How do teachers adapt evidence-informed strategies for teaching? A process evaluation of a teacher training programme in Chinese primary schools

Feasibility of effectively incorporating research evidence into teaching remains poorly understood. This study presents process evaluation results for a large-scale randomised controlled trial in China which estimated the impact of a teacher training programme to help adapt research evidence into practice, involving 154 teachers and 6904 students. Teachers’ adherence to the intervention emerged as a likely critical determinant of the intervention’s effectiveness, evidenced by a Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) of +0.22 on students’ Chinese test scores. Teachers’ adherence relates to school-level monitoring, teachers’ skills, and peer collaboration. Drawing on 44 classroom observations, adapting research evidence evolved iteratively, with ongoing adjustment and reflection. This study proposes a multi-level "Implementation Cycle" derived from the Chinese primary education context, illustrating how evidence-informed strategies evolve in practice. The cycle highlights that interactions between teachers help identify and correct mis-adaptations, a process often missing in existing implementation frameworks. It links school leadership, peer support, and teacher skills to help tailor evidence-informed strategies to specific classroom contexts. The framework serves as a template for school-based evidence-use initiatives, offering practical guidance for the effective use of research evidence in practice and a basis for future validation across diverse educational systems.