Review of evidence on implementation in education
3-minute read
‘Implementation in education’ refers to active and planned efforts to introduce and sustain an approach in schools. It therefore involves making, and acting on, evidence-informed decisions. There is substantial evidence indicating that quality implementation amplifies the effectiveness of a range of school-based approaches. However, implementation in schools is complex and there is a need to know more about how to do implementation in schools well.
It is important to understand how new approaches can be selected and put in place in school settings to improve outcomes for all pupils, including those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. There have been few reviews of research to date that take a holistic view of implementation across multiple intervention and school types. The EEF commissioned this evidence review to underpin an update to its guidance report ‘Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation’.
The evidence review aims to address two overarching questions:
1. How should school leaders and teachers understand implementation and how should they implement evidence informed approaches in their context to have the best chance of improving all pupils’ outcomes?
2. What is the relationship between content (‘what’) and process (‘how’) within school implementation?
To address these two questions the evidence review is organised into four inter-related ‘work packages’. Because schools are complex, adaptive systems involving a diverse range of individuals, investigating implementation in schools needs to focus on context to understand what works for whom, where, and why. This realist perspective is reflected in our approach throughout.
The evidence review indicates how implementation in schools is complex in that school settings interact with the approach being implemented, something which affects the choice and use of particular implementation strategies and tools. There is a delicate balance in relation to adapting an intervention to help with fit and feasibility while at the same time respecting its core components. Schools should view implementation as an ongoing process of adaptation and inquiry, not just a linear set of steps or the moment an approach is introduced in practice. This includes revisiting aspects like staff buy-in and data collection throughout the process to ensure successful implementation.
Additionally, schools may need to be empowered to make evidence-informed decisions about what they will implement and how they will implement it in their setting. The refined programme theory indicates evidence-informed overarching principles for effective implementation. ‘Enabling structures’, ‘agents for change’, and ‘intervention features’ can be shaped to support implementation. While, ‘engaging’, ‘reflecting’, and ‘uniting’ are mechanisms relevant across a range of actions that can drive successful implementation in schools.