Abstract

More teachers are now engaging with external research evidence. However, when choosing approaches to teaching, recent evidence from survey research suggests that decisions are influenced by personal experience, the experiences of colleagues and staff in other schools, and by non-research-based professional development. The decision-making process is complex and a better understanding of this may provide insight into the best way to improve evidence-informed decision-making in schools, which could lead to the adoption of more evidence-informed teaching approaches in schools. We conducted this study with a cluster of schools in Wales to explore the factors that influence school leaders’ decisions when choosing which programmes to adopt into use. We conducted interviews with school leaders from two secondary schools, six primary schools, and one special school. Our results support previous research findings and provide greater knowledge of the interrelated factors that influence decision-making. We address gaps in the knowledge and suggest how policy makers, researchers, and school improvement professionals can improve decision-making in schools to improve the transmission and adoption of evidence-informed approaches to teaching.

Keywords: schools, evaluation, diffusion of innovation, evidence-informed teaching

How to Cite:

Pegram, J., Hughes, C., Hoerger, M. & Watkins, R. C., (2024) “The factors that inform school leaders’ decisions when adopting programmes to use in schools”, Wales Journal of Education 26(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.16922/wje.26.1.2