The trend towards using research knowledge to improve policies and practices is on the rise. However, despite considerable effort and notable progress in recent years, it seems that school practitioners continue to make little use of research and it is not clear what conditions would facilitate or obstruct this use. This review focuses exclusively on the available empirical1 research about (a) the use of research by school practitioners and (b) the determinants of use, and identifies future directions for research.

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This paper summarizes the results of a pan-Canadian online survey study that investigates the extent to which school practitioners (N = 1,153) use research to inform their practice. The self-reports indicate that the majority of the respondents used educational research, yet this engagement was infrequent. Although the respondents shared neutral attitudes about research, their comments add rather negative connotation to their perceptions. This study’s findings are relevant to school leadership organizations, teacher education institutions and research-generating bodies as they point to the necessity of increasing research relevance and accessibility, cultivating teaching as a research-based profession, and building school capacity to use research.

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ABRACADABRA (ABRA) is an evidence‐based suite of interactive multimedia that engages learners in the development of core reading skills. This meta‐analysis presents an update of the research evidence about the effectiveness of ABRA for elementary students. It reports 91 effect sizes in six reading‐related outcomes for a sample of 7,388 students. Regardless of context and measurement type, the studies yielded positive effects of ABRA, ranging in magnitude from g+ = 0.080 for Vocabulary Knowledge to g+ = 0.378 for Phonemic Awareness and reaching statistical significance in four outcome categories. This meta‐analysis adds to our understanding of the effectiveness of ABRA‐based reading instruction by exploring factors of research design, ABRA design and implementation contexts, and various student characteristics and offers implications for instructional practice.