Publication Date

2005

Abstract

The evidence based approach is integral to efforts by the Victorian Catholic sector to continually improve its effectiveness.There has been a concerted effort in the Victorian Catholic sector to broaden the professional experience and judgement of system personnel, school leaders and teachers by locating it within the available evidence and generating research studies to continually explore and test it. Evidence generation and transfer have been instrumental in shaping the design of literacy and numeracy programs.There is an increasing emphasis on using evidence as a tool for professional learning and to inform decision making related to improving the overall performance of schools. In addition to using evidence to facilitate reform within the sector, the Catholic sector system authority has used evidence to make a case for improving the level of financial support provided by the State Government for Victorian Catholic schools. There are 483 Catholic primary, secondary and special schools representing over 180,000 student enrolments in Victoria. A key priority for the Victorian Catholic sector system authority over the last decade has been the building of capacity for the system, schools and classrooms to continually improve their effectiveness. A critical feature of the capacity building agenda has been the centrality of evidence as the basis for decision-making and action. The impetus for this has been the evidence-based movement in education defined by Whitehurst (2001) as the integration of professional wisdom (which is acquired through experience and consensus) with the best available empirical evidence in making decisions about how to deliver instruction. There has been a concerted effort in the Victorian Catholic sector to broaden the professional experience and judgement of system personnel, school leaders and teachers by locating it within the available evidence and generating research studies to continually explore and test it.This paper illustrates the instrumental role of evidence generation and transfer in shaping the design of literacy and numeracy programs, informing the content of professional learning initiatives, and informing decision-making related to improving the overall performance of schools and the system as a whole.

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