Educational interventions – valuable but rare goods
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Abstract
Relying on the international literature, this study aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the publication trends in educational interventions as well as of the factors that affect these trends. Compared to other research approaches, interventions require extra resources; therefore, we assume, interventions are becoming less and less popular. The study looks at the characteristics of educational interventions, how they are published, and the possible challenges of launching interventions. Some of the studies on publication trends in educational interventions examine absolute numbers, while others look at the relative proportions of interventions within publications. The absolute number of interventions seems to increase (e.g., Connolly et al., 2018; Pontoppidan et al., 2018); however, the relative proportion of publications which describe the results of interventions is decreasing (e.g., Hsieh et al., 2005; Robinson et al., 2007). Although educational interventions offer numerous benefits, their realization is characterized by several challenges, which may explain the decrease in the proportion of interventions. These challenges concern the research methodology as well as the social environment, which may have a negative impact on researchers’ motivation to launch interventions. In addition, financing issues and organizational difficulties may also play a negative role. On the one hand, this study may support researchers in their decision to launch interventions; on the other hand, it may offer valuable information on resourcing issues.
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