Seven Things School Leaders Should Know About Implementation Science

Implementation science aims to bridge the research-to-practice gap and promote the successful uptake of evidence-based practices in diverse settings, including schools. School leaders play a critical role in the adoption and successful implementation of evidence-based practices, and learning about implementation science can help them achieve these goals. This paper introduces implementation science to school leaders, by discussing seven things they should know: (1) implementation science improves the implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices; (2) there are four core concepts of implementation; (3) implementation science offers many frameworks to guide uptake of evidence-based practices in schools; (4) the school context matters in implementation science; (5) balancing fidelity and adaptation promotes successful implementation of evidence-based practices; (6) school leaders play a critical role in the implementation of evidence-based practices; and (7) trust is at the heart of implementation efforts.