Update on impact of EIPPEE conference in Oslo

Will the UK decide to create a national Evidence Centre for Education akin to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)? The 2014 EIPPEE conference in Oslo, Finding a way... to facilitate the better use of research in education, demonstrated how such knowledge centres are working in Norway and Denmark where research is identified as a powerful tool for educational advancement.

In a similar thematic vein the conference scrutinised the power of collaborations between schools and universities – to create new knowledge and help guide practitioners to relevant evidence and support its use. Countries presenting particularly strong evidence included Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Iceland.

Arising out of EIPPEE initiatives an international team is working towards a better understanding of what constitutes effective knowledge exchange between universities and schools. Papers from the conference are available online. There is also continuing work from three specialist interest groups:

  • School-university collaboration, led by Andrew Morris
  • Knowledge centres – international comparisons, led by Wolfgang Boettcher
  • Use of evidence in schools, led by Eva Minten

Support from the EIPPEE centre secretariat is provided by David Gough and Jan Tripney.