Improving Australian schools: Why evidence matters

Description

The recent report of the Teacher Education Expert Panel (TEEP), Strong Beginnings: Report of the Teacher Education Expert Panel recommends an overhaul of initial teacher education. There is also the current review of the National Schools Reform Agreement, “a joint agreement between the Commonwealth, States and Territories to lift student outcomes across Australian schools.” The constellation of these reviews draws attention to the notion that government rightly aspires to evidence-based policy and practice that extend to these reforms. But what is the evidence and its use in education telling us?