Scaling Up Research-based Educational Practices
- LAST MODIFIED: 29 July 2020
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0254
- LAST MODIFIED: 29 July 2020
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0254
Introduction
Scaling up innovations whose use has resulted in improvements in teaching and learning has been a growing field in educational research and practice in recent decades. Interest has two main spurs: the evident gap between educational research findings and their take-up and use to improve teaching and learning, and the persistent challenges of ensuring high levels of educational achievement for all. Scaling up was originally conceived in terms of numbers: the spread of proven practice from the original sites to many schools, or across a whole system. Scaling up innovation began with testing research-based designs and evaluating their efficacy, followed by implementation. Successful implementation of research-based practices meant attention to fidelity, and thus to constructing materials, guides, and processes, and to providing support from the original designers. In turn this meant more attention to understanding variations in how well schools implemented an intervention: was it due to school-level factors, district- or system-level factors, the nature of the student population, or factors associated with the intervention? There are some enduring programs or interventions that fit this model, some based on whole-school reform, some on particular curriculum areas or approaches. Other interventions have been less successful. More recently, scaling-up work has also included research-educator-administrator partnerships and networks, using improvement design cycles, learning from variability, and expecting that innovations will evolve and be adapted in different contexts, rather than replicated. There has also been increasing attention paid in this branch of scaling-up work to building in ongoing attention to evidence of efficacy, and plan-do-study-review cycles into professional identity and practice, in order to strengthen teacher, network, and school and administration capability, as well as agency, ownership, and community. Most countries have evaluations of innovative programs or approaches showing gains for teaching and learning that failed to take hold or endure. Often this is because of structural reasons beyond the agency or control of those involved, due to changes of government or system decision makers. Other key obstacles are evident in the lack of change in the constraints around how teachers and schools can work. These constraints include competing calls on time, rigid accountabilities and ways resources can be used, expectations of immediate large gains, and mismatched measures of student achievement. There are too many such evaluations for this bibliography to cover. However, key articles that discuss these core challenges to scaling up well-founded research-based practices are included.
Conceptualizations of Scaling Up in Education
What is scaling up, and how has it been conceptualized? This section provides key articles that chart the expansion of research on scaling up as knowledge about educational innovation and reform has grown and deepened. For an understanding of the challenges motivating and taxing scaling up, Elmore 1996, Elmore 2016, and Thomson 2014 furnish critiques of the concept. Coburn 2003 provides a seminal article, often referred to, on the dimensions of scaling up, with a recent expansion in Morel, et al. 2019. Glennan, et al. 2004 summarize a useful collection of papers showing the shift in understanding of scaling up. Cohen and Ball 2007 and Dede 2006 provide insights into factors of design and support that enable some scaling up reforms and research-based innovations to succeed in improving teaching and learning where others fail. Bryk 2015 and Cannata and Rutledge 2017 make the case for the increasing emphasis on improvement research and structured network or reform communities of practice.
Bryk, Antony. 2015. 2014 AERA Distinguished Lecture. Accelerating how we learn to improve. Educational Researcher 44.9:467–477.
Key article introducing improvement research through structured networked communities, a user-centered approach aiming to build practice-based evidence that understands and learns from variability. Includes succinct critiques of randomized trials resulting in “implementation with fidelity” and professional learning community approaches. Notes the increasing complexity of educators’ work and school organization, and the importance of “seeing the system” and context.
Cannata, Marisa, and Stacey Rutledge. 2017. Introduction to new frontiers in scaling up research. Peabody Journal of Education 92.5:559–568.
DOI: 10.1080/0161956X.2017.1368629
Starts with the gap between increased government funding for “what works” and the take-up of proven programs, pointing to the importance of understanding what is involved in implementation and scaling up. Identifies four themes: focus on improvement rather than implementation, focus on scaling as a process rather than outcome, the role of adaptation, and questions around what constitutes a reform community of practice.
Coburn, Cynthia E. 2003. Rethinking scale: Moving beyond numbers to deep and lasting change. Educational Researcher 32.6:3–12.
DOI: 10.3102/0013189X032006003
Seminal article that brought together existing research on scaling up and implementation challenges, showing the importance of gathering evidence about deep changes in teaching practice, norms, principles, and beliefs; ownership of the reform by teachers and schools; and sustainability, as well as spread.
Cohen, David K., and Deborah Loewenberg Ball. 2007. Educational innovation and the problem of scale. In Scale-up in education. Vol. 1, Ideas in principle. Edited by Barbara Schneider and Sarah-Kathryn McDonald, 19–36. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
Engaging discussion of innovation in education, scale in terms of depth as well as spread, why innovations in US schooling have often failed, why shallow changes have succeeded most, and why practitioner innovations rarely spread. Points to the importance of “elaboration” in changing teaching practices, iterative innovation design and development, substantial scaffolding, and sufficient infrastructure and support.
Dede, Chris. 2006. Scaling up: Evolving innovations beyond ideal settings to challenging contexts of practice. In Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. Edited by R. Keith Sawyer, 551–566. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Interesting discussion of successful scaling of four educational innovations to bridge the knowledge-action gap, in the context of adaptation and evolution in ecosystems and societies. Describes the effectiveness of identifying and embedding the conditions for success, evaluating and aligning the fit between innovations and intended contexts of use, undertaking continuous inquiry for sustainable progress, and purposefully designing when identified conditions for success are unlikely. Argues for a “scalability index.”
Elmore, Richard. 1996. Getting to scale with good educational practice. Harvard Educational Review 66.1:1–27.
DOI: 10.17763/haer.66.1.g73266758j348t33
Seminal discussion of the difficulties of replicating good educational practice at scale and changing the fundamental conditions of teaching and learning to make learning more engaging and challenging and thus improve student outcomes. Insightful analysis of weaknesses in US progressive reforms and large-scale curriculum development projects, leading into important principles that remain highly relevant.
Elmore, Richard. 2016. “Getting to scale . . .” it seemed like a good idea at the time. Journal of Educational Change 17.4:529–537.
DOI: 10.1007/s10833-016-9290-8
Reflective critique of notions of implementation and best practice given bureaucratic and institutionalized cultures of schooling and the weight of context. Critiques scaling as policy-driven reform that seeks uniformity in the face of complexity. Sees more gains through the development of theories and practices of learning through human interaction and the creation of culture rather than adaptation to existing institutional cultures. Describes patterns evident in such powerful learning environments.
Glennan, Thomas K., Susan J. Bodilly, Jolene R. Galegher and Kerri A. Kerr. 2004.Expanding the reach of education reforms: What have we learned about scaling up educational interventions?. RAND Research Brief. Santa Monica, California.
Summary of the learning from the fifteen scale-up projects included in the 2004 RAND collection and reviews of the literature, stressing the shift from a replication model to a complex iterative and interactive set of processes, and the importance of a shift in ownership from the originators to practitioners.
Morel, Richard Paquin, Cynthia Coburn, Amy Koehler Catterson, and Jennifer Higgs. 2019. The multiple meanings of scale: Implications for researchers and practitioners. Educational Researcher 48.6:369–377.
Tackles the varied conceptualizations of ‘scale’ across a range of fields including education, and describes four conceptual approaches that can change over time: adoption, which can have a cumulative impact on practices even if superficially implemented; replication of procedures and therefore outcomes; adaptation to local contexts, such as continuous improvement approaches; and reinvention, involving intentional and systematic experimentation. Useful discussion of the implications for researchers and reformers.
Thomson, Pat. 2014. “Scaling up” educational change: Some musings on misrecognition and doxic challenge. Critical Studies in Education 55.2:87–103.
DOI: 10.1080/17508487.2014.863221
Thought-provoking critique using a Bourdieusian lens to understand the failure of scaling up reforms in education, which she suggests are usually seen as a process failure of professionals and institutions. Uses examples from England and Australia to discuss the limitations on scaling up “success” or individual excellence in practice, due to inequitable schooling hierarchies and privileging of some forms of knowledge.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Academic Achievement
- Academic Audit for Universities
- Academic Freedom and Tenure in the United States
- Action Research in Education
- Adjuncts in Higher Education in the United States
- Administrator Preparation
- Adolescence
- Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Courses
- Advocacy and Activism in Early Childhood
- African American Racial Identity and Learning
- Alaska Native Education
- Alternative Certification Programs for Educators
- Alternative Schools
- American Indian Education
- Art Education
- Artificial Intelligence and Learning
- Assessing School Leader Effectiveness
- Assessment, Behavioral
- Assessment, Educational
- Assessment in Early Childhood Education
- Assistive Technology
- Augmented Reality in Education
- Beginning-Teacher Induction
- Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
- Blended Learning
- Bullying
- Case Study in Education Research
- Changing Professional and Academic Identities
- Character Education
- Children’s and Young Adult Literature
- Children's Beliefs about Intelligence
- Children's Rights in Early Childhood Education
- Citizenship Education
- Civic and Social Engagement of Higher Education
- Classroom Learning Environments: Assessing and Investigati...
- Classroom Management
- Coherent Instructional Systems at the School and School Sy...
- College Admissions in the United States
- College Athletics in the United States
- Community Relations
- Comparative Education
- Computer-Assisted Language Learning
- Computer-Based Testing
- Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Evaluating Improvement Net...
- Continuous Improvement and "High Leverage" Educational Pro...
- Counseling in Schools
- Creativity
- Critical Approaches to Gender in Higher Education
- Critical Perspectives on Educational Innovation and Improv...
- Critical Race Theory
- Crossborder and Transnational Higher Education
- Cross-National Research on Continuous Improvement
- Cross-Sector Research on Continuous Learning and Improveme...
- Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood Education
- Culturally Responsive Leadership
- Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
- Culturally Responsive Teacher Education in the United Stat...
- Curriculum Design
- Data Collection in Educational Research
- Data-driven Decision Making in the United States
- Deaf Education
- Desegregation and Integration
- Design Thinking and the Learning Sciences: Theoretical, Pr...
- Development, Moral
- Dialogic Pedagogy
- Digital Age Teacher, The
- Digital Citizenship
- Digital Divides
- Disabilities
- Distance Learning
- Distributed Leadership
- Doctoral Education and Training
- Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Denmark
- Early Childhood Education and Development in Mexico
- Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Early Childhood Education in Australia
- Early Childhood Education in China
- Early Childhood Education in Europe
- Early Childhood Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Early Childhood Education in Sweden
- Early Childhood Education Pedagogy
- Early Childhood Education Policy
- Early Childhood Education, The Arts in
- Early Childhood Mathematics
- Early Childhood Science
- Early Childhood Teacher Education
- Early Childhood Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Early Years Professionalism and Professionalization Polici...
- Economics of Education
- Education For Children with Autism
- Education for Sustainable Development
- Education Leadership, Empirical Perspectives in
- Education of Native Hawaiian Students
- Education Reform and School Change
- Educational Statistics for Longitudinal Research
- Educator Partnerships with Parents and Families with a Foc...
- Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
- Environmental and Science Education: Overlaps and Issues
- Epistemic Beliefs
- Equity and Improvement: Engaging Communities in Educationa...
- Equity, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Excellence in Education
- Ethical Research with Young Children
- Ethics and Education
- Ethics of Teaching
- Ethnic Studies
- Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention
- Family and Community Partnerships in Education
- Family Day Care
- Federal Government Programs and Issues
- Feminization of Labor in Academia
- Finance, Education
- Financial Aid
- Formative Assessment
- Future-Focused Education
- Gender and Achievement
- Gender and Alternative Education
- Gifted Education
- Global Mindedness and Global Citizenship Education
- Global University Rankings
- Governance, Education
- Grounded Theory
- Growth of Effective Mental Health Services in Schools in t...
- Higher Education and Globalization
- Higher Education and the Developing World
- Higher Education Faculty Characteristics and Trends in the...
- Higher Education Finance
- Higher Education Governance
- Higher Education Graduate Outcomes and Destinations
- Higher Education in Africa
- Higher Education in China
- Higher Education in Latin America
- Higher Education in the United States, Historical Evolutio...
- Higher Education, International Issues in
- Higher Education Management
- Higher Education Policy
- Higher Education Research
- Higher Education Student Assessment
- High-stakes Testing
- History of Early Childhood Education in the United States
- History of Education in the United States
- History of Technology Integration in Education
- Homeschooling
- Inclusion in Early Childhood: Difference, Disability, and ...
- Inclusive Education
- Indigenous Education in a Global Context
- Indigenous Learning Environments
- Indigenous Students in Higher Education in the United Stat...
- Infant and Toddler Pedagogy
- Inservice Teacher Education
- Integrating Art across the Curriculum
- Intelligence
- Intensive Interventions for Children and Adolescents with ...
- International Perspectives on Academic Freedom
- Intersectionality and Education
- Knowledge Development in Early Childhood
- Leadership Development, Coaching and Feedback for
- Leadership in Early Childhood Education
- Leadership Training with an Emphasis on the United States
- Learning Analytics in Higher Education
- Learning Difficulties
- Learning, Lifelong
- Learning, Multimedia
- Learning Strategies
- Legal Matters and Education Law
- LGBT Youth in Schools
- Linguistic Diversity
- Linguistically Inclusive Pedagogy
- Literacy
- Literacy Development and Language Acquisition
- Literature Reviews
- Mathematics Identity
- Mathematics Instruction and Interventions for Students wit...
- Mathematics Teacher Education
- Measurement for Improvement in Education
- Measurement in Education in the United States
- Meta-Analysis and Research Synthesis in Education
- Methodological Approaches for Impact Evaluation in Educati...
- Methodologies for Conducting Education Research
- Mindfulness, Learning, and Education
- Mixed Methods Research
- Motivation
- Multiliteracies in Early Childhood Education
- Multiple Documents Literacy: Theory, Research, and Applica...
- Multivariate Research Methodology
- Museums, Education, and Curriculum
- Music Education
- Narrative Research in Education
- Native American Studies
- Note-Taking
- Numeracy Education
- One-to-One Technology in the K-12 Classroom
- Online Education
- Open Education
- Organizing for Continuous Improvement in Education
- Organizing Schools for the Inclusion of Students with Disa...
- Outdoor Play and Learning
- Outdoor Play and Learning in Early Childhood Education
- Pedagogical Leadership
- Pedagogy of Teacher Education, A
- Performance Objectives and Measurement
- Performance-based Research Assessment in Higher Education
- Performance-based Research Funding
- Phenomenology in Educational Research
- Philosophy of Education
- Physical Education
- Play
- Podcasts in Education
- Policy
- Policy Context of United States Educational Innovation and...
- Politics of Education
- Portable Technology Use in Special Education Programs and ...
- Pre-Service Teacher Education
- Problem Solving
- Productivity and Higher Education
- Professional Development
- Professional Learning Communities
- Program Evaluation
- Programs and Services for Students with Emotional or Behav...
- Psychology Learning and Teaching
- Psychometric Issues in the Assessment of English Language ...
- Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques
- Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Research Samp...
- Qualitative Research Design
- Quantitative Research Designs in Educational Research
- Race and Affirmative Action in Higher Education
- Reading Education
- Refugee and New Immigrant Learners
- Relational and Developmental Trauma and Schools
- Relational Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education
- Reliability in Educational Assessments
- Religion in Elementary and Secondary Education in the Unit...
- Researcher Development and Skills Training within the Cont...
- Research-Practice Partnerships in Education within the Uni...
- Response to Intervention
- Restorative Practices
- Scale and Sustainability of Education Innovation and Impro...
- Scaling Up Research-based Educational Practices
- School Accreditation
- School Choice
- School Culture
- School District Budgeting and Financial Management in the ...
- School Improvement through Inclusive Education
- School Reform
- Schools, Private and Independent
- School-Wide Positive Behavior Support
- Science Education
- Secondary to Postsecondary Transition Issues
- Self-Regulated Learning
- Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices
- Service-Learning
- Severe Disabilities
- Single Salary Schedule
- Single-sex Education
- Single-Subject Research Design
- Social Context of Education
- Social Justice
- Social Network Analysis
- Social Pedagogy
- Social Science and Education Research
- Social Studies Education
- Sociology of Education
- Standards-Based Education
- Statistical Assumptions
- Student Access, Equity, and Diversity in Higher Education
- Student Assignment Policy
- Student Engagement in Tertiary Education
- Student Learning, Development, Engagement, and Motivation ...
- Student Participation
- Student Voice in Teacher Development
- Sustainability Education in Early Childhood Education
- Sustainability in Early Childhood Education
- Sustainability in Higher Education
- Teacher Beliefs and Epistemologies
- Teacher Collaboration in School Improvement
- Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Effectiveness
- Teacher Preparation
- Teacher Training and Development
- Teacher Unions and Associations
- Teacher-Student Relationships
- Teaching Critical Thinking
- Technologies, Teaching, and Learning in Higher Education
- Technology Education in Early Childhood
- Technology, Educational
- Technology-based Assessment
- The Bologna Process
- The Regulation of Standards in Higher Education
- Theories of Educational Leadership
- Three Conceptions of Literacy: Media, Narrative, and Gamin...
- Tracking and Detracking
- Traditions of Quality Improvement in Education
- Transformative Learning
- Transitions in Early Childhood Education
- Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities in the Unite...
- Understanding the Psycho-Social Dimensions of Schools and ...
- University Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in the Unite...
- Using Ethnography in Educational Research
- Value of Higher Education for Students and Other Stakehold...
- Virtual Learning Environments
- Vocational and Technical Education
- Wellness and Well-Being in Education
- Women's and Gender Studies
- Young Children and Spirituality
- Young Children's Learning Dispositions
- Young Children's Working Theories