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Showing posts from March, 2018

On ‘evidence’ in higher education

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When it comes to suggesting change in higher education practice, one of the questions often raised is “where’s the evidence in favour of this?” Not having absolute, robust proof for a new or different approach can lead to nay-sayers claiming the high-ground, and make even the open-to-change somewhat wary. It’s not that evidence isn’t important or needed; asking for evidence is a fair request! However it's helpful to consider just what evidence in higher education actually is , and how far it can take us. Discussion around evidence and higher education should really begin with one word: caveat . Suggesting adjustment to any education practice is far from straightforward, particularly where an incumbent system is in place. David Didau has said that, regarding beliefs around teaching, “We are predisposed to fall for a comforting lie rather than wrestle with an inconvenient truth. And we tend to be comforted by what's familiar rather than what makes logical sense...” ( What i