Scientific knowledge into teaching practices

As part of n on-going SoTL effort to provide research aligned with effective teaching practices, this week I would like to share an article entitled, “Design and validation of a self-perception instrument on the use of scientific knowledge in teaching practice” by Guinovart-Pedescoll and Palau (2025).

The authors remind us that the “transmission of scientific evidence to the classroom is essential to improve the quality of education and to develop effective research-based practices. However, in the interplay between teachers, researchers, political and educational institutions, there are a number of barriers that hinder this transmission. According to several studies, these difficulties arise from the lack of teacher training, work overload, the difficulty of accessing scientific articles, and the existence of unethical behaviour.”

The objective of this work was to design and validate a questionnaire that measures self-perception on the use of scientific knowledge in teaching practice. This tool, intended for future teachers and active teachers, will allow the collection of perceptions on barriers and facilitators for the implementation of scientific evidence in the classroom. Based on a quantitative research approach, the content of the questionnaire was validated by means of an expert judgment. Then, a pilot test was carried out with the participation of 278 future teachers. Finally, an analysis of reliability and construct validity was carried out by means of an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).

The authors further share that few education professionals are trained to assess the quality of research evidence and distinguish reliable evidence from unfounded claims (See, 2020). Maclellan (2016) also points out another major problem: TIME. Many instructors are unable to invest time in engaging in educational research, and oftentimes administrators are unable to invest in the resources to help them do so. Hobbiss et al. (2020) also highlight teacher workload as a factor that prevents teachers from effectively applying research in the classroom.

Instructors may experience psychological resistance to change due to pre-existing beliefs and values. They identify a pattern in how teaching effectiveness develops. This pattern affects student outcomes, and they observe that in the first 5 to 7 years of teaching, effectiveness improves rapidly. Subsequently, improvement becomes slower. This latter phenomenon is due to a psychological reality: the transition, at the neuronal level, from deliberate reflective practices to habits (Hobbiss et al., 2020). Therefore, the accessibility of research applies to physical means and to conceptual ones.

Analysis of reliability and construct validity was carried out by means of an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) resulting in 7 factors:

Factor 1. Technology as a facilitator.
Factor 2. Institutional support.
Factor 3. Contact between teachers and research teams.
Factor 4. Educational resources.
Factor 5. Relevance, accessibility, and practicality.
Factor 6. Barriers to access scientific articles.
Factor 7. Scientific literature as a resource.

References

Guinovart-Pedescoll, M., & Palau, R. (2025). Design and validation of a self-perception instrument on the use of scientific knowledge in teaching practice. J. New Approaches Educ. Res. 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44322-024-00026-5