Some Questions about Evidence-based Practice in Education

The movement for evidence-based practice, for enhanced use of research evidence in the work of the professions, started in medicine in the early 1990s. It has grown in influence there, and spread across a number of other fields, including education (see Trinder 2000a and Davies et al 2000). Not surprisingly, it has taken a somewhat different form in each area; and has generated diverse reactions. So, while much can be learned from what has happened in medicine, we must also attend to the particular way evidence-based practice has recently been promoted and responded to in education, if we are to make a reasonable appraisal of it.