Embedding Research and Evidence into Schools (EREiS)

The Embedding Research and Enquiry in Schools (EREiS) Welsh Government funded project commenced in 2021 and is currently in its third yeah phase. The project involves collaborative working between schools, regional consortia and higher education institutions to evaluate how to promote the use of research and enquiry in schools. The project consists of three regional groups from North, Mid and West and South Wales. Sue Horder, Lisa Formby and Tomos Gwydion ap Sion are members of the North Wales regional group.

In phase one, the three HEI groups identified five main themes related to the use of research and enquiry in schools; time and space, terms and expectations, networks, leadership and capacity, professional learning and presentation of evidence and theory.

In phase two the North Wales regional group which consists of Bangor University (BU), Wrexham University (WU) and the North Wales Regional School Improvement Service (GwE), continued to work in partnership and focused on discussions with school leaders to explore these five themes identified, but within the context of the Quality Use of Research Evidence (QURE) framework (Rickinson et al., 2023).

This year, the North Wales EREiS regional group have focused on the further evaluation of findings from the first two phases of work in the context of the wider research base surrounding how best to mobilise evidence and enquiry in school settings. This research has taken place through individual interviews with school leaders and system level professionals within the wider education sector.
 
The wider EREiS research team will be presenting their work so far at the 2024 BERA Conference and plans are in place for Phase 4 to commence in the Autumn.