Understanding Evidence Use in ECEC Practice

There are growing expectations internationally for educators to use evidence and research to inform their practice. Within early childhood education and care (ECEC), however, the use of evidence by ECEC practitioners (educators, teachers, and leaders) is an issue that is little researched and poorly understood. Studies of educational evidence use have focused on schools more than ECEC centres, and work that has been done in ECEC has been about the implementation of specific evidence-based programmes rather than how evidence is used by educators. In response, this chapter reports findings from a doctoral study of the evidence use practices of 17 ECEC practitioners in Australia. It sheds light on: (1) What evidence means to these practitioners, (2) how different types of evidence are being used by them, and (3) how their perspectives relate to the components of the Quality Use of Research Evidence (QURE) Framework. The findings underline the distinctiveness of evidence use processes within early childhood education settings and the need for further investigation into the qualities of evidence use practices within ECEC settings. This chapter also highlights some of the enabling conditions and operating contexts that need to be attended to within future evidence use improvement efforts in early childhood education.