This dissertation consists of three papers about quantitative research methods in education. Each paper is a response to potential limitations of the current approach to building evidence for effective education -- an approach that is dominated by Randomized Controlled Trials of school programs, with mathematics and English achievement as primary…

Special education teachers' varying levels of awareness of evidence-based practices (EBPs) leads to personalizing practices that can be either positive or negative for student learning outcomes. There is a gap in practice in the research literature regarding special education teachers' perceptions of why and how they personalize EBPs to teach…

Civil society organisations increasingly mediate the creation and exchange of evidence in their activities with policy-makers and practitioners. This article extends knowledge on evidence in policy-making settings to civil society contexts. As an exploratory and qualitative study, it shows how nine UK-based organisations working on issues…

Transferring knowledge into action is challenging. Ward et al. (2009a) developed a framework for bridging this gap. This article describes what helps and hinders getting knowledge into action when using this approach in the field of mental health. Four areas of Scotland were selected which had used resources to inform local planning and…

This paper is a preliminary exploration of how doctoral study can increase educational leaders' capacity to use evidence. Our mixed methods study uses interviews and surveys of graduates from four EdD programs. Methods training linked to students' work and social capital development among students and with faculty both influenced graduates, use of…

The incorporation of socioscientific issues into science teaching to promote students' scientific literacy may require that science teachers reconsider and transform their teaching practices. This study examines the knowledge and considerations involved when two teachers incorporated socioscientific issues into their teaching, with the aim of…

High quality student outcome measures provide the foundation for effective learning assessment. These outcomes can be organized into different categories, such as skills or habits of mind, and evidence types, such as direct or indirect. Prevailing models of assessment, however, focus only on the distinction between direct and indirect evidence…

The COVID-19 Omicron variant was causing a new wave of infections and, because of school and life disruptions, students were struggling with learning loss and a decline in mental and emotional health in 2021. Against this backdrop, FHI 360, an organization whose education initiatives aim to dismantle obstacles and give students the tools they need…

The literature indicates that collaborative activities can support professional learning (PL) for academics teaching in higher education (HE). Nevertheless, limited approaches for collegial PL exist that can be embedded in the day-to-day work of busy academics. This paper reports on an evidence-based approach to practice that was undertaken to…

The set of appendices in this volume is a companion to the report "Federal Efforts Towards Investing in Innovation in Education Through the i3 Fund: A Summary of Grantmaking and Evidence-Building." The goal of the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) was to build high-quality evidence about effective…

Post-training consultation support is linked to improvements in evidence-based treatment fidelity following initial training, but little is known about what makes it work, and how clinician-level factors may moderate its effects. This study examined the adherence and competence of N = 33 school-based clinicians trained to provide modular Cognitive…

The quality of interventions for children with autism has improved thanks in part to the widespread dissemination of evidence-based practices (EBPs); however, teachers still report challenges developing focused interventions targeting the core challenges of students with autism. Tested in three randomized trials, COMPASS is a consultation-based…

The nationwide shortage of special educators is well documented. Preparedness is a key component of building self-efficacy and longevity in the PK-12 teaching field (Clark & Newberry, 2019; Darling-Hammond et al., 2002; Ingersol et al., 2012; Ondrasek et al., 2020). This qualitative study examined the preparedness of novice special education…

Large-scale, evidence-based interventions face challenges to program fidelity of implementation. We developed implementation strategies to support teachers implementing an evidence-based HIV prevention program in schools, Focus on Youth in The Caribbean (FOYC) and Caribbean Informed Parents and Children Together (CImPACT) in The Bahamas. We…

Teachers of young children with moderate to significant support needs may have insufficient training to implement naturalistic instructional practices such as contingent responding. Naturalistic instructional practices are well researched, but limited studies exist on training teachers to use contingent responses to support children increasing…