Authentic Use of Hattie’s Meta-analyses to Frame Educational Research: a Researcher’s Reflection

This article is a formative reflection that walks the reader through the experience of taking an existing body of research and then using one aspect of that analytical framework to conduct a new and original study. This reflection presents an account of that research process. Hattie (2009) has conducted extensive research examining influences on student achievement. This article describes how a researcher took the domains he defined to categorize the influences on student achievement and used them to frame the newly developed investigation. This article reflects on the unique application of Hattie’s domains as a lens to examine a K-12 organization. An overview of the study and a summary of the findings are presented to give the reader context. The focus of this article is a detailed reflection on how the research was conceived and formed. The following six questions guide this reflection:

1. Was the experience useful?

2. What was learned?

3. How did this experience facilitate personal growth/development?

4. How was this experience impactful?

5. What would, on reflection, be done differently?

6. Were the research choices well-reasoned?

A thoughtful reflection on the process serves to inform decisions critical to formulate potential additional studies. Reflecting on the past process provides thoughtful insights for future research.