Evidence-Informed Educational Practice in Catalan Education - From Public Agenda to Teachers’ Practice

Oct 15, 2026

Evidence-informed educational practice is examined in Catalonia, focusing on how recent school innovation reforms—driven by public administration and private actors—translate evidence-based teaching intentions into everyday teacher practice. The study analyzes the legal and structural framework supporting evidence-informed practice in the Catalan education system, then uses interviews with a sample of primary school leaders and teachers to assess opportunities and constraints for authentic adoption at both organizational and individual levels.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Evidence-informed policy and practice in Catalonia

Adoption models and teachers’ perceptions

doi: 10.26529/cepsj.1062 Evidence-Informed Educational Practice in Catalan Education: From Public Agenda to Teachers’ Practice Georgeta Ion1, Anna Díaz-Vicario1 and Cecilia Inés Suárez*2 • Catalonia has a long tradition of school innovation movements. These have increased in recent years as public administration and private entities have initiated substantial school reforms oriented toward the use of evidence in teaching practice. As the Catalan education system is highly autonomous, not all schools have embraced the evidence-informed practice (EIP) movement, and this has created differences between schools that choose to implement a change or innovation based on scientifically demonstrated evidence and those that do not. In the present paper, we will attempt to understand the current state of the inclusion of evidenceinformed practice in Catalonia and to assess teachers’ perceptions ofits adoption as part of their daily practice. In order to address these issues, we start by exploring the legal and structural framework grounding the implementation of evidence-informed practice in the Catalan system, and through interviews conducted in a sample of primary school leaders and teachers, we approach the organisational and individual level to explore the opportunities to implement an authentic evidence-informed practice approach in the Catalan education system. Keywords: educational research, evidence-informed practice, research use, teachers use of evidence 1 Department of Applied Pedagogy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Center for Research and Studies for Organizational Development, Spain. 2 *Corresponding Author. Department of Applied Pedagogy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Center for Research and Studies for Organizational Development, Spain; [anna.diaz@uab.cat](anna.diaz@uab.cat). Na dokazih utemeljena izobraževalna dejavnost znotraj katalonskega izobraževanja: od javne razprave do prakseučiteljev Georgeta Ion, Anna Díaz-Vicario in Cecilia Inés Suárez • Katalonija ima dolgo tradicijo inovativnih šolskih gibanj. Te so se v zadnjih letih pomnožile, saj so javna uprava in zasebni subjekti začeli znatne šolske reforme, usmerjene v uporabo dokazov pri poučevanju. Upoštevajoč visoko raven avtonomnosti katalonskega vzgojno-izobraževalnega sistema, niso vse šole sprejele na dokazih utemeljenega izobraževalnega gibanja (EIP), kar je ustvarilo razlike med šolami, ki so se odločile, da izvedejo spremembo oz. vpeljejo novost, osnovano naznanstveno utemeljenih dokazih, in tistimi, ki se za to niso odločile. V tem prispevku bomo poskušali predstaviti trenutno stanje vključenostitega pristopa v Kataloniji in oceniti zaznave učiteljev glede sprejetja pristopa v njihovo vsakodnevno prakso. Da bomo lahko naslovili ta vprašanja, bomo začeli z raziskovanjem pravnega in strukturnega ogrodja, ki umešča izvajanje na dokazih utemeljene dejavnosti v katalonski sistem, nato pa bomo prek intervjujev, opravljenih na vzorcu osnovnošolskihvoditeljev in učiteljev, obravnavali organizacijsko in individualno raven, in to za to, da raziščemo priložnosti uresničenja avtentičnega pristopa EIP v katalonski izobraževalni sistem. Ključne besede: izobraževalne raziskave, na dokazih utemeljena dejavnost, uporaba raziskav, raba dokazov pri učiteljih Introduction Evidence-informed education policy and practice is not a new approach in the international landscape. However, in recent years it has gained more visibility in Catalan educational public discourse and practice. The trend is perfectly understandable since most decision-making is increasingly global in its nature and emerges as a complex edifice of global and local rhetoric, actors, forms and strategies (Verger, 2014). The issues of education policy are no longer isolated, but cross borders and nations, actions and understandings. In the present paper, we explore the adoption of evidence-informed practice (EIP) as an initiative encouraged recently in the Catalan education

FAQs

What approach does the paper focus on in Catalonia?

The paper focuses on evidence-informed practice (EIP) and how it is adopted in the Catalan educational landscape by both educational administration and private educational bodies.

How does the paper investigate teachers’ adoption of EIP?

It analyzes the legal and structural framework for implementing EIP in Catalonia and then uses interviews with primary school leaders and teachers to explore teachers’ perceptions and the practical opportunities for adoption.

Why is evidence-informed practice considered beneficial for schools?

The paper notes a growing evidence base suggesting that when teachers use research evidence to guide decisions, innovate, and experiment, it can improve teaching and learning outcomes and support students’ results.

Oct 15, 2026

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