 11. Educators’ Familiarity with IES Resources, “Yes, I’ve heard of this.”



IES Resources Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % t(p)

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)

647 59 596 62 51 36 6.08 (.000)



National Center for Education Research (NCER) 886 81 780 82 106 75 1.80 (.074)

National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) 614 56 554 58 60 42 3.58 (.000)


Have educators used information from IES resources? 9• Over half of the educators have used information from ERIC (55%).• Convening attendees were less likely than association members to have used information from all

IES sources.• Significant differences remain consistent when comparing only PreK-12 association members

and convening attendees.• Almost one-third of association members have used information from WWC (32%), NCES

(30%), and NCER (31%).

Figure 4. Educators’ Use of Information with IES Resources

9 Based on responses to “3 = Someone else uses this to gather research information I use; 4 = I use this to gather research information and it is easy to use; or 5 = I use this to gather research information but it is hard to use.”


Table 12. Educators’ Use of Information from IES Resources



IES Resources Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % t(p)

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)

318 29 302 32 16 11 6.64 (.000)



National Center for Education Research (NCER) 315 29 298 31 17 12 6.16 (.000)

National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) 183 17 176 18 7 5 6.12 (.000)


• What Works Clearinghouse• National Center for Education Statistics• Regional Education Laboratories• National Center for Education Research• National Center for Special Education Research• Education Resources Information Center

Explore their resources:

Want to learn more about the resources from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences?

Follow IES on Facebook @IESResearch and Twitter @IESResearch for the latest updates.

IES grants annually support over 423 million dollars worth of new research (Institute of Education Sciences, 2019). While many educators may not know they are using an IES resource, IES-supported research is published in almost all education journals.

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

https://nces.ed.gov/datatools/

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/

https://ies.ed.gov/ncer/

https://ies.ed.gov/ncser/

https://eric.ed.gov/

https://www.facebook.com/IESResearch/

https://twitter.com/IESResearch/


10 Based on responses to “Rate the extent to which you agree with the following statements: {Educators; national education associations in general; national educator associations to which you belong} should influence the topics on which researcher conduct education research.”

To what extent do educators want to participate in research?

Should educators influence research topics? 10

• Educators agree they and national educator associations should influence research topics.• Educators more strongly agree that they should influence research topics than educator associations

(see comparison to educators).

Table 13. Educators’ Beliefs About Influence on Education Research

should influence the topics on which researchers conduct education research.



M(SD) N M(SD) N M(SD) N t(p)

Educators 6.08 (1.06) 1136 6.03 (1.07) 993 6.42 (0.92) 143 -4.67 (.000)

National educator associations in general 5.24 (1.32) 1134 5.25 (1.30) 991 5.15 (1.45) 143 0.82 (.411)

Compared to Educators t(p)* 21.78 (.000) 19.43 (.000) 10.29 (.000)

National educator associations to which you belong 5.40 (1.32) 1134 5.43 (1.29) 991 5.14 (1.45) 143 2.29 (.024)

Compared to Educators t(p)* 18.06 (.000) 15.47 (.000) 10.21 (.000)

Note. Responses range: 1 = Strongly Disagree to 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree*Dependent samples t-test


Table 14. Educators’ Opinions on Research Topics




YES 1008 89 882 89 126 89 0.16 (.875)

...but I don’t want to be involved in the research myself. 346 31 329 33 17 12

...and I want to be involved in the research myself. 662 59 553 56 109 77

NO 123 11 107 11 16 11

...but I know at least one educator colleague who does. 58 5 48 5 10 7

...and I don’t know other educators who do either. 65 6 59 6 6 4

Do educators have an opinion about what researchers should study? 11

• Educators overwhelmingly have opinions about what researchers should study (89%).• Over half of those educators would like to get involved with the research (59%).

Figure 5. Educators’ Opinions on Research Topics

11 Based on responses to “Do you have an opinion on what education researchers should study about your content domain or the student population(s) you serve?”


About what topics do educators seek research? 12

• 109 discrete topics describe the areas about which educators would like to see more research. • Seven of the top ten research categories are the same in both groups:

1. Pedagogical Practices (ranked 1st in both)2. Special Education3. Social-emotional Support & Practices4. Student Achievement5. Student Engagement 6. Diversity Inclusion, & Acceptance Concerns7. Technology Effect on Students

Table 15. Top Ten Research Topics Across Each Data Source

Measure Research Use Survey (RUS)

Sample Association Members (Rank)

Educator Attendees (Rank)

Pedagogical Practices (1) 15% (1) 14%

Special Education (2) 10% (8) 5%

Social-emotional Support & Practices (3) 8% (5) 8%

Student Achievement (4) 8% (2) 10%

Student Engagement (5) 6% (4) 8%

Diversity, Inclusion, & Acceptance Concerns (6) 6% (6) 7%

Educational Policy Concerns (7) 4%

English Language Learners or ELL (8) 4%

Technology Effect on Students (9) 3% (3) 10%

High Stakes Testing (10) 3%

Effective Technology Use (7) 6%

Student Discipline (9) 5%

Socio-economic Disparity (10) 5%

Note. Due to different priorities across data sources, vertical hierarchy represents ranked order in the first column only. Numbers in bold represent rank. We removed the first code in the list, Education Research (Association Members 19% and Educator Attendees 26%), as it does not provide useful information in terms of a discrete research topic, emerging as a result of respondents’ explicit references to the general word research in their responses.

12 Based on responses to “What would you want education researchers to study?” Only educators who indicated, “Yes, I have an opinion about what research should study” provided responses. 800 association members and 122 convening attendees provided responses.


Table 16. Full List of Research Topics Identified by Educators

Topics Freq. Topics Freq.

educational research 382 collaboration 21

pedagogical practices 279 curricular alignment 21

special education 177 student skills concerns 21

social-emotional support & practices 153 teacher education programs 21

student achievement 149 administration support 20

student engagement 122 funding concerns 20

diversity, inclusion, & acceptance concerns 110 physical health 19

educational policy concerns 79 advanced programming 18

technology effect on students 71 relationships 17

english language learners 67 teacher retention & burnout 16

student discipline 54 teacher voice 16

high stakes testing 52 home/school disconnect 15

math 48 student retention 15

mental health 46 experiential learning 14

restorative practices for disenfranchised groups 45 unpacking standards 14

effective technology use 43 leadership opportunities 13

career preparation 39 morale - teachers 13

parental accountability, concerns & involvement 39 project-based learning 13

professional development, training, and effectiveness 39 school mission 13

socio-economic disparity 37 social media influence 13

appropriate resources for learning 36 critical thinking 12

trauma-informed practices & support 35 staffing 12

effective implementation 32 arts focus 11

modalities 29 interdisciplinary approaches 11

stem focus 28 school pride and respect 11

equity 27 brain breaks 10

science 26 new teacher support 10

achievement gap 25 teacher evaluations 10

student choice & control 24 accountability at the state level 9

effective data use 23 professional value 9

authentic assessment in real-world context 22 accountability at the federal level 8


Topics Freq. Topics Freq.

data collection 8 teacher advancement 3

fundamental student needs 8 digital citizenship 2

political concerns 8 faculty culture 2

flexible learning spaces 7 outside decision maker 2

scarcity of time 7 looping 2

career compensation & benefits concerns 6 managing scale 2

character education 6 parent notification strategies 2

class size 6 scheduling flexibility 2

inquiry based 6 student accountability 2

stakeholder input 6 balance 1

access 5 creativity 1

community involvement 5 grading 1

content experts 5 incentives 1

resiliency 5 logistics 1

accountability at the county level 4 mentoring programs 1

bullying 4 planning time - teacher 1

immigration/refugee trauma 4 prior knowledge 1

infrastructure 4 school start time 1

music 4 teaching to the test 1

schedule type 4 transportation 1

school calendar 4 validity 1

teacher social activism 4 vertical teaming 1

gaming 4 workplace ethics/etiquette 1

school safety 3

About what, more specific, topics do educators seek research? 13

• Pedagogical practices were most frequently identified in relation to: 1. Special education2. Social-emotional support & practices3. Student achievement4. Student engagement

• Concerns about diversity, inclusion, and acceptance focused primarily on special education students, as well as restorative practices for disenfranchised groups.

13 Based on the co-application of two topic codes to the same comment. Each comment was coded with one to five topics.


Table 17. Co-Application of Top 15 Research Topics

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

1. Pedagogical Practices 32 23 28 33 17 12 5 12 7 9 12 4 5 13

2. Special Education 17 9 5 23 16 4 10 8 6 7 13 4 2

3. Social-emotional Support & Practices

20 11 7 2 8 4 23 7 4 24 6 1

4. Student Achievement 51 13 5 9 7 6 12 1 8 7 6

5. Student Engagement 4 3 11 3 8 5 2 8 1 7

6. Diversity, Inclusion, & Acceptance Concerns

8 1 7 5 2 3 1 35 0

7. Educational Policy Concerns 0 6 2 5 0 0 5 0

8. Technology Effect on Students 0 2 2 1 8 1 24

9. English Language Learners 1 2 0 0 3 1

10. Student Discipline 0 2 6 3 0

11. High Stakes Testing 0 1 1 3

12. Math 0 1 0

13. Mental Health 0 0

14. Restorative Practices for Disenfranchised Groups

0

15. Effective Technology Use

• Social-emotional support practices were most frequently identified in relation to:1. Student achievement2. Student discipline3. Mental health

• Student achievement and engagement concerns were most frequently co-identified.


References

Institute of Education Sciences. (2019). Director’s biennial report to Congress: Fiscal years 2017 and 2018.Retrieved from Institute of Education Sciences website: https://ies.ed.gov/pdf/IESBR2017_2018.pdf

Lysenko, L. V, Abrami, P. C., Bernard, R. M., & Dagenais, C. (2015). Research use in education: An online survey of school practitioners. Brock Education Journal, 25, 35–54. doi: 10.26522/brocked.v25i1.431

Acknowledgements

Jefferson Education Exchange first thanks the educators who spent valuable time considering their research use and the research they would like to see in the future. Additionally, we would like to thank the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences, the William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Gallup, Whiteboard Advisors, ProjectEd, Strada Education Network, the University of Virginia Curry School of Education and Human Development, and the University of Nebraska Omaha. Finally, we would like to thank Mark Schneider, Joan McLaughlin, Matthew Soldner, Elizabeth Albro, Stephanie Marken, Maddie Fennel, Mary Ann Wolf, Theresa Gibson, Lauren Acree, Shayla Rexrode, David Slykhuis, Kate Finnefrock, Jim Howe and W. Keith Lindsay. The work reported here was made possible by support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The opinions within this report do not represent those of any of the above organizations or individuals.

Report Authors: Emily A. Barton, Kathleen Tindle Report Design: Allie Strandmark Suggested Citation: Barton, E.A., & Tindle, K. (2019). Educator voices on education research. Retrieved from Jefferson Education Exchange website: [insert link here]

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