Why education experts resist evidence-based practices & embrace fads: A call for professional maturity

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Abstract

Despite decades of educational research, evidence-based practices remain marginalised in teacher training, curriculum design, & classroom implementation. Instead, unproven fads continue to dominate. This article argues that education’s failure to mature into a profession grounded in empirical research (unlike medicine, accounting, or engineering) is the root cause. We examine ideological resistance, weak research standards, & structural failures in English Language Teaching (ELT) as a case study. Finally, we propose a pathway toward a more evidence-informed educational profession.

Introduction

In any mature profession, practice is grounded in rigorously tested knowledge. Surgeons do not adopt treatments based on personal intuition; accountants are bound by standards that are externally regulated. Yet in education, arguably one of the most impactful professions, the opposite often holds true. Practitioners & policymakers frequently reject empirical evidence in favour of ideology, anecdote, & fashion. Why? This article discusses the cultural, structural, & epistemological reasons behind education’s persistent resistance to evidence-based practices, using English Language Teaching (ELT) to highlight how these problems manifest in teacher education & classroom practices.

A profession without a foundation: The state of educational expertise

Unlike medicine or engineering, education has yet to develop the institutional & epistemic mechanisms that elevate reliable knowledge above personal conviction. As Douglas Carnine observes, the field continues to operate in a pre-scientific state where expert judgments are subjective, inconsistent, & often ideologically driven.

Gene Glass, a prominent educational researcher, characterised the field not as a coordinated search for optimal outcomes but as “a bunch of people arguing about whether to go to Chicago or St. Louis,” rather than focusing on “the fastest, cheapest, & safest way of travelling to Chicago.” This analogy reflects the education field’s lack of accountability to outcomes, as well as its susceptibility to ideology over empiricism (Carnine, 2000).

Ideology & the fetishisation of romanticism in education

Education’s resistance to evidence is often ideological. Many education experts are committed, explicitly or implicitly, to a Jean-Jaques Rousseauian view of learning: that education should be child-centered, unstructured, & naturalistic. This perspective resists interventions that appear too “formal” or “rigid,” even when those interventions are demonstrably more effective.

A seminal example of ideology trumping evidence is the U.S. government’s Project Follow Through, the largest & most extensive educational experiment in American history (See: https://www.nifdi.org/what-is-di/project-follow-through). It compared various educational approaches, including constructivist models & Direct Instruction (DI). DI, which favours structured “I do, we do, you do” lesson structures, produced superior results across academic & affective measures, especially for those students most at risk. Yet its success was rejected by the education establishment. Instead of scaling the evidence-based model, education officials funded weaker alternatives, citing concerns that DI’s emphasis on academics was “developmentally inappropriate.” The findings were buried, & DI was marginalised, despite long-term data confirming its benefits (Carnine, 2000).

English language teaching (ELT): A case study in misguided practice

Nowhere is the gap between evidence & practice more glaring than in English Language Teaching (ELT). The field routinely fails to distinguish between empirically supported strategies & appealing but ineffective fads.

Initial teacher education (ITE) & continuing professional development (CPD)

ITE programmes frequently present a historical smorgasbord of teaching methods, e.g. Suggestopedia, Silent Way, & Dogme, without critical engagement with their efficacy. Trainee teachers are often encouraged to “try out” these approaches without learning to critically evaluate them through the lens of research. As a result, teachers graduate without research literacy & without exposure to proven high-impact strategies.

The absence of evidence in ELT publishing & training

Journals & CPD resources routinely promote classroom ideas based on anecdote rather than data. Articles rarely reference effect sizes or learning outcomes. The field lacks accessible, open-access publications that summarise & evaluate teaching methods based on empirical evidence. Consequently, practitioners are left to navigate a marketplace of ideas with no reliable compass.

Misguided interventions with real harm

The consequences of fad-driven practices are not benign. Ramsden (2025) & Sears (2023) document how well-meaning school mental health programmes, such as universal mindfulness or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions, can exacerbate symptoms in vulnerable students. These interventions are often presented uncritically in teacher training & CPD, despite a growing body of evidence showing they can cause harm if not individually tailored & professionally administered.

Materials that induce error

After a systematic review, Boers (2021) concluded that many widely used ELT coursebooks include activities that are known to induce errors rather than improve fluency, such as decontextualised error correction or fragmented phrase matching. Despite research identifying these practices as counterproductive, they persist, largely because publishers, trainers, & instructors are not held accountable to research-based standards.

Why other professions matured & what education can learn

Education is not uniquely impervious to science; it simply has not yet undergone the external pressures that forced other professions to reform. Medicine’s transformation followed disasters such as the Thalidomide tragedy, & subsequent reforms demanded rigorous drug testing & standards of care. The Great Depression triggered sweeping reform in finance, including the establishment of the SEC. Even the seafaring industry underwent reform after the Titanic disaster, leading to safety regulations that were once resisted as burdensome.

In each case, scientific procedures & objective measures supplanted individual judgments & traditional beliefs. Education, by contrast, has faced no comparable reckoning & without such pressure, it continues to prioritise ideological purity over empirical validity.

Toward a research-informed educational profession

What would it take for education to mature into a profession governed by evidence?

  • Research literacy in ITE & CPD: All teacher education should include mandatory training in research evaluation; how to read studies, interpret effect sizes, & distinguish between causal & correlational findings.

  • Open-access, evidence-oriented journals: The field must invest in journals & databases that present research summaries in accessible language, include replicable studies, & promote transparency.

  • Standards for intervention & materials: Teaching practices, coursebooks, & CPD programmes must be held to a higher standard, grounded in what works for specific learners in specific contexts, & supported by robust evidence.

  • Institutional incentives: Schools, universities, & ministries of education should align incentives with outcomes, rewarding adoption of evidence-based practices & discouraging adherence to discredited methods.

Conclusion

For education to truly serve learners, especially the most vulnerable, it must evolve from a culture of belief to one of knowledge. This evolution requires abandoning romantic notions of teaching & instead emphasising the discipline of science; of testing ideas, accepting uncomfortable truths, & refining practice based on what the best available empirical evidence says works. Until it does, education will remain a profession in name only; one more guided by ideology & tradition than by evidence & progress.

Further reading

The following are two examples of organisations promoting evidence-informed policy & practices in education, aimed at teachers, parents, & education institutions. Here is who they are & what they do in their own words:

“What is researchED?

The goal of researchED is to bridge the gap between research and practice in education. Researchers, teachers, and policy makers come together for a day of information-sharing and myth-busting.

We aim to to bring together as many parties affected by educational research – e.g. teachers, academics, researchers, policy makers, teacher-trainers – in order to establish healthy relationships where field-specific expertise is pooled usefully.

At a researchED event, there are usually 6-7 rounds of sessions. Each session is 40 minutes long. Attendees build their own day using the timetable and programme that is released a couple of weeks before the day of the event.

We’ve hosted researchED events around world including in London, Amsterdam, Philadelphia, Cape Town, Chile, Dubai, Geneva, Melbourne, Toronto and many more!” Link: https://researched.org.uk/

AERO

“The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) is Australia’s independent education evidence body.

Who we are and what we do

AERO is a ministerial-owned company governed by a Board. We are jointly funded by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. We conduct research and share knowledge to promote better educational outcomes for Australian children and young people.

Our vision and objectives

AERO’s vision is for Australia to achieve excellence and equity in educational outcomes for all children and young people through effective use of evidence.

In support of this vision, we:

  • generate high-quality evidence

  • present the evidence in ways that are relevant and accessible

  • encourage adoption and effective implementation of evidence in practice and policy.”

Link: https://www.edresearch.edu.au/

Up-to-date principles & practices in foreign language teaching

There is a growing number of up-to-date books & articles on foreign language teaching. For example, see each of the following, who are researchers, teacher trainers, curriculum developers, & foreign language teachers. They have each authored &/or co-authored books aimed at language teachers, presenting & explaining evidence-informed teaching principles & practices:

References

Boers, F. (2021). Evaluating Second Language Vocabulary & Grammar Instruction: A Synthesis of the Research on Teaching Words, Phrases, & Patterns. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003005605

Carnine, D. (2000). Why Education Experts Resist Effective Practices (And What It Would Take To Make Education More Like Medicine). ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED442804

Ramsden, L. (2025, February 17). Mental health in schools: Why wellbeing quick fixes don’t work. Times Education Supplement. https://www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/mental-health-in-schools-quick-wellbeing-interventions-don%27t-work

Sears, R. (2023, April 18). When Good Intentions Go Awry: The Hidden Risks of School Mental Health programmes. Mad In America. https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/04/when-good-intentions-go-awry-the-hidden-risks-of-school-mental-health-programmes/

Acknowledgement

I’d like to thank Prof. Paul Kirschner for inspiring me to write this article with his bold, tireless, dedicated & compassionate campaigning for evidence-informed education.