In many countries, questions are being raised about the quality and value of educational research. This book explores the relationship between research and practice in education. It looks at the extent to which current practice could be said to be informed by knowledge or ideas generated by research and at the extent to which the use of current practices or the adoption of new ones are, or could be, supported by research evidence. Science education is used as a case study but the issues considered apply to the teaching and learning of any curriculum subject.

The book draws on the findings of four inter-related research studies and considers:

• how research might be used to establish greater consensus about curriculum;
• how research can inform the design of assessment tools and teaching interventions;
• teachers’ and other science educators’ perceptions of the influence of research on their teaching practices and their students’ learning;
• the extent to which evidence can show that an educational practice ‘works’.

'The book makes the point that new and old teaching interventions cannot be directly compared as they do not have the same objectives—and it argues against randomised clinical trials as being the best approach in the educational sector.'

- Diana Battersby, Associate Tutor, Edge Hill University, Liverpool

Robin Millar is Professor of Science Education, University of York, UK. John Leach is Professor of Science Education, University of Leeds, UK. Jonathan Osborne is Professor of Science Education, King’s College London, UK. Mary Ratcliffe is Professor of Science Education, University of Southampton, UK.