With the push for evidence-informed policy and practice, schools and policy makers are now increasingly encouraged and supported to use and enagage with research evidence. This means that consumers of research will now need to be discerning in judging the quality of research evidence that will inform their decisions. This paper evaluates the…

Participatory research is a broad term covering a range of approaches that are characterised by a focus on "action-oriented" research involving researchers and participants working in collaboration to bring about positive change. These approaches emphasise engagement with co-researchers and the development and implementation of…

Describes recent developments in United Kingdom politics that have affected development of evidence-based policy for children. Examines the notion of "what works," leading to a suggestion that evaluators be concerned with "what is worth doing" for children. Considers robustness as a guiding principle for evaluation design and…

Discusses the history of evaluation research, focusing on current emphasis on "evidence-based policy." Highlights five issues emerging as relevant: evaluation can be done in many ways, serious doubts exist about the usefulness of the term "evaluation," evaluation is held back by paradigm wars, views of evaluation are…

The aim of this study was to carry out a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature on drug-use prevention with vulnerable young people. A search of electronic databases was conducted to find evaluations of prevention programmes targeted at high-risk young people and including illegal drug use as an outcome measure. Sixteen relevant…

This article explores how the evidence base for aspects of early childhood has been explored using systematic research synthesis methods developed at the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre). Three early childhood systematic reviews have been carried out using EPPI-Centre procedures and tools. The…

Considers the competing demands placed on evaluators in relation to the service (characteristics of the intervention), the sample (people participating), and methodology or research design. Explores compromises that may be required between scientific ideals and real-world limitations, and assesses implications for obtaining meaningful results in…

This article provides an introduction to the TLRP Learning How to Learn Project and a context for the articles that follow in this special issue. The origins of the research, in a concern to investigate the organizational and network conditions that support innovation in teaching and learning, and in a perceived need to align research on pedagogy…