EduResearch August 5, 2024 by Tom Mahony
The use of “Evidence-Based-Practice” (EBP) as a discourse harms teachers. I’m not the first person to say that here. Nicole Bunker, in a previous post, describes the landscape of Australian education as awash with the dominance of the “what works” agenda.
She says that the all-encompassing desire to impose EBP has become an oppressive force upon teachers. It promotes a narrow base of evidence in relation to “what works”. It removes teachers from the position to make judgments of what is best in their contexts. And it obscures the structural problems that perpetuate inequity in Australian schools. This is something that teachers need to push back against.
I want to add to the discussion surrounding this issue for teachers. I’d like to propose communities of practice (CoPs) can serve as an important opportunity for teachers to challenge the oppression of EBP. It can also be a means of supporting teachers to reclaim their voice and agency in education.
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