Staff profile

Professor Chris Brown is Professor in Education at Durham University's School of Education and Deputy Executive Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health.

Chris is seeking to drive forward the notion of Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) as a means to promote the collaborative learning of teachers. The aim of this collaborative learning is to improve both teaching practice and student outcomes, not only in individual schools, but also in the school system more widely. To this end Chris has co-edited one book in this area, Networks for Learning: Effective Collaboration for Teacher, School and System Improvement (Routledge, 2018); is co-editor of the Emerald’s Professional Learning Networks Book Series (and has also contributed one book to this series); and is co-founder and co-convener of theInternational Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement’s Professional Learning Networks research network. Chris was also recently awarded a significant research grant by Bosch Foundation to examine the effectiveness of area-based reforms: in themselves a specific form of PLN.

Alongside his research into PLNs Chris also has a long-standing interest in how research evidence can and should, but often doesn’t, aid the development of education policy and practice. Here Chris has edited authored five books, including Achieving Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice in Education (Emerald Publishing, 2017), scores of papers and has presented and keynoted on the subject at a number of international conferences in Europe, Asia and North and South America. Chris also has extensive experience of leading a range of funded projects, many of which seek to help practitioners to identify and scale up best practice. These include an evaluation of England’s progress towards an evidence informed school system (funded by England’s Department for Education) and a grant the Education Endowment Foundation to work with 100+ primary schools in England to increase their use of research.

In 2018 Chris was also awarded a Stiftung Mercator Foundation Senior Fellowship. Each year Stiftung Mercator identifies and invites just six people world-wide to apply each year for one of its fellowships. Potential Fellows are identified by a panel as ‘exceptionally talented and outstanding researchers and practitioners’ from areas seen as relevant to the themes and fields of activity of Stiftung Mercator. The purpose of the Mercator Fellowship programme is to offer selected fellows the space and freedom to also devote themselves to exploratory and unconventional research and practical projects (typically for six months). Previous fellows include advisors to former US President Obama and current French President Macron. 

Other recent prizes include the 2015 American Educational Research Association ‘Emerging Scholar’ award; the 2016 AERA Excellence in Research to practice award and the 2016 UCEA Jeffrey V. Bennett Outstanding International Research award.

 

• Evidence informed policy and practice
• Teacher Professional Development
• School system improvement
• Area Based Reform
• Educational change
• Educational leadership
• Reducing social disadvantage

• Assessment, Evaluation and Educational Effectiveness
• Durham University Evidence Centre for Education (DECE)
• International and Comparative Education
• Pedagogy and Curriculum

• Closing the educational attainment gap for disadvantaged children: exploring the potential of place based, multi-agency interventions
• What Makes Effective Area-based Reform In Education?

• 2020: Closing the educational attainment gap for disadvantaged children: exploring the potential of place based, multi-agency interventions.(£15000.00 from )
• 2020: Evidence Informed Practise for School Inclusion(£57389.31 from Interreg (ERDF) Europe)
• 2019: What Makes Effective Area-based Reform In Education?(£41362.80 from )

• 2021: Distinguished Visiting Professor: Institute of Education, University of Tüebingen:
• 2021: Emerald Publishing ‘Literati’ award (‘Outstanding Paper’: Journal of Professional Capital and Community) :
• 2021: Member: The Mercers’ Company, Young People & Education Committee :
• 2020: Expert Advisor: New South Wales Education Standards Authority, Teacher Engagement Advisory Group:
• 2019: Board Member: International Congress for School Improvement and Effectiveness:
• 2019: Editorial Board Member: International Journal of Educational Policy and Leadership :
• 2019: Fellow: Durham Research Methods Centre:
• 2019: Fellow: Institute for Data Science:
• 2019: Stiftung Mercator Foundation Senior Fellowship (personal award of €55,500): Each year, Stiftung Mercator Foundation identifies and invites just six people world-wide to apply for one of its fellowships. Potential Fellows are identified by a panel as ‘exceptionally talented and outstanding researchers and practitioners’ from areas seen as relevant to the themes and fields of activity of Stiftung Mercator. The purpose of the Mercator Fellowship programme is to offer selected fellows the space and freedom to also devote themselves to exploratory and unconventional research and practical projects (typically for six months). Previous fellows include advisors to former US President Obama and current French President Macron. ;
• 2019: Visiting Professor, Fakultät für Bildungswissenschaften, University of Duisburg-Essen:
• 2019: Visiting Professor, School of Education, University of Portsmouth :
• 2018: The British Educational Leadership, Management & Administration Society’s ‘Reflective Practice’ award (Commendation): This 'Reflective Practice' award is made to those who are able to demonstrate leadership of an innovation in an educational setting which has made a significant contribution to the development of an organisation
• 2017: Emerald Publishing Literati award (‘Highly Commended’): The ;Literati award recognises a journal article that represents ‘one of the most impressive pieces of work the judges have seen throughout the past year’ and was awarded for a co-authored paper: ‘What causes discrepancies between teachers’ attitudes towards evidence use and actual instances of evidence use in schools?’ (Journal of Educational Administration).
• 2016: American Educational Research Association’s ‘Excellence in Research to Practice’ award (Research Use SIG): The 'Excellence in Research to Practice’ award is presented for ‘exemplary performance in moving research into the field of practice’ and is based on scholarship that brings ‘substantive attention to the degree to which research is applied and sustained in decision-making, practice or school policy’
• 2016: The University Council for Educational Administration ‘Jeffrey V. Bennett Outstanding International Research’ award: The 'Jeffrey V. Bennett award recognizes ‘outstanding international researchers contributing to a global understanding of the international study of school leadership’
• 2015: American Educational Research Association ‘Emerging Scholar’ award (Education Change SIG): The Emerging Scholar award is presented to an individual who,‘within the first eight years of their academic career has demonstrated a strong record of original and significant scholarship related to educational change’.

Available for media contact about:

• Education: School leadership
• Education: Teacher Professional Development
• Education: Reducing social disadvantage
• Education: Education policy
• Education: School system improvement

Authored book

• Brown, C. & Luzmore, R. (2021). Educating Tomorrow: Learning for the post-pandemic world. Emerald.
• Brown, C. (2021). The Amazing Power of Networks. A [research-informed] choose your own destiny book. John Catt.
• Brown, C. (2020). The Networked School Leader: How to improve teaching and student outcomes using learning networks. Emerald.
• Malin, J. & Brown, C. (2019). The Role of Knowledge Brokers in Education: Connecting the Dots Between Research and Practice. Routledge.
• Brown, C. & Flood, J. (2019). Formalise, Prioritise and Mobilise: How school leaders secure the benefits of Professional Learning Networks (London, Emerald). Emerald.
• Brown, C. (2018). How Social Science Can Help Us Make Better Choices: Optimal Rationality in Action (Emerald Points). Emerald.
• Brown, C. (2017). Achieving Evidence Informed Policy and Practice in Education: EvidencED. Emerald.
• Brown, C. (2016). Scenes, Semiotics and The New Real: Exploring the Value of Originality and Difference. Palgrave.
• Brown, C. (2014). Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice in Education Paperback. Bloomsbury.
• Brown, C. (2013). Making Evidence Matter: A new perspective for evidence-informed policy making in education (Bedford Way Papers). IOE Press.

Chapter in book

• Montgomery, C. & Brown, C. (2021). School governance in a postcolonial world Exploring decolonising approaches in the English school system. In School Governance in Global Contexts: Trends, Challenges and Countermeasures. Chan, P.W. & Pang, N. Routledge.
• Brown, C. & Poortman, C. (2019). Professional Learning Networks: harnessing collaboration to achieve the scale-up of effective education practices. In Encyclopedia of Educational Innovation. Peters, M. & Heraud, R. Singapore: Springer.

Conference Paper

• Alharbi, Kholood, Cristea, Alexandra I., Shi, Lei, Tymms, Peter & Brown, Chris (2021), Agent-based Simulation of the Classroom Environment to Gauge the Effect of Inattentive or Disruptive Students, in Cristea, Alexandra I. & Troussas, Christos eds, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 12677: Intelligent Tutoring Systems. Athens, Greece / Virtual, Springer, Cham, 211-223.
• Alharbi, Kholood, Cristea, Alexandra I., Shi, Lei, Tymms, Peter & Brown, Chris (2021), Agent-based Classroom Environment Simulation: the Effect of Disruptive Schoolchildren’s Behaviour versus Teacher Control over Neighbours, in Roll, Ido McNamara, Danielle Sosnovsky, Sergey Luckin, Rose & Dimitrova, Vania eds, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 12749: The 22nd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education. Utrecht, Springer, Cham, 48-53.

Edited book

• Godfrey, D. & Brown. C. (2019). An Ecosystem for Research-Engaged Schools: Reforming Education Through Research. Routledge.
• Brown, C. & Poortman, C. (2018). Networks for Learning: Effective Collaboration for Teacher, School and System Improvement. Routledge.
• Brown, C. (2015). Leading the Use of Research and Evidence in Schools. IOE Press.

Journal Article

• Brown, C MacGregor, S Flood, J & Malin, J (2022). Facilitating research-informed educational practice for inclusion. Survey findings from 147 teachers and school leaders in England. Frontiers in Education 7: 890832.
• Brown, C., Groß-Ophoff, J., Chadwick, K. & Parkinson, S. (2022). Achieving the ideas informed society: a Structural Equation Model for England. Emerald Open Research 4(4).
• Brown, C. & Ion, G. (2022). Research informed educational practice: how to help educators engage with research for the common good (Practica educativa informada por la investigacion: Cómo ayudar a los educadores comprometerse con la investigacion para el bien comun). Revista de Educación
• Poortman, C Brown, C & Schildkamp, K (2022). Professional Learning Networks: a conceptual model and research opportunities. Educational Research 64(1): 95-112.
• Brown, Chris, White, Robert & Kelly, Anthony (2021). Teachers as educational change agents: what do we currently know? findings from a systematic review. Emerald Open Research 3(26).
• Raaper, R., Brown, C. & Llewellyn, A. (2021). Student support as social network: Exploring non-traditional student experiences of academic and wellbeing support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Educational Review
• Gaussel, Marie, MacGregor, Stephen, Brown, Chris & Piedfer-Quêney, Lucile (2021). Climates of trust, innovation, and research use in fostering evidence-informed practice in French schools. International Journal of Educational Research 109: 101810.
• Ward, Sophie, James, Simon, James, Kate, Brown, Chris, Kokotsaki, Dimitra & Wigham, Jade (2021). The Benefits of Music Workshop Participation for Pupils’ Wellbeing and Social Capital: The In2 Music Project Evaluation. Arts Education Policy Review
• MacGregor,S.M, Brown, C & Flood, J (2021). Exploring the role of Positive Leadership for Mobilizing Innovative Practices: a social network approach. Studia Paedogogica 26(2): 31-48.
• Gaussel, M., MacGregor, S. Brown, C. & Piedfer-Quêney, L (2021). The roles of trust, innovation, and positive climates in fostering evidence-informed practice in French schools. International Journal of Educational Research
• Wang, Y. & Brown, C. (2021). Improving mathematical reasoning – the professional development challenge. Professional Development Today
• Armstrong, P, Brown, C & Chapman, C (2021). School-to-school collaboration in England: A configurative review of the empirical evidence. Review of Education 9(1): 319-351.
• Edwards, S. & Brown, C. (2020). Close-to-practice research: The need for student voice and the strange case of Academy x. London Review of Education 18.3: 480-494.
• Brown, Chris, Flood, Jane, Armstrong, Paul, MacGregor, Stephen & Chinas, Christina (2021). Is distributed leadership an effective approach for mobilising professional capital across Professional Learning Networks? Exploring a case from England. Journal of Professional Capital & Community 6(1): 64-78.
• Brown, C., Poortman, C., Gray, H,, Gross-Ophoff, J. & Wharf, M. (2021). Facilitating collaborative reflective inquiry amongst teachers: what do we currently know? International Journal of Educational Research 105: 101695.
• Armstrong, Paul Wilfred, Brown, Chris & Chapman, Christopher (2020). Context and Implications Document for: School‐to‐school collaboration in England: A configurative review of the empirical evidence. Review of Education
• Brown, C., Malin, J., Ion, G., van Ackeren, I., Bremm, N., Luzmore, R., Flood, J. & Rind, G. (2020). World-wide barriers and enablers to achieving evidence-informed practice in education: what can be learnt from Spain, England, the United States, and Germany? Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 7: 99.
• Brown, C. & Flood, J. (2020). Exploring teachers' conceptual uses of research as part of the development and scale up of research-informed practices. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership 16(10): 189.
• Wyse, D, Brown, C, Oliver, S & Poblete, X (2021). Education Research and Educational Practice: The Qualities of a Close Relationship. British Educational Research Journal 47(6): 1466-1489.
• Brown, C., Flood, J. & MacGregor, S. (2020). Can models of distributed leadership be used to mobilise networked generated innovation in schools? A case study from England. Teaching and Teacher Education 94: 103101.
• Brown, C. & Flood, J. (2020). Conquering the Professional Learning Network labyrinth: what is required from the networked school leader if schools are to benefit from engaging in Professional Learning Networks. School Leadership and Management 40(2-3): 128-145.
• Brown, C & Gray, H (2020). Facilitating reflective professional inquiry to support research-informed teaching: what do we currently know? Educational Sciences
• Tulowitzki, P Bremm, N, Brown, C & Krammer, G (2019). Using Insights from Video Games to Support Formal Education – a Theoretical Exploration. Die Deutsche Schule 111(4): 405-421.
• Brown, C. & Flood, J. (2020). The three roles of school leaders in maximizing the impact of Professional Learning Networks: a case study from England. International Journal of Educational Research 99: 101516.
• Brown, C (2020). Using theories of action approach to measure impact in an intelligent way: A case study from Ontario Canada. Journal of Educational Change 21(1): 135-156.
• Rogers, S., Brown, C. & Poblete, X. (2020). A systematic review of the evidence base for professional learning in early years education: the PLEYE Review. Review of Education 8(1): 156-188.
• Cain, T, Brindley, S, Brown, C, Jones, G & Riga, F (2019). Bounded decision-making, teachers’ reflection, and organisational learning: how research can inform teachers and teaching. British Educational Research Journal
• Malin, J, Brown, C & Saultz, A (2019). What We Want, Why We Want It: K-12 Educators' Evidence Use to Support their Grant Proposals. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership 15(3): 1-19.
• Brown, C, Zhang, D, Xu, N & Corbett, S (2018). Exploring the impact of social relationships on teachers’ use of research: A regression analysis of 389 teachers in England. International Journal of Educational Research 89: 36-46.
• Malin, J, Brown, C & Trubceac, A (2018). Going for Broke: A Multiple Case Study of Brokerage in Education. AERA Open April-June, 4(2): 1-14.
• Godfrey, C & Brown, C (2018). How effective is the research and development ecosystem for England’s schools? London Review of Education 16(1): 136-151.
• Brown, C & Flood, J (2018). Lost in translation? Can the use of theories of action be effective in helping teachers develop and scale up research-informed practices? Teaching and Teacher Education 72 : 144-154.
• Brown, C., Schildkamp, K & Hubers, M (2017). The Evidence-Informed School System in England: Where Should School Leaders Be Focusing Their Efforts? Educational Research 52(2): 154-172.
• Brown, C (2017). Further exploring the rationality of evidence-informed practice: a semiotic analysis of the perspectives of a school federation. International Journal of Education Research 82: 28-39.
• Daly, A, Liou, Y-H & Brown, C (2016). Social Red Bull: Exploring energy relationships in a School District Leadership Team. Harvard Educational Review 86(3): 412-448.
• Brown, C, Taylor, C & Ponambalum, L (2016). Using Design Based Research to improve the lesson-study approach to professional development. London Review of Education 14(2): 4-21.
• Brown, C. & Zhang, D. (2016). Is engaging in evidence‐informed practice in education rational? What accounts for discrepancies in teachers' attitudes towards evidence use and actual instances of evidence use in schools? British Educational Research Journal 42(5): 780-801.
• Brown, C & Zhang, D. (2017). How can school leaders establish evidence informed schools: an analysis of the effectiveness of potential school policy levers. Educational Management and Leadership 45(3): 382-401.
• Brown, C, Daly, A & Liou, Y-H. (2016). Improving Trust, Improving Schools: Findings from a Social Network Analysis of 43 Primary Schools in England. Journal of Professional Capital & Community 1(1): 69-91.
• Brown, C (2014). Advancing policy makers' expertise in evidence-use: a new approach to enhancing the role research can have in aiding educational policy development. Journal of Educational Change 15(1): 19-36.
• Brown, C (2014). The policy agora: how power inequalities affect the interaction between researchers and policy makers. Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice