| “The new Chair in ‘Evidence Based Education’ is
aimed at research into the effectiveness of
educational interventions. Education can be seen
as a collection of educational interventions,
ranging from what a teacher does in the classroom
to policymaking at macro level. Think of a new
arithmetic method in elementary education or an
entirely new school form in secondary education,
which is a typical example of a policy intervention.
Within this Chair we are going to study which
interventions work and which don’t. Evidence
based education refers to the philosophy that
educational policy and practice have to be based
on the best, scientific evidence available. The
results of this research can contribute to better
quality education and a better connection
between education and the labour market. We
want to increase knowledge and insight on the
(cost) effectiveness of educational interventions,
and to make this scientific knowledge available to
educational policy and practice.
The Chair has two objectives. On the one hand we
want to make a purely scientific contribution to
increase our knowledge in this field. Until now
there are very few good evaluations of educational
interventions available. We will also conduct
systematic review studies and meta-analysis on
the existing relevant literature and information. On
the other hand we have a strong social ambition.
We want to stimulate that teachers and authorities
work in an evidence-based manner. That is also
why the Teachers Academy was established at UM:
a coherent set of programmes varying from extra
training for teachers in their professional field and
practical modules based on insights about
cognitive and psychological learning processes to
promotional tracks for teachers and management
training for school board members. Moreover, we
are going to develop an MSc programme in
Evidence-Based Innovation of Education.
In my position as Professor of Health Economics at
the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences,
I have always been interested in educational
economics. In fact, the idea for evidence-based
education originated in health care: evidencebased
medicine as an example for evidence-based
education.
Briefly, in the new Chair I am going to work on the
evaluation of educational interventions, review
studies of existing research in this field and the
development of the Teachers Academy which will
offer the MSc programme.”
Additional functions:
- Member of the NWO Program Committee for
Educational Research
- Chairman of the Program Committee for the Sector
Council of the Educational Labour Market
- Member of the Council for Public Health and Health
Care
- President of the Provincial Council for Public Health in
Limburg
- National coordinator Education and Labour Market
Research of NICIS (Institute for Urban Research and
Practice)
- Columnist for Het Financieele Dagblad, Economisch
Statistische Berichten and Zorgvisie
- Professor Groot received an honorary doctorate in
2004 from the National University of ‘Kyiv-Mohyla
Academy’ in Kiev, the Ukraine
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