Education based on scientific evidence – Inadequate measures to support schools with knowledge

The Swedish National Audit Office has compared the methods used by government agencies in the education sector to produce a knowledge base and support materials, with an established international standard for research compilation – the Campbell Standards. This audit shows that the National Agency for Education and the SPSM have not had procedures in place that meet the requirements for a systematic and transparent approach. At the same time, there are changes under way at the agencies, and the SPSM in particular has made progress in improving its procedures. Neither the National Agency for Education nor the SPSM have a method for collating experience-based knowledge from teachers.

The Swedish Institute for Educational Research follows a systematic and transparent process when producing research summaries. However, the Institute often applies a method for synthesising research results that allows some degree of interpretation and creativity. These research summaries have had an emphasis on qualitative research and qualitative synthesis of the results, and research showing how pupils’ learning outcomes could be improved has not been clearly emphasised.

When the National Agency for Education needs research summaries, it cooperates with higher education institutions or individual researchers. This audit shows that such cooperation constitutes a risk. The National Agency for Education does not require researchers to use a systematic approach in their literature search or to document how they select and assess research – requirements that are common at other agencies that cooperate with academia. The National Agency for Education’s cooperation with researchers is also dictated by the timeframes of government assignments. Short timeframes are a recurring problem and, as a consequence, researchers often decline to participate. Those who do accept the terms do not have favourable conditions for their work.

The Swedish Schools Inspectorate’s work on developing quality criteria for its school quality inspection has primarily been based on schools’ policy documents, although some efforts were made to ensure that the criteria were founded on research. However, this work did not follow a systematic and transparent approach, and the criteria were developed from a limited knowledge base. Although the intended focus of the school quality inspection is on learning outcomes, in its present form the link between the inspection and pupil attainment is weak.

The school system lacks a unified support platform to provide knowledge support and guidelines to teachers, school leaders and other school staff.

Government agencies in the education sector have partially overlapping remits in terms of collating and communicating research, and supporting the school system to enable school development. All in all, this has led to many different types of support materials and publications on multiple agencies’ websites, and it is unclear to teachers to which agency they should turn for support. This audit shows that teachers rarely use reports published by the Swedish Institute for Educational Research to plan their lessons. Teachers’ time is scarce and they call for support materials for practical application based on collated research. Such support materials could also help teachers to deal with education and teaching trends.

The Swedish National Audit Office has compared the Government’s management of the government agencies in the education sector with its management of agencies operating in health and medical care and in social services. In the field of health and medical care and in social services, the agencies’ remits allow them to specialise and capitalise on each other’s expertise in a way that is not possible for the government agencies in the education sector.

The assignment in the instructions of government agencies in the education sector concerning communication of research findings has led the National Agency for Education and the SPSM to produce popular science versions of published research. The task of the National Board of Health and Welfare is instead to develop knowledge support resources that translate research into practical guidelines.

The Swedish National Audit Office considers that the agencies should continue to develop their internal processes to ensure reliable knowledge bases. At the same time, the Government needs to review the agencies’ remits, with a clearer focus on coordinated and practically implementable knowledge support resources for the school system. Knowledge support founded on scientific evidence and documented professional experience does not aim to micromanage activities, but rather to boost the teaching profession by allowing teachers to combine such knowledge resources with their own professional judgement and experience.