BE² Blog series – 5 Observations about Increasing Evidence Use in Education                                            

In January 2024, the Building Evidence in Education (BE²) working group held its annual meeting with a focus on evidence uptake in education. This highlighted the different perspectives, opportunities and challenges that funders and researchers in education are facing when aiming for increased use of evidence in policy decision making, in the classroom, or by various stakeholders  in the education system. A research report, commissioned by BE², set the scene and created a common baseline understanding. Since then, BE² has also organized workshops at external conferences (e.g., at the 2025 Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) conference) and led discussions about evidence use with BE² special interest group members.

This blog summarizes common themes from these meetings, discussions and other sources, that aim to improve the use of evidence by relevant education stakeholders in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

1. Research methods and processes are becoming more user-focused

Wvidence users can be included in the research through participatory research: “Participatory Research prioritizes co-constructing research through partnerships between researchers and stakeholders, community members, or others with insider knowledge and lived expertise”.[i]

Furthermore, applying a more agile approach to policy implementation with research accompanying the implementation, allows for truly evidence-informed implementation and roll-out of policies. This process may include short research “sprints” (to borrow an IT analogy), and requires flexibility in the process that allows for implementation changes based on the evidence findings gathered during the implementation. Examples include implementation research[ii] or A/B testing.  This empowers governments or implementers with concrete, localized, rapidly gathered evidence during the scaling up of a policy or the implementation of a project or policy.

2. The center of gravity for education research in LMICs is shifting ‘South’

With a more user-centric focus in evidence generation for LMICs, the center of gravity is slowly shifting from the Global North to the Global South. BE²’s 2020 report, Implications of COVID-19 for  Educational Research: Strengthening Research Capacity and Partnerships for Mutual Learning, highlighted the need for stronger North-South partnerships in research. Financial donors from the Global North increasingly recognize the value and importance of letting end-users, e.g., local government representatives, youth, or teachers, take the lead and enabling their involvement in the design, data collection and analysis, and shaping of the recommendations. This trend is reflected in informal goals of selecting more grantees from the Global South in some funding organizations, and in more formal objectives (e.g., % of funding) in others.

3. Roles are shifting and becoming intertwined, and new functions emerge

The roles along the evidence generation and uptake path are shifting and becoming more intertwined:

• Governments in the “Global South” are funding evidence generation more than in past years, combining the funders and users role.
• Participatory research combines the role of evidence user and researcher. For example, participants in the research (e.g., schools where research is taking place, communities that are being interviewed), are also involved in the data analysis, and get direct access to the data or findings. Practitioners, in particular teachers, are becoming increasingly generators of evidence in addition to being users of evidence.

• Implementation research [iii] blurs these lines as well, with program implementers leading and executing the research, while also using the research results and implementing the program.

Additionally, to absorb an expanding range of types of evidence, and bring evidence closer to its users in a way that results in action, the role or function of knowledge broker is now more common and – I would argue – needed in education.

4. The definition of what is considered relevant evidence is changing

The definition of what is considered relevant and acceptable evidence has expanded. Qualitative research is being recognized as an important evidence component, side by side with randomized control trials, or quasi-experimental research. And evidence is not just defined as research results, but also includes sector-generated data, and practice-informed knowledge and process information.

For teachers and schools, this broader set of evidence can be combined to provide better guidance for students and enable personalized learning. Teachers can also provide better feedback and advice to parents. For policymakers that are actively incorporating evidence in their decision-making, knowing “what works” is not sufficient. They also want to know the implementation cost, understand the context in which an intervention has been successful, and be aware of the required skills and processes that enable implementation of a policy at scale. To make their decisions, they may rely on student assessments and other student data, as well as information about teachers’ training, teacher performance, aggregated data per school district, as well as research results.

5. Technology can be an enabler for evidence use

The use of technology may impact evidence use in several different ways. AI could be used to synthesize a large amount of evidence, thus, allowing users to get answers to questions faster. Technology can also improve and speed up the gathering and analysis of data. Teachers can upload test results, analyze them and compare results within the classroom, their school or across schools, almost instantly. This enables teachers to adjust their teaching, e.g., based on how well students have internalized a previous lesson.  A dashboards can be used to combine multiple data sources and display the results in a user-friendly way which can increase the use of evidence in managing schools, or analyzing progress in policy implementation.

Take-aways

The future of children and youth in LMICs is dependent on policymakers making decisions and implementing policies that result in learning. Effective use of relevant evidence is a critical component in the decision making, and we now have knowledge, methods, tools and processes to increase its use.

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Author and contact information: Maria Brindlmayer is an experienced program leader and a savvy knowledge management and marketing professional. She currently leads the GEEAP Secretariat and the BE² Secretariat. She is excited about translating education evidence into actions to achieve more learning for children and youth. You can reach her at secretariat@building-evidence-in-education.org

Figures: Maria Brindlmayer

Sources and Useful Resources

A Kit of Tools for Participatory Research and Evaluation with Children, Young People and Adults: A compilation of tools used during a Thematic Evaluation and Documentation on Children’s Participation in Armed Conflict, Post Conflict and Peace Building | Save the Children’s Resource Centre. Developed by Save the Children Norway. Accessible here: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/kit-tools-participatory-research-and-evaluation-children-young-people-and-adults-compilation/

BE²’s Guidance Note on Using Implementation Research in Education. Accessible here: https://building-evidence-in-education.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Guidance_Note_on_Using_Implementation_Research_in_Education.pdf

Hayter, E., Broadbent, E. (2024). What does the evidence about “evidence uptake” in education tell us, Briefing for members of the Building Evidence in Education working group. Working Draft. Accessible here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uagUhE9XU59QO35dOGBQHSWtiUmGCq3n/view?usp=sharing

Implications of COVID-19 for  Educational Research: Strengthening Research Capacity and Partnerships for Mutual Learning. Accessible here: https://building-evidence-in-education.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Implications-of-COVID-19-for-Educational-Research28April2021.pdf

Participatory Research Methods – Choice Points in the Research Process | Published in Journal of Participatory Research Methods. Accessible here: https://jprm.scholasticahq.com/article/13244-participatory-research-methods-choice-points-in-the-research-process

About this blog series

This blog is part of a blog series: “How can we improve the use of evidence for policy, planning and implementation in education”? The Blog Series is hosted by Building Evidence in Education (BE²) and Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel Secretariat. 

This blog series will cover identified trends and practices that increase evidence use in education. Where available, blogs will also discuss the impact that increased evidence use has.

The content of this blog represents the opinions of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BE² or GEEAP.

[i] Participatory Research Methods – Choice Points in the Research Process | Published in Journal of Participatory Research Methods. Accessible here: https://jprm.scholasticahq.com/article/13244-participatory-research-methods-choice-points-in-the-research-process

[ii] See BE²’s Guidance Note on Using Implementation Research in Education for more information. Accessible here: Guidance_Note_on_Using_Implementation_Research_in_Education.