Best Practice

Research in schools: Barriers and facilitators

Education research CPD School improvement
Education is more research-informed than ever. But engaging with credible evidence and research is not straightforward in an increasingly complex sector. Sean Harris explores how schools can make research more accessible for teaching staff
What works: Time is tight in schools, but engaging with relevant educational research can be transformative - Adobe Stock

How can schools (and therefore teaching staff) effectively engage with research to inform practice in meaningful ways? As both an education leader and doctoral researcher, I often ponder this question.

My journey as a PhD student, exploring child poverty in schools, has only deepened my appreciation for curiosity, critical thinking, and the necessity of making research widely accessible to educators.

However, when the term "research" arises in school contexts, reactions can fall into two distinct camps. For some, the self-described "research geeks", it sparks genuine excitement. For others, especially those navigating the intense demands of their roles, it can provoke disengagement or even cynicism.

This divide is understandable. The reality for many educators working in the fast-paced, complex world of schools is that time and energy are in short supply.

The practical challenges of the job can often feel at odds with the effort required to engage deeply with credible and authentic research.

Yet, it is precisely in these environments that evidence-informed practice can have the most transformative impact (EEF, 2024; Godfrey & Brown, 2019; Papay & Kraft, 2015).

But it needs to be accessible. Following a recent episode of the SecEd Podcast (2025), in which we discussed what it means to be a research-engaged school – you can listen here – I wanted to offer some further advice for both teachers and school leaders…

 

Demystifying research

The term "research" can carry an air of academic elitism. Yet, like schools, researchers are simply driven by curiosity.

The starting point for any research engagement should be to ask: what are we curious about as a school? By focusing on this question, schools can align research with their specific needs, helping to position its relevance and utility.

It is one of the reasons why, as a multi-academy trust, Tees Valley Education has as one of our core values “curiosities”. We are curious and research is one way in which we fuel this.

 

Making curiosity accessible

One barrier to engaging with research is the perception that it is the domain of “other” people – academic elites or education celebrities on social media (Harris & Mayle, 2024). Schools must work to dismantle this mindset. Accessible research can come in many forms. Examples include.

  • Academic papers: Peer-reviewed studies from institutions or organisations such as the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and the Education Policy Institute (EPI). Many of these are open access, meaning that they do require payment or membership.
  • Grey literature: This refers to things like policy papers, reports, and insights from organisations such as the Sutton Trust, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, or Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). A good example is a recent report on school attendance I co-authored with colleagues at Child of the North (2024).
  • Professional discussions: Conversations with those who have lived experiences related to the issue being investigated (research does not always have to come in the form of an academic research paper or journal article).

When I began my PhD journey, my curiosity was ignited by Professor Newbury-Birch of Teesside University, whose lived experience of hardship mirrored my own.

Together, we collaborated with students at a high school to design and execute a research project in co-production with the young people themselves. This experience profoundly shaped my perspective, revealing to me the potential of research to position students not merely as consumers but as active participants in the inquiry process. This research was published as a case study (Newbury-Birch & Allan, 2019).

The invitation to think critically and empathetically through this project highlighted the transformative power of personal and collective narratives in driving meaningful exploration. It was a type of learning and growth I had never encountered through more traditional leadership development pathways like the National Professional Qualifications.

 

Credible curiosity

Schools must evaluate the trustworthiness of evidence, and this can be difficult given the demands on our time. However, three questions that I find helpful are:

  • What evidence is this based on? This might be explored in the research paper itself, but it might also require further thinking and cross-referencing with similar research.
  • Is it open and replicable? Look for studies with clear methodologies and open materials. If these are missing or limited, then proceed with caution (if you proceed at all).
  • Is it contextually relevant? Research findings from different settings may not apply universally. You are an expert in your school context, so consider how this research applies to your setting.

The EEF has produced a concise guide to support schools in navigating research and assessing claims made by research (see EEF, 2024). It is an excellent starting point for those engaging with research. Tools like Google Scholar and ScienceDirect can also help – just set-up alerts for topics of interest.

However, it is equally important to supplement this with local institutional intelligence and the lived experiences and insights within a school community.

 

Cultivating curiosity

Schools are rich eco-systems of knowledge and combining external research with local insights is important. For example, when implementing a new teaching strategy, we must consider the following actions:

  • Engage in dialogue: Staff discussions, virtual learning platforms and action research groups can foster curiosity and critical thinking.
  • Problem analysis: Working with colleagues on problem analysis strategies can be a great way of developing curiosity. One example is the “five whys” technique, popularised in manufacturing but widely applicable in education. By repeatedly asking why (five times) schools can identify the root causes of challenges, leading to more meaningful solutions. I have written about this technique in practice in a previous article for SecEd (Harris, 2022).
  • Reflect and refine: Leaders should create space for teachers to process ideas and align them with their practice. When launching into a project, consider starting small, testing approaches through manageable projects before scaling them up.

Another method I have found useful is the “Do, Ditch, Defer” approach – determine what to act on, abandon, or revisit later. This pragmatic framework ensures that research engagement remains actionable and focused. Other ways to implement this might include:

  • Embed it in CPD: Encourage staff to complete pre-reads and post-reads for workshops. Use workbooks or reflective journals to document takeaways and ideas.
  • Leverage networks: Organisations like SHINE offer funding for small-scale projects, while organisations like the Chartered College of Teaching facilitate greater access to research and support schools in “sense-checking” it for the sector and their school. SecEd also publishes a lot of articles looking at research findings and their practical implications or implementation in schools.
  • Connect with academic institutions: Collaborate with local universities to access expertise and resources. Schools might also consider postgraduate or research degrees for staff, but with caution – these should align closely with teachers’ day-to-day roles to avoid being perceived as “bolt-on”.

 

Conveying curiosity

Disseminating research should be as important as conducting it. Effective strategies can include:

  • Hosting informal discussions: We use “curiosity clusters” to create informal opportunities to explore research papers. Action research groups can also encourage open dialogue without the formality of meetings.
  • Writing and speaking: Blogs, presentations, and academic papers can amplify findings and spark wider conversations. A challenge my PhD supervisors often give me is to think about how I am going to share my learning with the sector, beyond the silo of my study.
  • Collaboration: Create opportunities for staff to share insights through forums, newsletters, or teach-meet events. As a trust, we have facilitated “lead meet” events (with the help of organisations such as the Chartered College) for leaders to share research insights from their leadership practice and consider how theories have linked to what they see when it comes to the complex persistent problems of leadership in their schools.

 

Final thoughts

An ultimate goal of research is improvement. Research-informed education is not a luxury in schools, it is a driver of school improvement (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012; Sims et al, 2012). By fostering curiosity, creating inclusive spaces for inquiry and implementation, schools can harness curiosity to transform teaching and learning.

Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it won’t do any harm to our aim of improving the life chances of our students – far from it in fact.

  • Sean Harris is a doctoral researcher with Teesside University investigating the ways in which teachers and leaders can help to address educational inequality in schools. He is director of people, learning and community engagement (PLACE) at Tees Valley Education, an all-through multi-academy trust serving communities in the North East of England. Find his previous contributions to SecEd via www.sec-ed.co.uk/authors/sean-harris and find Sean’s blogspot at https://thatpovertyguy.substack.com 

 

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